A Top 10 finish is outstanding! I see the names of some past champions and more than likely some future champs too. Congrats!

Btw, the link for the form isn't working.
JJF | 03.27.06 - 12:22 pm | #

Thanks, John. I don't know why Blogger appends the blog URL to links sometimes—if you copy the link and delete the blog URL, the link should work.
Orange | Homepage | 03.27.06 - 12:40 pm | #

Got it, Amy, and am sending in the form today. I figure if I get just one word right on just one puzzle, I should squeeze into the Top 500. That seems like a realistic goal. :-) Maybe in two or three years I'll get a chance to make the trip to Stamford. Sounds like a fun time.
JJF | 03.27.06 - 12:46 pm | #

I didn't get the chance to congratulate you in person at the end of the tourney, so I just wanted to do that now :). It amazed me how smoothly the top echelon of solvers there were able to tackle the toughest puzzles. Extra points for your spot-on description of Puzzle 5, I've been ranting about that one in person and online to people a bit since then. Here I go again...

I did hear quite a few people describe that particular puzzle as being designed to "shake things up", not just in general but for the top solvers as well. It appeared to accomplish that perfectly, in addition to being an impressive, elegantly constructed puzzle. Had there not been a timer counting down, I would have loved to struggle with that one at my own pace.

Prior to that puzzle, I was beginning to feel a bit (too) positive about my times, far beyond anything I had hoped for. #5 absolutely crushed me, however, and taught me one heck of a solving lesson. I think among those around my eventual final ranking, I had one of the lowest scores on that puzzle, making me part of the "tangled wreckage" you described ;). It rewarded depth of knowledge and experience more than fast writing, and so I have no problem with crashing and burning on that one. (A final careless mistake somewhere on #7 didn't help matters either, but I'll simply file that under the heading of 'rookie jitters').

One question - how would someone practice to solve the tougher puzzles such as that? It seems you could work on hundreds of puzzles, and perhaps one or two might approach that one in difficulty. What sort of solving experience, if any, helps you break through a Saturday+ level puzzle?

Thanks again for the recap. Hopefully I can sign up again next year, and of course I wish you all the best until then. Get some rest now, and happy solving!
Howard B | 03.27.06 - 1:06 pm | #

I really enjoyed seeing Fiend and so many Fiend Blog contributors at Stamford. I was pleased, but not surorised, by Fiend's outsanding performance. Next year Amy should bring Mr. Fiend and the little Fiend.
barrywep | 03.27.06 - 2:28 pm | #

As you know (but our readers don't), I was sitting right next to you and kind of across from Trip on Puzzle #7. If you laughed, I didn't hear it. Every so often, Trip would snort back a laugh, and I knew it was Trip because he seemed to be getting it very quickly. I was too far away from Stella (who was at the next table) to hear her reactions, if any. Didn't bother me as much as some judges talking right when we were starting the puzzle, or the photographers snapping pictures WHILE PEOPLE WERE DOING THE PUZZLES....
Dave M. | Homepage | 03.27.06 - 2:59 pm | #

It's been ~3 years since I've not been able to finish a NYT crossword in less than 25 or so minutes. Ergo my profound disappointment in not being able to finish more than 2/3 of Puzzle #5 in the allotted 30. As (1) my stated goal was either a top 50 or an ahead-of-Ken-Jennings finish, (2) I live in Manhattan, and (3) returning the rental car early would save me $120, I took it easy on Puzzle #6 and decided not to return at all on Sunday; to cut my losses and wait 'til next year.
Lo and behold, from this blog I discover that 95% of contestants couldn't finish!??
Moral of the story, from college basketball's Jim Valvano: "Never, ever, ever, ever give up."
Ed L. | 03.27.06 - 9:05 pm | #

Ed,
While your puzzle #5 score was certainly respectable, it looks like it put enough distance between you and Jennings that you would not have caught him and you might not have made the top 50 anyway. Nevertheless I and all those other solvers between 50 and 295 appreciate your letting us move up one place!
barrywep | 03.28.06 - 8:08 am | #

Hi Amy,

Congratulations on your excellent finish. I may get a chance to attend next year and I decided to try to begin the process of getting better so that I can be competitive. I did Monday's NYT and finished in about 5:25. I think I lost at most 20 seconds in not immediately recognizing the answers. In other words, my current dexterity level puts a lower limit of roughly 5 minutes to solve the puzzle, while I believe that my thinking level at least on the easiest puzzles should allow me to finish them in say 3 minutes. Is it just a question of practice to increase speeds or are there specific suggestions that I might follow to improve?

Thanks,

Steve Manion
sbmanion@msn.com
Steve Manion | 03.28.06 - 11:00 am | #

Steve, I think it's a combination of practice, practice, practice, and inherent crossword-solving ability. Tyler Hinman combines amazing dexterity with fast reading and deciphering of clues—he typically finishes the Monday NYT in less than 2 minutes online. I think Tyler may solve more crosswords than anyone else, so practice, practice, practice may have gotten him where he is today. You should ask him Thursday night in the AIM chat Popeye's setting up.
Orange | Homepage | 03.29.06 - 1:11 pm | #

Actually, 95% of the crowd failed to finish Puzzle 5 correctly. There must have been more who were able to finish it in time yet still had a careless error or two (like me).

But I'd still say you're not far off the number of people who couldn't finish at all.

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joecab | 03.29.06 - 1:13 pm | #

I enjoyed meeting you at the Cru dinner and have to agree with your comments about Byron. What a great guy and what a great constructor! I can say this even if 5 stumped me in 30 minutes - BUT I did finish it in an hour and fifteen Sunday night.
If you happen to have a copy of the Friday night trivia quiz, I would love one... somehow got away without it.
Thanks! Still betting on you as a future winner!

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Ann Marie -- "Wordy" | 03.29.06 - 1:14 pm | #

Ann Marie, I have a hard copy of the quiz. Matt Gaffney's working on finding out if Ken Jennings would object to it being posted...
Orange | Homepage | 03.29.06 - 1:16 pm | #