Times Sudoku Championship

Since childhood I had the habit of solving puzzles in the newspaper: Sudoku, Kakuru, Loop the Loop, Mind twister, Hitori, Jumble words, Spot the difference, etc. I had been reading about the Times Sudoku Championship in the Bombay Times newspaper. But never thought of giving it a try. Year 2017 has been the year of doing all the things I never thought of. Be it Trekking or Overnight Outing. So, I thought why not participate in the competition. I had attended the competition along with AP friend Chandu (Chandrashekhar Todur) for three consecutive years, 2017 to 2019. He has been participating for quite some years now. Registration is very simple. We need to fill out an online form. Then we receive an SMS about the venue and timings. At the venue, attendance is marked, and our hand is stamped. The participating crowd is overwhelming, from school goers till oldies. We are given a sample sudoku to solve until they start the competition.

Round 1 consists of 4 classic sudoku which are to be completed in 25 mins. Those who solve all 4 sudoku correctly, are eligible for Round 2. Round 2 has 8 sudoku which are to be completed correctly and quickly in an hour. Chandu has been a master and has always qualified for Round 2 and not just that, he had ranked in top 10. My journey is 2 and half complete sudoku in 2017, 3 complete sudoku in 2018, 3 and half complete sudoku in 2019. In 2019, I completed 3 sudoku in 12 mins but could not crack the last one in 13 mins. So disappointing! Never mind. I am determined to qualify for the upcoming competition because I really want to solve the 8 types of sudoku challenge.