UK Scrabble champions congregate in Allesley

Europe's largest Scrabble tournament has opened in Coventry.



It is the fifth year the UK Open has been held in the city, with 56 matches planned over the six-day event.

Warm-up games started at the Quality Hotel on Birmingham Road on Tuesday, building up to the finals, featuring the game's grandmasters, on Sunday.

Players from across the globe, including world champion Nigel Richards, will be competing for a prize fund worth £10,000.

Richards, who won the title for the second time in Poland last year, represents New Zealand, but now lives in Malaysia.

Scrabble was invented in 1938 by American-born architect Alfred Butts.