Even for a decorated Scrabble whiz, Mr. Richards, who is from New Zealand and lives in Malaysia, has a way with words.

Mr. Richards, 51, was the world Scrabble champion in 2007, 2011 and 2013. He also won the French edition of the championship in 2015 and again this year -- apparently without actually speaking that language. (He is said to have memorized the French Scrabble dictionary.)