Galesburg Mayor Peter Schwartzman finished 35th out of 53 competitors in the top division of the 34th U.S. National Scrabble Championship, held Aug. 9-14, in the Baltimore suburbs. The tournament, which drew over 300 players from the U.S., Canada, and beyond, also saw Schwartzman win the “late bird” tournament the following day. A competitive Scrabble player for 30 years, Schwartzman, mayor since 2021, has authored six word game books, some sold at Galesburg’s Wordsmith Bookshoppe. He began co-directing local Scrabble tournaments with Darla Krejci in 2024, with the next event set for Sept. 13-14. Interested players can find details at www.cross-tables.com.