Nigel Richards has won 11 North American and world championships in Scrabble, which is eight more than anyone else. The 57 year old man from New Zealand has earned the title of the best Scrabble player of all times. David Eldar, who is one of the world’s best Scrabble players says that Richards is, “the best player at any game that ever existed.” Another rival player said that he is like a computer and seems to have a photographic memory.
Nigel Richards has even won the French world championship, and doesn’t even speak French! One analysis found that what makes Richards so extraordinary is that he only makes a mistake once every 83.5 moves compared to an average player who makes a mistake every 2.1 moves.
There is not much else that is known about Nigel Richards. He is a private person. But it has been told that he learned how to play Scrabble from his mother who was a secretary. He also enjoys bicycling and rides long distances. But for a person with such magnificent mastery over words, Richards famously uses few to communicate. He turns down interview requests with a crack of a smile and walks away.