In my estimation there are probably about 2000 players at this level in the world. These players have embarked on a journey of studying countless number of words and have a sophisticated strategy which would at times negate basic principles. ANY PLAYER in this category could end up beating the BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD ( given the right tiles ).
The players at this level would be ABSOLUTELY SURE of the words that the players in the category above them would be required to know. THE HIGH-END EXPERT would have an extensive vocabulary which I will discuss at length in a separate section.
Players at this level would typically have the following ratings.
WESPA above 1300
UK above 130
SL above 1000
A recent annotated game against Radinka ( the best U18 femaile player in SL ) – a HIGH-END EXPERT, This game was played at a recent local tournament. The concepts discussed here is only applicable to those at the HIGH–END EXPERT level.