The World Sudoku and Puzzle Championship is the most prestigious event in the world, bringing together the finest puzzle-solving minds from across the globe. In 2023, the championship was held in the vibrant city of Toronto, Canada.
The championship featured two main segments: the 16th World Sudoku Championship, took place on October 16th and 17th, and the 30th World Puzzle Championship, from October 19th to 21st.
177 Puzzle enthusiasts in 42 teams from 30 + nations gathered at the Don Valley Hotel and Suites in the North York district of Toronto to showcase their skills and compete for the coveted title of Sudoku World and Puzzle Champions.
Indian team has been participating since 2006 onwards. Previous championships were held in the following countries:-
2023: Toronto (Canada)
2022: Krakow (Poland)
2021: – (cancelled because of coronavirus pandemic)
2020: – (cancelled because of coronavirus pandemic)
2019: Kirchheim (Germany)
2018: Prague (Czech Republic)
2017: Bangalore (India)
2016: Senec (Slovakia)
2015: Sofia (Bulgaria)
2014: London (UK)
2013: Beijing (China)
2012: Kraljevica (Croatia)
2011: Eger (Hungary)
2010: Philadelphia (USA)
2009: Zilina (Slovakia)
2008: Goa (India)
2007: Prague (Czech Republic)
2006: Lucca (Italy)
WSC Results:
Two days of competitive sudoku solving included 100 individual sudoku puzzles and nearly 50 team sudoku spread across 15 rounds.
In the team competition, Japan took 1st place and earned the best team title, their 6th across 16 WSCs, the most of any country. Czechia finished 2nd and the United States of America finished 3rd.
Topping the ranks in individual competition was Tantan Dai (CHN), who won her first World Sudoku title after a couple podium finishes in the last two championships. Tiit Vunk (EST) finished 2nd and Kota Morinishi (JAP) in 3rd.
In the other award categories, Suzhe Qiu (CHN) was the top youth (18 and Under) solver, with Can Erturan (TUR) in 2nd and Tina Bratim (CRO) in 3rd.
Mark Goodliffe of the United Kingdom was the top senior solver (50 and over) with Philippe Meyer (FRA) in 2nd and Laura Tarchetti (ITA) in 3rd.
The top first time competitior was Hannes Sidorov of Estonia, Tsukiko Kitagawa (JAP) in 2nd and Calum Mailer in 3rd.
WPC Results:
WPC involved 22 rounds of intense puzzle competition spread over three days.
After many innovative team rounds with all sorts of tricks and treats, the United States of America showcased their overall strength as a group and won the team title, a record 16th after 30 championships. Japan finished second and Germany finished third.
Ken Endo, now three-time World Champion, won the individual title after showing another year of impressive solving performance across every genre of puzzle. Teammates Walker Anderson of USA (2nd) and Thomas Luo of USA (3rd) took the remaining podium positions.
In the other award categories, Suzhe Qiu (CHN) was the top youth (18 and Under) solver, earning this award at both the World Sudoku Championship and the World Puzzle Championship. Valentin Maikinen (FRA) was 2nd and Maciej Ignaciuk (POL) was 3rd.
In the over 50 category, Deyan Razsadov of Bulgaria was the top senior solver (50 and over) with Claudine Thiry (LUX) in 2nd and Philippe Meyer (FRA) in 3rd.
The top first time competitor was Jeffrey Bardon of USA (who was also 4th place overall!), with Kevin Zhou (USA) in 2nd and Yuan Yao (CHN) in 3rd.
This is the first time that the Indian teams could not participate due to the denial of Visas to the team members.
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