What it takes for the Sudoku crown

The USA ‘C’ team competing at the World Sudoku and Puzzle Championships, which accepted 179 elite competitors from 33 countries, in Toronto. — ©2023 The New York Times Company

ON a mid-October Monday, shortly before 9am, 179 elite puzzlers made their way into the ballroom of a Toronto hotel and found their allocated seats for the World Sudoku and Puzzle Championships.

Valentin Miakinen of France positioned a plastic, pigeon-shaped hunting decoy at the front of his desk, for luck. Hwangrae Lee, from Korea, polished his pencil sharpener with a tissue.