[quotient]

Well, so, what makes Nigel Richards the best Scrabble Player on Earth? The article does not even answer its own leading question, which is enormously disappointing (though it is otherwise interesting). There are a couple humorous quotations, and literally two or three sentences that could be interpreted as conjecture as to why Nigel Richards is the best player by such a phenomenally large margin: some loose statements about knowing relevant probabilities.

This article was a perfectly interesting read about how Richards utterly dominates Scrabble, but unfortunately plagued by a totally misleading headline: I was expecting an answer.

[failrate]

One could be pedantic and say that the article correctly explains why he deserves to be "classified" as the best Scrabble player on Earth. The very last line says that he knows every legal Scrabble word. The article also claims that he has a "photographic" memory. That's certainly an important skill to have, but can't be the entire reason. Even the strongest Scrabble AI has a worse rating than Richards. The other aspect that the article mentions is a focus on the current game. Richards is not even interested in games that he has completed. So, the article does not definitively conclude, but it does offer two significant factors that are significant to the question it proposed.

[1337biz]

For the purpose of stimulating the discussion:

The article also claims that he has a "photographic" memory.

--

But a true photographic memory in this sense has never been proved to exist.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/i-developed-what-a...

[judk]

You are misquoting. "Photographic" is a misnomer because exact images are not recalled. But extensive detailed recollection does exist, as the SA article explains.

[michaelt]

Well, the article does say "I try to score points. The goal is to score more points than your opponent." and "I’m not sure there is a secret. It’s just a matter of learning the words."

Perhaps that (incredibly unsatisfying) explanation is actually true?

[thret]

There's a 'how to play chess' book I can't recall the name of, with similarly useless advice:

Rule #2: Make the right move.

[Isofarro]

That worked for Smyslov (7th World Chess Champion), who once quipped:

"I will make 40 good moves and if you are able to do the same, the game will end in a draw."

[pbhjpbhj]

So he brute forces it? What's the time per move in official scrabble tournaments?

[DanBC]

25 minutes for all of your moves.

[dang]

I thought we'd delinkbaitified the title enough last night, but evidently not, so we've sent it in for another round.

[stinos]

exactly. It does show he most likely is the best player, but I too was expecting some interestng theory about how his brain works. That he's somehow capable of some algorithms other humans cannot even grasp. Or something like that, you get the point.

[judk]

For a low-status game like Scrabble, what makes him unique is that people with similar brainpower cluster in more lucrative or rewarding vocations.