Cesar del Solar is a computer programmer working for Leftronic and a top Scrabble player, and is the webmaster for breakingthegame.net. He is also the creator of Aerolith, as well as several other Scrabble programs and applications. He is currently rated #14 in the US (#17 overall), and has won nearly 20 tournaments in the state of California alone.
Q: Where are you from?
Cesar: I’m originally from Caracas, Venezuela, but currently living in Pasadena, California.
Q: What got you into tournaments?
Cesar: So I was playing on Yahoo Literati and my friend James Leong told me there was a tournament in LA, and he found it for me, and I finally went and I was hooked.
Q: What makes you good at Scrabble?
Cesar: I guess I’m sort of a perfectionist, and… I think that every turn is a puzzle. I just try to think about a solution every time.
Q: At what point did you realize that you were a Scrabble fanatic?
Cesar: I think it was at my second tournament, I was at Vegas, and I won 1700 dollars, and I was like “wow, I can make money playing!” and I was just hooked. I bought a board, and a little palm pilot so I could look up words.
Q: Why do you care about winning?
Cesar: I guess it feels good to be recognized for something… for an achievement that someone else cares about.
Q: In three words, how would your friends describe you?
Cesar: Emo, neurotic, and nice.
Q: Why is Scrabble important?
Cesar: I think it’s a fantastic game, and that more people should play it. You get to learn a wonderful language, and it’s great to work your mind, on weekends. I just think it’s a great game.