Ex-TN chief secy does it 'to the T', lifts Scrabble GM title

AGE is just a number, they say. Proving the dictum right is former Tamil Nadu chief secretary Mohan Verghese Chunkath, who has now become one among India's first seven grandmasters in Scrabble, at 69.

- SIDDHARTH PRABHAKAR @ Chennai

A few days ago, the Scrabble Association of India (SAI) announced the launch of the Scrabble Tile system which recognises player excellence, much like in chess, on the lines of United Kingdom's ABSP rankings.

Chunkath, a retired IAS officer who has been playing Scrabble, a globally popular word board game that mixes intricate knowledge of English with strategy, competitively for around three decades was recognised as a national grandmaster based on his performance in any two-year window between January 2015 and December 2022.

Not many are of his league, as the former civil servant is so passionate about English language that he says he reads the dictionary for fun.