If you’re a fan of tournament Scrabble, you may have noticed there aren’t many female players in the circuit. The exact reasons for the gender disparity remain debated, though one studyhas suggested the discrepancy mainly results from a difference in interest: women are more likely to treat Scrabble as a fun, social hobby, whereas men are keener to analyze past games. Whatever the reason, it’s rare to see a woman excelling in a major Scrabble competition. If you’re a new female Scrabble fan looking for role models, or just wondering what names you should be searching for on the next tournament list, here is a list of ten of the best female Scrabble players of all time.
- Helen Gipson
Perhaps the most famous female Scrabble player of all time, Helen Gipson has a long and distinguished Scrabble career. Born in 1961, the Scotland-based Scrabbler first came to prominence when she won the British Matchplay Scrabble Championship in 1998. She later went on to represent England in the World Scrabble Championship of 1999, in which she finished 49th, as well as in the Scrabble championships of 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2011, where she consistently ranked within the top twenty players, peaking at 10th place in 2009.
- Tuouo Mayuku
Sometimes called the ‘Queen of Scrabble’, 46-year-old Tuoyo Mayuku has been playing Scrabble since she was a child. The Nigerian player first participated in Scrabble when she was 20, at her first tournament becoming the first woman to be in the top 12 in Nigerian Scrabble rankings.
- Robin Pollock Daniel
Robin Pollock Daniel is a Canadian Scrabbler. A significant force in Scrabble, she has won half a dozen tournaments between 2005 and 2012. Most impressively, she was the highest-rated female player in Scrabble in 2014. Not bad for someone who didn’t get involved with Scrabble until she was in her twenties!
Diane Firstman is an impressive figure: when she played Scrabble in the early ’00s, she consistently ranked highly in her games.
- Cecilia Le
Another stellar Scrabble player is Cecilia Le. Le competed at the National Scrabble Championships in 2013, where she was the only woman in her twenties out of almost a thousand players. She’s definitely an inspiration to other young women looking to dominate the game.
- Kate Fukawa-Connelly
Kate Fukawa-Connelly is a lesson in dedication. The New Jersey-based player has memorized every single five-letter word. Talk about commitment! She now plays Scrabble in Princeton, where she works.
Scrabble expert Lisa Odom first learned Scrabble at Beverly Bridge Club. The New York native, whose day job is as a pension benefits analyst, made it big on the Scrabble scene when she won the Twin Cities and Sioux Falls Scrabble championships back to back in 1995.
One of the more modern names on this list, Annette Obrestad doesn’t just excel at Scrabble – she’s big in poker, too. The Norwegian player plays the high-stakes professionally. Her poker skills almost definitely contribute to her Scrabble success, which has her ranked as the #49 player overall, and the current best female player in the world.
Chloe Fatsis is young, but that doesn’t mean she’s not a force to be reckoned with. The D.C.-based player first got into her Scrabble through her father, who is also heavily into the game. Ranked #50 overall, Fatsis is only in her early twenties, meaning she has huge potential to progress in the field from here. If you’re interested in hearing more about her progress, check out her op-ed about her experience at the Scrabble championships.
Last but definitely not least, Fran Silver is another one of the highest-ranked North American women. Currently ranked #53 overall by the NASPA, Silver has been playing at a high level since 1996 – and is still consistently gaming. The Canada native is currently the world’s third-best female Scrabbler.
The Future of Women in Scrabble
Though women are currently underrepresented amongst Scrabble champions, that doesn’t mean they will be forever! Although the current highest-ranked NASPA player is Annette Obrestad, at #49, there’s a large cluster of women ranked between #49 and #60 on the Scrabble leaderboards. That group shows that women clearly know their way around the Scrabble board. A female Scrabble champion could pop up at any moment!
