The ABSP are pleased to announce two exciting partnership events with Mind Sports Olympiad which will take place on Friday 7th and Saturday 8th August.

Typically, MSO hold a week-long programme of events in London, but as that was not possible this year, instead they are holding a month-long festival of games online. The full schedule is available on the MSO website.

Both Scrabble competitions will be played in real time on ISC and timings are in line with MSO's overall aim to appeal to a global audience. There will be cash prizes to be won and the top 3 finishers in each event will also receive physical MSO medals. Unlike at previous MSO events, placings will be decided on wins and then spread, rather than their usual tie-splitting method.

Friday 7th August will be a Speed Scrabble event, where competitors will have 5 minute clocks. It will be played using void challenge and CSW2019 over 10 rounds from 19:30-22:30 BST. There will be a mid-session break of at least 15 minutes.

Saturday 8th August will be a more traditional Scrabble event, where competitors will have 15 minute clocks. It will be played using free challenge and CSW2019 over 12 rounds from 15:30-23:00 BST. There will be a mid-session break of at least 45 minutes.

These events are open to all and completely free to enter although entries may be closed if demand exceeds expectations and the events get over-subscribed. So, it's in your interests to register early if you want to take part. You can register for one, or both as you wish, and you can do that in two ways.

The easiest way to enter is is to drop a Facebook message or an email to Chris Harrison with your name and ISC handle. Closer to the time, all entrants will receive some specifics they may need to know for the day, such as timings, how to report results and how to join the ABSP ISC channel. Please note the organisers reserve the right to refuse entry.

We're already looking forward to the events, and we hope plenty of you can join us for what should be a great celebration of Scrabble, and Mind Sports in general.

With several events already completed, here's an update on the ABSP's online tournaments.

We hope everyone is keeping safe and well during these difficult times. Staying home and not meeting friends and relatives poses many challenges and has impacted greatly on the game we love. There is nothing to replace meeting across a real board, but to keep us playing competitively and in touch with each other, we have a busy calendar of online events which are played on ISC (Internet Scrabble Club).

There are tournaments most weekends, with a mixture of interesting formats and a Tuesday night Scrabble Club too. We are even presenting virtual medals to the winners!

By far, the easiest way to keep track of events is via Facebook. If you have a Facebook account, make a request to join the members-only ABSP Discussion group on Facebook, if you have not already joined it.

You can set up a Facebook account with minimal information if you are concerned about privacy issues. If you would prefer not to join Facebook for any reason, please e-mail Chris Harrison for more information about how to play.

These tournaments are proving a great way of keeping our community together during this time when we can't meet in person. We would love to see you there!

The latest edition of OnBoard is now available from the database (login required).

The committee prepared the following statement, which is also downloadable, that was intended to be sent out with postal copies. However subsequent guidance from government means that we are unable to post OnBoard at the present time as it does not qualify as an essential journey. All members who usually receive a postal copy should still be able to download the latest version from the database.

STOP PRESS — Urgent Member Communication

The latest OnBoard has been published in the midst of an extraordinary and unprecedented situation for us all. Almost all our daily lives are being impacted in some way by the Global Pandemic Covid-19, also known as Coronavirus.

For the ABSP, these are also worrying and uncertain times. Face-to-face tournaments are on an indefinite pause, and it is currently unclear if and when things will be able to return to normal. As a result, the committee must be mindful of the potential impact and effects over the coming months, and potentially longer.

With no ratings levy, and an expected dip in membership, the ABSP's income is expected to be severely reduced. It is prudent, therefore, to hold onto funds in order to protect the future of the organisation, and ensure we can weather this storm and come out on the other side.

OnBoard is our biggest ongoing expense, so we have taken the difficult but necessary decision to suspend production of at least the postal version for the time being. Maintaining current standards and sourcing fresh interesting content will be increasingly challenging with no events taking place, and there is no guarantee we would even be able to have it printed and posted. We hope to still produce a version of OnBoard in some form, so please continue to send contributions to the editor to help us with this.

We hope you understand the reason we have taken this decision, and we will review it on an ongoing basis as events unfold. During any break, we will still endeavour to send out any essential communication to all members via email if possible, and regular post otherwise, as well as continuing to share interim updates on social media and the ABSP Website.

Our members-only Facebook discussion group is the best way to keep in touch with all things ABSP. During these times, when other social interaction will be more limited, we'll strive to have more regular and varied online activity including Consensus Games and Real-Time Online ISC Tournaments. If you are not already joined, find us by searching for 'ABSP Discussion', or via the link above.

We also have a members-only online league, which renews every two weeks and is currently played through the EA Scrabble Facebook app. Typically, this means completing ten games over two weeks at your own pace, making moves at times that suit you. Your commitment to the league is only ever for two weeks at a time, and you can opt in and out as you wish. Search for 'ABSP Online (League)' or join at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/absponline/.

Please stay safe and well in these challenging circumstances, and we all look forward to a time when it is safe to meet again across the boards and we can look to the future with renewed energy and confidence.

ABSP Committee

The ABSP committee has issued an updated statement regarding the impact of COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus, on face-to-face Scrabble in the UK.

Please see the updated statement in full which will be updated further when necessary as and when the government advice is updated.

Following on from our updated statement, an update from Chris Harrison on some forthcoming online tournaments.

I am happy to confirm that I shall be running real-time tournaments open to ABSP Members only on the Internet Scrabble Club on both of the next two weekends. Both are likely to be Saturdays (28th March, 4th April) but this will be confirmed in due course.

The first will follow a format outlined in brief in my recent Facebook poll and the second will be paired more like a traditional face to face event. Further format details for both will be made available when registration opens. Natalie Zolty will be helping me a little with the first, and Wayne Kelly helping, possibly a lot, with the second.

If you intend to take part, it is important that where possible you have an established ISC rating which requires at least 11 rated games to be played first. If you have not used ISC much recently, I would also encourage you to play a few games, and better familiarise yourself with the software. Nowadays, ISC is normally used via a web browser at the ISC home page, but Windows users can download and install Wordbiz if they prefer to run a native application.

I am sure not many of you will have played a real-time ISC event before, and we certainly haven't run one, so the first couple of events may be a learning curve for us all, but I hope you will enjoy and appreciate the opportunity to interact with some of your friends playing the game you love in a environment that's as close to the real thing as can be safely achieved right now.

The ABSP committee has issued a statement regarding the impact of COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus, on upcoming ABSP-rated tournaments in the UK and abroad.

Please see the statement in full which will be updated when necessary as and when the government advice is updated.