sql query syntax

[Girija Mittagunta]

Hi,

I need to do a query as follows


select max(scores) from
(select sum(scores) AS scores, player from gametable group by player) AS tbl;

i.e. I need to calulate sum of scores for each player and then I need to find the max score amongst all players.

I keep getting error as follows
You have an error in your SQL syntax. Check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use

I tried even simple nested queries as

select player from (select * from gametable) AS g;

I get the same error no 1064 with the above message.

I am comparing my statement with an example in the sql documentation
SELECT sb1,sb2,sb3
FROM (SELECT s1 AS sb1, s2 AS sb2, s3*2 AS sb3 FROM t1) AS sb
WHERE sb1 > 1;

How can I make these nested queries work in mysql.
I have mysql version 4.0.21 server installed on my windowsXP machine.

Thanks.
Girija