Deb Amlen Taking Over NYT "Wordplay" Blog

The New York Times will be introducing a new crossword blogger after the first of the year. Crossword constructor Deb Amlen will be taking over the "Wordplay" blog from Jim Horne, with frequent guest appearances by Patrick Merrell. Deb will give daily commentary on the New York Times puzzles. The blog replaced the old message boards on the New York Times website several years ago.

Deb should be expected to lace her blog with a dose of her trademark humor - she has her own humor blog called "Can't You Get Along With Anybody?" at http://www.debamlen.com, and this year published her first book, "It's Not PMS, It's You!: A Totally Non-Hormonal Analysis of Male Behavior". In addition to appearing in all the usual crossword markets, Deb also creates the puzzles for Bust Magazine. The Puzzle Brothers wish Deb well in her new adventure!

Ben Bass at Westchester

Ben Bass recently competed at the Westchester Tournament. He sat next to... well, let's put this way, in his words... "Now I know why no one wants the stall next to Tiger Woods at the driving range."

The Fabulous Fifties

In 2011, the Puzzle Brothers will become eligible to compete in age-related brackets at the ACPT for the first time. Coming off a very strong Westchester Tournament win in which he swept all the puzzles, Bob Mackey is going to be the new force in the 50's age bracket. (Me, minorly so.)

We are absolutely pleased to be in the same company, albeit for a few years, with former champions Ellen Ripstein (who will join the 60's bracket for the 2013 tournament) and Jon Delfin (2015), as well as prominent non-winner Al Sanders, who at the age of 52 is our closest contemporary among the elite solvers. By 2019, Trip Payne will be in his 50's as well... it's going to be interesting to see if we can all hold our skills as we rack up more tournament experience.

Westchester Tournament Moving

Aah, the charm of St. John's Episcopal Church. Great place to have a crossword get-together. Unfortunately, the demand has far exceeded the space. Will Shortz announced at last night's tournament that in 2011, the new venue will be Shortz' own Westchester Table Tennis Club. No report as to whether next year's winner will go on to the Bonus Round, challenging Shortz one-on-one in table tennis.

BOB MACKEY WINS WESTCHESTER TOURNAMENT

Results - Bob Mackey in first, Elaine Lippman in second, Ken Stern in third. Bob came first in all three puzzles, Stern second. Lippman was in third place on the third puzzle. Puzzles by Adam G. Perl, Paula Gamache, Ian Livengood, and Patrick Blindauer. More reportage, team results and pictures to come.

Cathy Allis Named New York Co-Constructor

Change at New York Magazine, where Maura Jacobson has held sway as regular crossword constructor for the last 30 years. Cathy Allis (Millhauser) has been named regular co-constructor, who will alternate weeks with Jacobson. Here's how New York Magazine announced the change:

"Regular solvers of New York's crossword puzzle may have noticed an unexpected byline this summer, and now we're making it official. After several weeks of puzzles, Cathy Allis has joined us as our regular crossword co-constructor. She'll be alternating issues with Maura B. Jacobson, who's been with New York since 1980 and, we hope, indefinitely. Allis is best known for her New York Times puzzles, notably one in which she constructed a grid around clues written by Bill Clinton. Her own non-presidential work has built a real following for its wit and accessibility. (Sample clue: "A race that's always a tie." Answer: ASCOT.) We hope you will find her work both charming and maddening."

14th Westchester Is October 1

One of the favorite tournaments the Puzzle Brothers customarily attend is the Westchester Crossword Tournament, held in Pleasantville, New York, and hosted by Pleasantville's own Will Shortz. The 14th edition of the tournament has been scheduled for Friday, October 1, 2010, at the tournament's traditional home, St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Pleasantville. As is the custom, the event will benefit the Pleasantville Fund for Learning. Jeffrey Schwartz is the event's defending champion; for the two years prior the tournament was won by The Puzzle Brothers' own Bob. We have already marked our calendars for this annual event and are looking forward to seeing all our friends and colleagues in the puzzle world.

Administrative Stuff

We have decided to no longer maintain thepuzzlebrothers.com as a separate domain. Our blog will remain available at thepuzzlebrothers.blogspot.com and will also be accessible from Facebook.

We are in the process of republishing our other pages at blogspot. This may take a few days.

Dan Katz Tries His Hand At "Jeopardy!" Tonight

Puzzlers may recognize the name Dan Katz. So, too, may "Jeopardy!" fans, as twenty years ago there was a five-time champion by the same name. Well, the Dan Katz who placed second in the B division in 2009 (losing to that Dan Feyer guy) is going to be on "Jeopardy!" this evening. Puzzlers have the first chance to root on one of their own since Stella Zawistowski was on a few years ago.

Katz placed 18th in his most recent ACPT, in 2009.

ACPT Video from Time

Return of the Washington Post Sunday Crossword!

Starting Sunday, April 11, the Washington Post will run a weekly 15x themeless. It will be edited by Peter Gordon and will have the following constructors: Trip Payne, Patrick Berry, Frank Longo, Michael Shenk, and Karen Tracey. (Thanks to Trip for the info)

"How I Met" Will Shortz

The tweet from Neil Patrick Harris offered some enticing wordplay in the style of the master as he effused about the show's latest big-name guest star. "Ten letters, 'Death Document' plus 'legless pantz'. I geeked out. I'm a fan."

New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz flew to Hollywood to make a cameo appearance on the hit sitcom "How I Met Your Mother", which stars the former Doogie Howser child star who has become quite an adult star in his own right, thanks to his TV appearances and his riotous performances in the "Harold and Kumar" movie series.

The episode, entitled "Robots vs. Wrestlers", casts Shortz as a guest at a party that Barney and friends decide to crash; another party guest is Arianna Huffington, queen of the The Huffington Post. The episode is expected to air on CBS during the May sweeps.

The 30-Second Workout

We have heard via our friend Trip Payne that starting next year, the tournament is going to be timed to the half minute, rather than the minute. This will help prevent the logjam of ties among the top solvers. We will try to get official word on this.

ACPT Final Replay

DAN IS THE MAN!

Dan Feyer has won the 2010 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in a very entertaining "A" finals over Howard Barkin, second, and Anne Erdmann, third. Dan was the only one to complete the playoff puzzle correctly in A and one of only four (not three as originally thought) solvers to do so in all three skill levels.



In his first tournament, Joon Pahk finished ahead of all B-level solvers earning him a trip to the B finals, defeating Katie Hamill and Ron Sweet there.

C division belonged to Louis Lana. He defeated young rookie David Plotkin and Barry Haldiman to earn that crown. Dan Singer had earned a seat in the C finals due to Pahk's ascension to the B division, but failed to show for the playoff round.

Other winners:

D: Beth Welch
E: Ryan Hecht
Junior: Tyler Hinman
50's: Al Sanders
60's: Doug Hoylman
70's: Julie von Hamm
Senior: Mimi Raphael
Rookie: Joon Pahk

West: Tyler Hinman
Connecticut: Jan O'Sullivan
Other New England: Kiran Kedlaya
New York City: Dan Feyer
Long Island: Peter Gordon
Upstate New York: David Plotkin
New Jersey: Howard Barkin
Mid-Atlantic: Doug Hoylman
South: Trip Payne
Midwest: Anne Erdmann
Foreign: Jeffrey Krasnick

Congrats to all the winners. The 34th annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament will be held on March 18-20, 2011. Hope to see you all there.

expected finalists

A: Dan Feyer, Howard Barkin, Anne Erdmann
B: Joon Pahk, Katie Hamill, Ron Sweet
C: David Plotkin, Louis Lana, Dan Singer

AFTER 7 PUZZLES

1. Dan Feyer
2. Howard Barkin
T3. Anne Erdmann
T3. Tyler Hinman
5. Trip Payne

17. Robert Mackey
49. Dave Mackey

Happy Sunday Morning From Brooklyn

Within a few hours, we will know if Tyler Hinman has won his sixth American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, or if there will be a new champ. What's in his way? Specifically, three people: Dan Feyer, Howard Barkin, and Anne Erdmann. He's somehow got to find a way to overcome the one-minute lead of Barkin and the three minute lead of Feyer, all the while hoping that Anne Erdmann somehow slips. The fourth puzzle will tell the tale.

Early indications are that if there is a tiebreaker between Hinman and Erdmann and everyone was still solving to form, it would go to Erdmann. Cold truth: Tyler may not even make the podium this year.

We'll try to get interviews with some of the contestants and we will be interspersing them throughout our live coverage. Come back here around 12:00 noon and the Live Blogging Window will suddenly spring to life with Robert and myself providing live play by play of all three final divisions.

As expected Puzzle #7 was by Merl Reagle. This leaves Mike Shenk to handle the final puzzle.

Last evening's games were "Clueless Crossword" with John Chaneski. You had to literally remember all of the Across clues from Puzzle #1. This game is a constructor's dream and you really had to think like Stan Newman.

This was followed by "Who Are You" and "Listmania" - in the latter game, teams of four had to complete a series of lists, such as (these are examples) continents, chemical elements beginning with C, or National League baseball teams. The game had written qualifying round and an on-stage playoff round, which resulted in one of the funniest tournament moments ever. The category was "Books of the Bible that end with the letter 'S'". One team member said, "Romans," immediately followed by a loud "SON OF A...!" from another stage player. The room exploded with laughter.

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Pit game in the hallway.



Who Are You? In this game, you had to guess the name of the girl that was being sung about.

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