'G' goes missin- at Scrabble championship

WARSAW, Poland -- Two competitors at the World Scrabble Championships were asked to empty their pockets when a letter "G" went missing.

An official said yesterday that the disappearance of a "G" tile occurred during the international event, which was held in the Polish capital Oct. 12-16.

Brian Dede, the event coordinator, said a referee had to intervene when opponents Edward Martin from Britain and Chollapat Itthi-Aree from Thailand noticed a missing tile during the last draw of their match.

He said that led to a search on and under the table, and that both players "were asked to show the contents of their pockets."

The missing letter was nowhere to be found, so the referee added another "G" to the letters to create a complete set. -- AP