TRIP PAYNE RETIRES FROM ACPT

Trip Payne has announced on his Facebook page that he will no longer be competing at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.

The three-time ACPT champion (1994, 1998 and 2004) cited the expense of attending the tournament - he recently moved to Los Angeles from his longtime home of Boca Raton, Florida - as one of the reasons that he will no longer attend the tournament.

Payne was one of the super-solvers featured prominently in the documentary "Wordplay", which chronicled Trip's second-place finish to Tyler Hinman. It was one of five second-place finishes and three third-place finishes in his ACPT career. Overall, Payne finished in the money 11 times over roughly 20 years of competing, in addition to a slew of geographic and age-level awards.

Trip's LiveJournal page notes that he has been considering retirement from the ACPT since at least September of last year.

Crossword App Comes To Facebook

Crossword constructors who've gravitated to Facebook for conversation and fellowship now have a major-league puzzle application that includes tournament and head-to-head play, as well as solo play.

Crosswords by PuzzleSocial features puzzles from the AV Club, Newsday, and CrosSynergy groups, as well as custom Celebrity crosswords. The constructors and editors are all major players. So you know it's good stuff.

There are three daily head to head contests. The Celebrity puzzle at 3:00 p.m. Eastern, the Newsday puzzle at 9:30 p.m., and the CrosSynergy puzzle at 10:00 p.m. There will also be challenge solving added to the app soon so you can test your skills against a foe of your choosing. The solving app is very similar to Across Lite and worked quite well on a few test puzzles. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

ACPT 35 Registration Now Open

Registration has now opened for the 35th American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, which lasts from March 16-18. The program is still being hammered into place but this year we will have new commentators for the Sunday morning puzzles: Greg Pliska and Liane Hansen.

As most of the puzzles will be solved this year on St. Patrick's Day, potential contestants must be aware of traffic delays if going through Manhattan, where the annual parade will be staged.

The cost for all events, if paid in full before March 9, is $250. Hotel rooms at the Marriott are going for $213/night. More details at www.crosswordtournament.com.

New Fan of "Wordplay"

Late to the table, but welcome nonetheless, is actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who plays Mitchell Pritchett on "Modern Family". He recently had "Wordplay" come up in his Netflix queue, and loved it.

Ferguson tweeted to his over 220,000 followers, "After watching the great documentary 'Wordplay' I am certain I just saw insight in to the world of the people who spell check my tweets."

We won't tell him that "in to" is one word.... will we?

Kiran Kedlaya's In "Jeopardy!"... but not for long

Kiran Kedlaya, who is a perennial top-10 finisher at the ACPT, appeared on "Jeopardy!" on November 29 and 30, 2011, winning one match and a total of $32,801, including a $2000 consolation prize.

Kedlaya's best ACPT finish came in 2006, when he finished second to Tyler Hinman in the A finals.

Election Results....

One less crossword constructor will be sitting on the council in Rye, New York. Paula Gamache lost her re-election bid last night.

Joon Pahk Reaches "Jeopardy!" Semi-Finals

As he did in many of his games before, Joon Pahk made quick work of his opponents Tom Kunzen and John Krizel in the "Jeopardy!" Tournament of Champions quarterfinal round, winning convincingly on Friday night's episode. The semifinal rounds begin airing on Wednesday, November 9th and involve the five quarterfinal winners and the four players who had the highest dollar totals. UPDATE: Pahk's semi final game will air on Friday, November 11. The finals will take place on November 14 and 15.

Pahk was the only contestant who got the Final Jeopardy! clue: "Harpo Marx attended this organization's last meeting at NYC's Rose Room in 1943; there was nothing left to say." Correct response: "What is the Algonquin Round Table?"

Bob Mackey Prevails Yet Again At Westchester

Bob Mackey continued his dominance of the Westchester Crossword Tournament last evening at the new Westchester Table Tennis Center, beating second-place finisher Jeffrey Schwartz and third-place finisher Elaine Lippman by about two minutes on the Thursday, October 27 New York Times Crossword. Bob has now won four of the last five Westchester Tournaments, with the one off year being two years ago when Schwartz won. And the year prior to beginning his almost unbroken string, Bob and Dave won one of the team trophies and finished first on each of the first three puzzles.

Photos and additional details forthcoming.

Pahk's "Jeopardy!" Run Ends; TOC Next

With no Daily Doubles to buttress his score, Joon Pahk failed in his eighth episode of "Jeopardy!" and leaves with $201,000 in cash and a Tournament of Champions berth. He will make his first TOC appearance on Friday, November 4.

Pahk now ranks sixth on the all time list of "Jeopardy!" money winners, not counting tournaments or other special events.

The $199,000 Answer: Who is Joon Pahk?

The oft-intersecting worlds of crosswords and game shows have been colliding for roughly the last week or so. Joon Pahk, B division winner of the 2010 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament and also a constructor, has been making regular appearances on "Jeopardy!" and thanks to broad general knowledge and kamikaze wagering on Daily Doubles, has amassed $199,000 over his first seven appearances on the program. (Opponents found both Daily Doubles in the Double Jeopardy! round on Tuesday's program, but Pahk still made it a runaway.) As early as his second or third appearance on the program, Alex Trebek was already making comparisons to Ken Jennings, the show's all time money winner. Pahk can't say if he's still taping the show or how much he's won, but he's been reporting nightly on his adventures to his Facebook friends after the show has aired. Nancy Shack has been making his appearances available on YouTube; later today we'll post a complete list of links so you can track his progress.

It's generally held that the best showing by a crossword personality on a game show prior to Pahk's run has been that of Stanley Newman, the New York Newsday crossword editor, who won $112,480 (about $177,000 adjusted for inflation) on the 1991 program "The Challengers", hosted by Dick Clark and produced by game show master Ronnie Greenberg. (Yes, Jennings competed at Stamford in 2006 and won C division and rookie trophies - that was also the year I won the D trophy - but he hasn't been back to the tournament.)

There have been a number of other crossword and other puzzle folk who've been on "Jeopardy!" including Ellen Ripstein, Stella Zawistowski, and Scott Weiss, whose crafty wagering enabled the show's first and only three-way tie. Comment if you know of others and I'll add them to this post.

Jeopardy! Alert

The intersection set of crossword mavens and Jeopardy! contestants has grown by one. Joon Pahk made his first appearance on the program Monday evening and won his game. He will be back on tonight's show; check local listings.

15th Westchester Set For October 21

Friday, October 21, will be the 15th annual Westchester Crossword Tournament, which will be held at the Westchester Table Tennis Center, 175 Tompkins Avenue, Pleasantville. Begins at 7:30. Can you beat defending champion Bob Mackey?

Fourth Annual Bay Area Crossword Tournaments

Congratulations to Jordan Chodorow for winning the fourth annual Bay Area Crossword Tournament. Chodorow noted on his Facebook page that the tournament win was made possible by two-time defending champ Eric Maddy's absence this year. Reed Galbraith was second and Eric LeVasseur was third.

Brooklyn's Crossword King And Queen Duke It Out

Brooklyn Brainery will present a seminar on "Solving Crossword Puzzles" on Monday, August 15, at 8:30 p.m. Cost is $15. The seminar will be moderated by Brooklyn's own Francis Heaney and Stella Daily Zawistowski, who will compete to see who is the Brooklyn crossword champ. Brooklyn Brainery is at 515 Court Street in Brooklyn.

Puzzle Brothers Set To Do Battle At Lollapuzzoola 4

Originated three years ago by Ryan Hecht and Brian Cimmet, we didn't lend all that much credence to the Lollapuzzoola tournament, but we now admit that the two gentlemen have created a monster, and possibly the best-attended tournament on the East Coast this side of Brooklyn. Last year's champion of the "Express" division was Jeffrey Harris, and the "Local" winner was Jeffrey Dubner.

This year, with Patrick Blindauer taking over co-administrative reins from Hecht, the tournament is moving to Manhattan, to the more spacious All Souls Church on Lexington Avenue. Even more exciting than that, this year, for the first time, The Puzzle Brothers will be there! one Puzzle Brother will be there. Dave is unable to attend due to a family event.

The tournament format will be five puzzles everyone solves plus one challenger at the end, using the same dry-erase boards from the big tournament. The puzzle constructors include Doug Peterson, Elizabeth C. Gorski, Mike Nothnagel, Tony Orbach, Andrea Carla Michaels, and Byron Walden. Solvers can compete in "Express" or "Local" classifications, or can team up. Unlike in the big tournament, solvers can also get help if stuck via something called "Google Tickets". There will also be group games and admittedly modest prizes.

The cost to participate in the tournament is $25, and if you want pizza and ice cream you can kick in another $5. If you just want to stand around and watch, fork over $10.

More information at http://bemoresmarter.squarespace.com. The Puzzle Brothers look forward to seeing you there - and competing.

Westchester Table Tennis Center Grand Opening

Owned and managed by Will Shortz and Robert Roberts, the Westchester Table Tennis Center will have its grand opening on Saturday, July 16, from 10:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m. Admission and all play is free on Saturday, including the opportunity to play the master himself as Will has pledged to take on all comers. (Be ready for a workout. Will knows his stuff.) The club had its soft opening in May.

The address is 175 Tompkins Avenue in Pleasantville. This is signficant because sometime in the fall, Shortz will fold up the table tennis tables and host the 15th annual Westchester Crossword Tournament there, moving there from the St. John Episcopal Church.

Recent Tournament Action!

We would like to congratulate Jeffrey Schwartz, longtime friend of the show, on his winning the Boston Crossword Puzzle Tournament on April 23. Matthew Mattera was second and Jan O'Sullivan was third.

Just this past sunday, the Crosswords LA Tournament was held at Loyola Marymount University, and the winner of that tournament was Jordan Chodorow, with Eric LeVasseur coming in second and Eric Maddy placing third. Congratulations again to everyone!

Maura Jacobson Retiring From New York Magazine Crossword

Maura B. Jacobson is putting away her grids. The veteran crossword constructor has announced her retirement from the New York Magazine crossword, a slot that she has held since 1980.

Ms. Jacobson had learned puzzlecraft at the feet of the first New York Times crossword editor, Margaret Farrar. Jacobson had been hired to do a crossword for a magazine that was eventually folded into New York, Cue, at the recommendation of Will Weng. Beginning in May of 1980, Jacobson's byline had begun appearing in New York Magazine, usually appearing with a cryptic puzzle. Jacobson's puzzles were hardly brain-busters, but were accessible to casual solvers and always great fun. Even before that, Jacobson had been tapped by a brash young crossword editor named Will Shortz to provide one puzzle a year for the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Jacobson's Puzzle No. 6 slot hopefully will continue in perpetuity.

Signs that the Jacobson era was soon to end started appearing last year, when Cathy Allis (Millhauser) shouldered half of Jacobson's workload. Allis will take on the construction chore full time after the final Jacobson puzzle appears, at a date yet to be determined. But the legacy of Jacobson lives on. Constructor Liz Gorski noted on her blog that "...Maura's extensive puzzle-ography has had a profound effect on my confidence as a solver...and later, as an aspiring puzzle writer. Seeing a woman's byline over that big New York puzzle each week made all the difference. Maybe I could make a puzzle some day. And if Maura B. Jacobson uses a byline with a middle initial ... so will I."

CoverItLive Replay of ACPT Finals

TWO-TIMIN' DAN

In much the manner he did last year, Dan Feyer took home his second straight American Crossword Puzzle Tournament championship in what had to be the most exciting finals since Tyler Hinman took home his last title two years ago.

Feyer earned his second bowl and $5,000 check, defeating the aforementioned Hinman, who returned to the finals this year by besting fourth-place contestant Francis Heaney by one minute on Puzzle #7, and another returning finalist, Anne Erdman.

All of the contestants who made podium appearances today completed their puzzles cleanly with no mistakes including David Plotkin, who defeated Ken Stern for the B title by a mere fraction of a second.

Dave Mackey briefly spoke with the happy winner.



Both Puzzle Brothers slipped from their 2010 rankings. Bob finished 67th and Dave finished 70th.

Once again, a very well-run tournament, thanks to Will Shortz, Helene Hovanec, Doug Heller, and a team of devoted judges. This year's contestant figure stabilized at 655, ahead of last year's 643 but still off the all time 2008 record of 699.

Shortz ended by stating that the 35th American Crossword Puzzle Tournament would be held at the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott on March 16-18. 2012.

More videos will be coming over the course of the night, including a review of the talent show today.