Scripps Spelling Bee 2021: Zaila Avant-garde Wins Last Updated July 8, 2021, 10:00 p.m. ETJuly 8, 2021, 10:00 p.m. ET Zaila Avant-garde, the winner of the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee.Credit...Scott McIntyre for The New York Times The last few words were rattled off in a swift spelling duel, with only two finalists still on the stage, Chaitra Thummala and Zaila Avant-garde. First was fewtrils (things of little value), which Chaitra, a 12-year-old who just finished sixth grade in San Francisco, got right. Then retene (a chemical isolated especially from pine tar, rosin oil and various ...