Vandana Grover Memorial Online Tournament

The Vandana Grover Memorial Tournament was held online in early March 2023, with the prize distribution being on 12th March, a very significant date because it was Vandana’s birth anniversary.

Vandana was an avid Scrabble player, a passionate reader, a cat lover, an art lover, and an Economics teacher based in Gurgaon. She tragically passed away from Covid in May 2021, leaving a huge void for her family, friends and the Scrabble fraternity. Her kind, gentle mannerisms endeared her to everyone who crossed her path!

The tournament was organized by a group of Scrabble enthusiasts who were close to Vandana – Sudhir, Ela, Shalini, Rustom, Siddharth, Archana and Akshay. The tournament had a great turnout, with 42 participants in Division A and 16 participants in Division B.

For the tournament, Vandana’s husband Rajiv and their daughter Paritosha designed a rotating trophy in her memory.

The prize distribution ceremony was held online on 12th March, with Akshay Hiremath as the Master of Ceremonies. 25 people logged in for the online event. Paritosha was there, representing Vandana’s family. People reflected on their memories of Vandana, and the spot prize winners and overall winners were announced. The spot prizes were given to the highest scoring words in categories relevant to Vandana and her life.

Here’s a list of the winners:

Division A Spot Prizes:

Highest V Word (3 × Rs 200)

1. Vendaces, 95, Shaik
2. Viceroys, 88, Shaila
3. Vicaries, 85, Arindam

Highest CAT Word (2 x Rs 200)

1. Saliceta, 88, Sridhar
2. Lancets, 86, Sanjoy

Highest Books, Teaching Word (2 × Rs 200)

1. Reedits, 83, Nalini
2. Protégé, 76, Patrick

Highest K Word (2 × Endgame)

1. Kilowatt, 104, Raman
2. Killies, 70, Hema

Highest ART Word (1 x Fridge Magnet)

1. Boasters, 149, Arindam

Highest Animal Word (1 × Endgame)

1. Dehorned, 102, Hriday

Highest Nature Word (1 × Fridge Magnet)

1. Savines, 92, Rahil

Highest VAN Word (3 × Rs 200)

1. Inweaves, 101, Hema
2. Invalids, 99, Shaila
3. Vendaces, 95, Shaik

Division B Spot Prizes

Highest V Word (3 × Rs 200)

1. Vantage, 70, Vasudha
2. Valiant, 63, Viral
3. Vagus, 51, Shobha

Highest CAT Word (2 × Rs 200)

1. Eroticas, 70, Vasudha
2. None reported

Highest Books, Teaching Word (2 × Rs 200)

1. Brainy, 22, Viral
2. None reported

Highest K Word (2 × Endgame)

1. Keepings, 72, Mohit
2. Kept, 38, Bhawani

Highest ART Word (1 × Fridge Magnet)

1. Breasts, 90, Viral

Highest Animals Word (1 × Endgame)

1. Garrots, 84, Viral

Highest Nature Word (1 × Fridge Magnet)

1. None reported

Highest VAN Word (3 × Rs 200)

1. Vantage, 70, Vasudha
2. Avoiding, 66, Viral
3. None reported

• Division A Overall Winners

1. Hriday ( Vandana Memorial Trophy winner and Rs 2,000 prize)
2. Krishnan
3. Shaik
4. Sanjoy
5. Arindam

• Division B Winners

1. Mohit (Rs 2,000 prize)
2. Manit
3. Shiv
4. Viral
5. Meghali

Hriday made the beautiful gesture of giving his prize money to Vandana’s favourite charity. Mohit did the same, as did some of the spot prize winners. A beautiful ending to a great tournament in the memory of a wonderful human being!

Div A Standings

Div B Standings