More News About Team USA 
and the World Puzzle Championship

2007 Philadelphia Inquirer U.S. Sudoku Championship Announced

Philadelphia, USA (May 24, 2007) The Philadelphia Inquirer announced today that it will sponsor the 1st Sudoku National Championship, October 19-21, 2007.

The event will be hosted by Will Shortz and sanctioned by the U.S. Puzzle Championship organization. The winner will receive a $10,000 prize and an expense-paid trip to the 2008 World Sudoku Championship in India as a member of the U.S. Sudoku Team.

See the Philadelphia Inquirer Sudoku web site for the latest information about the championship.

2006 Google U.S. Puzzle Championship Announced

Mountain View, USA (May 15, 2006) The Google U.S. Puzzle Championship will be held on Saturday June 17, 2006 at 1pm ET. Please read the rules and register here before June 15, 2006.

The top two U.S. contestants will be selected to join the U.S. Team at the World Puzzle Championship in Bulgaria on October 7-12.

Germany wins 14th World Puzzle Championship
Team USA and American Wei-Hwa Huang place 2nd

Eger, Hungary, (Oct 12, 2005) Over 150 puzzlers from 27 countries around the world attended the World Puzzle Championship (WPC) in Hungary this week. After 12 grueling rounds of individual and team solving, Germany emerged as the winner, with Team USA in second, and Japan in third.

The competition finale was a "horserace" playoff among the top ten individuals in front of a live audience. Finalist were to advance from one table to the next as they solved each puzzle�the first competitor completing the final table to be crowned champion.

German Ulrich Voigt started with a 5:26 minute time advantage based on his performance over the prior two days. Seeded second and fourth were past championship Niels Roest and Wei-Hwa Huang, both catching up to Ulrich by the seventh puzzle. Wei-Hwa moved ahead after the eighth puzzle, and decided to skip the ninth, taking a 5-minute penalty. He then solved the final puzzle quickly, but had to wait out his penalty with the hope that none of the other competitors could catch up. Ulrich was up to the challenge, finishing off the last two puzzles with two minutes to spare, earning his fourth individual championship.

Also in the finals were American Roger Barkan, placing 5th, and Canadian Byron Calver, placing 8th. Rounding out the U.S. team were Jonathan Rivet (12th) and Zack Butler (13th) Representing Canada were Derek Kisman (30th) Erick Wong (68th) and Gary Sherman (73rd).

For the first time, the U.S. sent a second team to compete unofficially, comprised of all first-time competitors. This group did incredibly well, and would have come in 7th place overall if they were an official team. B-team members were Thomas Snyder (15th), Dan Katz (35th), Craig Helfgott (39th), and Tyler Hinman (45th).

Thanks to team sponsors Google, ThinkFun, and Puzzles@Random for their support.

 

Zack Butler wins 2005 Google U.S. Puzzle Championship

Mountain View, USA (June 22, 2005) Zack Butler solved 21 out of 22 puzzles, scoring 385 out of a possible 395 points, to win the 2005 U.S. Puzzle Championship title. Wei-Hwa Huang, the 2003 winner, also solved 21 puzzles and is runner-up. Jonathan Rivet placed third, and former champion Roger Barkan was fourth. All four will represent the U.S. at the World Puzzle Championship in Hungary on October 8-13.

Solutions and final statistics are available on the Championship Summary Page.

Thanks go to the puzzles designers: Erich Friedman, Cihan Altay, Craig Kasper, Michael Rios, Shawn Kennedy, Scott Kim, Patrick Merrell, Jay Baxter, Will Shortz, and Nancy Schuster.

2005 Google U.S. Puzzle Championship Announced

Mountain View, USA (May 1, 2005) The U.S. Puzzle Championship will be held on Saturday June 18, 2005 at 1pm ET. Please read the rules and register here before June 16, 2005.

The top two U.S. contestants will be selected to join the U.S. Team at the World Puzzle Championship in Hungary on October 8-13.

Team USA regains WPC Team Championship
Niels Roest wins second individual title
American Roger Barkan takes 3rd place

Opatija, Croatia (Oct 17, 2004)   Puzzlers from 25 countries attended the 13th World Puzzle Championship in Croatia this week. After three days of competitive solving, Team USA emerged the victor, with the teams from Germany and Hungary close behind. This was Team USA's eighth team title.

Roger "The Thinker" Barkan
on stage during the finals

In individual competition the top 13 qualified for the playoff rounds, where groups of three puzzlers at a time competed head-to-head-to-head in the elimination brackets. American Roger Barkan won two rounds to make it to the finals, meeting up with former champions Ulrich Voigt of Germany and Niels Roest of The Netherlands. Niels Roest solved 5 of the 6 problems to win the title; Ulrich was second, and Roger placed third. American Wei-Hwa Huang (5th place) and Canadian Byron Calver (6th place) both qualified for the playoffs but were eliminated in the first round.

Also representing Team USA, Joe DeVincentis finished 19th, and Jonathan Rivet was 26th. From Canada, Derek Kisman finished 15th, David Savitt was 35th, and Gary Sherman came in 67th.

 

Roger Barkan wins 2004 Google U.S. Puzzle Championship

San Francisco, USA (June 23, 2004) Last year's runner-up, Roger Barkan, correctly solved 22 of 25 puzzles, earning 367 points and cruised to a decisive victory in the 2004 Google U.S. Puzzle Championship. Second place went to 2001 runner-up Jonathan Rivet with 342 points. Third place was Joseph DeVincentis with 317 points. Jonathan and Joseph will be the two new U.S. Team members who will complete at the World Puzzle Championship in Opatija, Croatia in October. Exempt from qualifying for the team was defending U.S. champion Wei-Hwa Huang, who was unable to take the test at the official time, but unofficially also scored 317 points.

Solutions, scores and statistics will be available at the Results Page as they become available.

Top individual scores are now posted.

Thanks go to the puzzle designers: Cihan Altay, Robert Abbott, Eric Friedman, Glenn Iba, Craig Kasper, Shawn Kennedy, Scott Kim, Patrick Merrell, Michael Rios, Moshe Rubin, Nancy Schuster, Will Shortz, Jimmy Stephens, and Dave Tuller.

2004 Google U.S. Puzzle Championship Announced

San Francisco, USA (April 16, 2004) The U.S. Puzzle Championship will be held on Saturday June 19, 2004 at 1pm EDT. Please read the rules and register here before June 17, 2004.

The top two US contestants will be selected to join the U.S. Team at the World Puzzle Championship in Opatija, Croatia on October 12-17.

Germany edges out Team USA at World Puzzle Championship
Americans Wei-Hwa Huang and Roger Barkan place 2nd and 3rd

Papendal, The Netherlands, (Oct 18, 2003) Over 100 puzzlers from 25 countries around the world attended the World Puzzle Championship (WPC) in the Netherlands this week. After 14 grueling rounds of individual and team solving, Germany emerged as the winner, with Team USA in second, and Netherlands a very close third.

The competition finale was a single-elimination playoff among the top eight individuals in front of a live audience. Top seeds Ulrich Voigt and Wei-Hwa Huang breezed though the brackets, setting up a much anticipated final match between the two former WPC champions. In a battle that rivaled Frasier vs. Ali, it was Ulrich Voigt delivering the knock-out blow, winning his third title in four years!

See the 2003 WPC Results page for selected results and photos.

Wei-Hwa Huang wins 2003 Google Puzzle Championship

San Francisco, USA (June 6, 2003) Wei-Hwa Huang, competing for a spot on the U.S. Team for the first time in ten years, held off a challenge from teammate Roger Barkan to win the 2003 Google U.S. Puzzle Championship by a narrow 345 to 340 point margin. Germany Ulrich Voigt was close behind and led the international scoring with 330 points. Byron Calver was the top Canadian with a score of 255.

Also qualifying for the U.S. Team were Todd Geldon (275 points) and Michael Miller (winning a tiebreaker at 245 points over Zack Butler and Jonathan Rivet). Also qualifying for the Canadian team are Karen Andrien (215 points) and Trevor Green (200 points). 

Solutions, scores and statistics are available at the Results Summary page.

Thanks go to the puzzle designers, without whom this competition would not be possible: Cihan Altay, Ken Duisenberg, Erich Friedman, Craig Kasper, Shawn Kennedy, Sidney Kravitz, Patrick Merrell, Michael Rios, Moshe Rubin, Steve Ryan, Nancy Schuster, Will Shortz, Dave Tuller, Harry Nelson, and Jimmy Stephens.

And thanks to test solvers: Niels Roest (2003 Dutch champion), Craig Kasper, and Hans Eendebak.


2003 Google U.S. Puzzle Championship Announced

San Francisco, USA (May 1, 2003) The U.S. Puzzle Team has named Google as lead and name sponsor of the U.S. Puzzle Championship. 

The Google U.S. Puzzle Championship will be held on May 31, 2003 at 1pm EDT (GMT-4). Please read the rules and register here before May 29, 2003.

The top two US contestants will be selected to join the U.S. Team at the World Puzzle Championship in October (see sidebar). Prizes will be awarded to the top 25 U.S. contestants. Team Canada will also select members based on the results of this competition.

The U.S. Team, winner of seven world titles, is coming off of a disappointing third place finish at last year's WPC. Team captain Nick Baxter expects the magic to return, stating "I'm very excited about our new partnership with Google; I expect the publicity to broaden our talent search and that we can repeat our tremendous performance in The Netherlands in 1996." 

Google, the world's most popular search engine, is challenging the most logical minds in America. As the leading sponsor for the Google U.S. Puzzle Championship, Google expresses its commitment both to solving problems and to encouraging recreational brain use.

Perhaps this Google search will find you!

New Book of WPC Puzzles Published

New York, CA (April 15, 2003) The U.S. Team and Random House announced today the publication of Volume 4 of World- Class Puzzles from the World Puzzle Championship. This includes puzzles from the 10th WPC in Brno, Czech Republic, and the 2001 U.S. Team Qualifying Test. Click here for more information.

2003 US Puzzle Championship Announced

San Francisco, USA (Jan 10, 2003) The US Puzzle Championship will be held on May 31, 2003 at 1pm ET. All prospective participants should read the rules and register here before May 29, 2003.

The top two US contestants will be selected to join the US Team at the World Puzzle Championship in the Netherlands. Prizes will be awards to the top 25 US contestants. 

Japan, Neils Roest win titles at 
11th World Puzzle Championship

Oulu, Finland (Sept 28, 2002) In one of the most closely contested championships ever, Japan won its first ever title at the World Puzzle Championship. Japan scored 1,905 points, just barely ahead of Germany (1,898) and perennial favorite Team USA (1,874).

Team Japan

Neils Roest, Dutch national champion, won the individual title, edging out Germany's brother-combination of Ulrich and Roland Voigt.

The individual title was decided by a final round, putting the top competitors of the first two days of competition in a 30-minute, head-to-head battle of wits. Two-time champion Ulrich Voigt surged to the early lead, solving five of the ten problems in the first 7� minutes. But after a slow start, perhaps distracted by malfunctioning equipment, Neils surged at the end, completing three problems in the final 5 minutes.

Team USA had one of it's roughest outings in recent memory, placing just one individual in the top-10. Roger Barkan led the team in 6th place, followed by Zack Butler (13th), Ron Osher (16th), and Wei-Hwa Huang (20th). Canadian Derek Kisman placed 4th for his third consecutive top-10 finish.

The US Team would like to thank Erja Gullst�n (director), Juha Hyv�nen (competition director) and the other organizers from Ahaa!, the Finnish Puzzle Association, for hosting a marvelous championship.

Dutch Organizers Announce Site for 
12th World Puzzle Championship

Oulu, Finland (Sept 26, 2002) The 12th World Puzzle Championship will be held in Papendal, Netherlands, October 14-19, 2002. Further details will be announced later this year by the World Puzzle Federation (WPF) and PuzzelSport, sponsors of the Dutch National Team.

Croatia Named as Site of 13th WPC in 2004

Oulu, Finland (Sept 26, 2002) The World Puzzle Federation (www.worldpuzzle.org) announced today that Croatia was named the host for the 2004 World Puzzle Championship. Croatian organizers added that the host city would be Opatija, on the northern Dalmatian Coast of the Adriatic.

 

2002 Qualifying Test Results Announced

San Francisco, CA (June 18, 2002) For the second year in a row, Roger "Tiger" Barkan solved all but one of the Qualifying Test puzzles, leading all scoring with 355 out of a possible 375 points. Roger will rejoin the US Team for the 11th World Puzzle Championship in Finland later this year.

All results (individual scores, solutions, and test statistics) are available at the 2002 Test Summary Page.  

Prizes will be awards to the top 25 US contestants, courtesy of team sponsors Random House and Binary Arts. 

Thanks go to the puzzle designers, without whom the competition would not be possible: 
Craig Kasper (4), Patrick Merrell (2), Dave Tuller (3), Michael Rios (1), Erich Friedman (5), Will Shortz (1), Ken Duisenberg (1), Moshe Rubin (1), Sidney Kravitz (1), Robert Wainright (1), Nancy Schuster (1), and Nob Yoshigahara (4).

If you didn't have a chance to take the test, you can do it any time; just go to the Official Test Page.

New Book of WPC Puzzles Published

New York, CA (March 25, 2002) Team USA and Random House announced today the publication of puzzles from the 9th WPC in Stamford, CT. Click here for more information.

Team USA Wins Fourth Straight Team Title
at 10th World Puzzle Championship

Brno, Czech Republic (Oct 13, 2001) Team USA made it four in a row by winning the team title at the World Puzzle Championship last week. The team was led by Zack Butler and Wei-Hwa Huang, placing 3rd and 4th respectively in the individual competition. Not far behind were Ron Osher (10th) and first-time competitor Roger Barkan (12th).

Germany Ulrich Voigt is on his own hot streak, making it two in a row himself by retaining the individual title, sneaking past former champion Robert Babilon in the final afternoon. The top Canadian team member was Derek Kisman in ninth place.

Team USA at the 10th WPC in Brno Czech Republic:
Zack Butler, Roger Barkan, Nick Baxter (captain), Ron Osher, Wei-Hwa Huang

Click here for a more complete summary with results for top individuals and teams.

Roger Barkan Selected to 2001 US Team

San Francisco, CA (June 9, 2001) Two Americans, Roger Barkan and Jonathan Rivet, distanced themselves from the rest of the competition, each solving 25 of the 26 puzzles! But it was Roger, on the strength of solving the difficult last puzzle (Fences Variation), who pulled away to victory, scoring an impressive 325 out of 345 possible points.

Note: the top 20 US competitors will receive a $25 gift certificate from Random House. The top 25 will receive the new Metro Puzzle from Binary Arts.

The top Canadians were Derek Kisman (250) and Byron Calver (215). 

In the unofficial international competition, David McNeill, of Belfast, came out on top with a very strong score of 265. He was followed closely at 260 by Niels Roest of the Netherlands.

The top scores and full results are posted HERE.

Thanks go to the puzzle designers, without whom this competition would not be possible: 
Craig Kasper (6), Sid Kravitz (4), Erich Friedman (3), Will Shortz (3), Michael Rios (2), Moshe Rubin (2), Steve Ryan (1), Robert Abbott (1), Pat Merrell (1), and Harry Nelson (1).

The solution page and test statistics are HERE. 

Try the test yourself: download the test PDF file.

Team USA Three-Peats for World Puzzle Championship

Stamford, CT (Oct 15, 2000) Last year, the 9th World Puzzle Championship returned to the United States for the first time since its inception in 1992. What a homecoming it was! The host US team was hospitable in every way, except when it came to dispatching the competition � running away with the team title for the third year in a row.

Team USA at the 9th WPC in Stamford, CT: Stan Newman (Random House), Wei-Hwa Huang, Alan Lemm, Zack Butler, Ron Osher.

Among the top 10 individual finalists were US Team members Wei-Hwa Huang (2nd), Zack Butler (6th) and Ron Osher (9th), and Canadian Derek Kisman (7th). Click here for complete individual and team results.

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