Despite three come-from-behind victories, Harvard's Steve Williams failed to qualify for the quarterfinals of the New York City Scrabble tournament in the Brooklyn War Memorial last Sunday. Williams racked up 1183 points, but his total was ten points shy of making the top eight qualifiers and one point short of making it as an alternate.

Williams was forced to play conservatively throughout as he trailed to all three opponents. "I had to close up the board a lot," Williams said.

The Harvard junior picked up 461 points in his first match of the tournament, sponsored by the New York City Department of Public Works in conjunction with Scrabble and Crosword Games Inc. Williams trailed early, but on his fourth move he came up with "juniors," placing the coveted "J" on the triple letter square for a quick 89 points.

In the second game, a mix-up caused Williams to pick up a letter from another player's bag and introduce a second "Q" into the game. The move--which Williams described as "unusual"--was judged within the rules and Williams grabbed 30 points with "quip."

He trailed in the contest by as much as 70 points, but turned it around with a devastating "ceasing" and "log" combination to gain the victory. Williams also pulled out a crushing one-two punch in the third game with "satire" and "teaks." The 66 points from that combo turned it around in Williams' favor.

But for Williams, the bonus words came too late in the games and his conservative play hurt his total score. "If the bonus words had come soon enough," Williams commented, "I wouldn't have had to play such a closed game."