{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-c03aa079.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-517835be.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='Puzzle enthusiats compete at crossword tournament' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54bb03d8eafeecae121d84' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54bb03d8eafeecae121d84' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nPuzzle enthusiats compete at crossword tournament\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eNew York City, March 1-2 2008  1. Wide shot New York City skyline, Empire State Building2. Wide shot Marriot Hotel facade3. Pan left ballroom full of about 700 participants4. Medium shot New York Times Puzzle Editor William Shortz...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eNew York City, March 1-2 2008  \u003cbr/\u003e1. Wide shot New York City skyline, Empire State Building\u003cbr/\u003e2. Wide shot Marriot Hotel facade\u003cbr/\u003e3. Pan left ballroom full of about 700 participants\u003cbr/\u003e4. Medium shot New York Times Puzzle Editor William Shortz handing out puzzles\u003cbr/\u003e5. SOUNDBITE: (English) William Shortz, New York Times Puzzle Editor: \u003cbr/\u003e\"The tournament has a mix of puzzle difficulties. It goes from fairly easy to very hard. And some of the puzzles it's just a sprint to see how fast you can do them. And there's one puzzle, puzzle number five this year, by David J. Kahn that was a killer. You know I think every tournament should have a puzzle that is a killer. Not something that's just a matter of just how fast you can do, but whether you can do it at all. And David did that puzzle this year.\" \u003cbr/\u003e6. Wide shot ballroom with clock\u003cbr/\u003e7. Medium shot Shortz with microphone\u003cbr/\u003e8. Wide shot participants at tables\u003cbr/\u003e9. Medium shot judges eating lunch, one in a crossword shirt\u003cbr/\u003e10. Close shot man with crossword shirt and hat\u003cbr/\u003e11. Wide shot man in crossword wedding dress\u003cbr/\u003e12. Medium shot woman at desk in crossword pyjamas\u003cbr/\u003e13. Wide shot woman in crossword dress\u003cbr/\u003e14. Tilt down shirts and booklet on sale\u003cbr/\u003e15. Medium shot \"Word Sweep\" game on sale\u003cbr/\u003e16. Medium shot \"Word Sweep\" creator talking to tournament participant\u003cbr/\u003e17. SOUNDBITE: (English) Steve Smith, creator of board game \"Word Sweep\":\u003cbr/\u003e \"A well-constructed crossword puzzle, it's not, they're not just pure synonyms, they're also looking for the deeper definitions of words. So you have to know more than just one definition of a particular word and be able to think flexibly. Word Sweep also requires that you think flexibly too and use inference and deduction to figure out the words.\" \u003cbr/\u003e16. Zoom in mugs and t-shirts for sale\u003cbr/\u003e17. Close shot crossword shoes\u003cbr/\u003e18. Zoom out man in hat with hanging crossword cubes\u003cbr/\u003e19. SOUNDBITE: (English) Doug Hoylman, Contestant \u003cbr/\u003e\"I acquired the nickname  'The Iceman' at these tournaments a few years ago because when I was up in the final round doing the puzzle in front of the audience I never showed any nervousness. A lot of people get very nervous when they're up in front of a crowd, but it didn't bother me.\" \u003cbr/\u003e20. Wide shot finalist in front of audience.\u003cbr/\u003e21. Medium shot judges. \u003cbr/\u003e22. Wide shot three finalists doing puzzles with white noise headphones.\u003cbr/\u003e23. Medium shot three finalists awaiting scoring. \u003cbr/\u003e24. Close shot spectator following along with a puzzle.\u003cbr/\u003e25. Medium shot Kiran Kedlaya practicing with a group.  \u003cbr/\u003e26. SOUNDBITE: (English) Kiran Kedlaya, Associate Professor of Mathematics at MIT: \u003cbr/\u003e\"I heard about the crossword tournament from various sources and I had been doing crosswords in college. I learned to do the New York Times puzzle and I seemed to be doing it pretty quickly so I thought it might be fun to test my mettle against the people who were supposedly the best in the country.\" \u003cbr/\u003e27. Medium shot Kedlaya with other participants\u003cbr/\u003e28. Close shot Kedlaya playing with a pen\u003cbr/\u003e29. SOUNDBITE: (English) Kiran Kedlaya, Associate Professor of Mathematics at MIT: \u003cbr/\u003e\"It took me a few years to get to where I am now but the past five or six years I've been in the top ten. Two years ago I came in second. So I made it into the final round solving at the blackboard, or the easel, solving at the easel with everybody watching, the headphones on, the commentary. Pretty nerve-wracking experience.\"\u003cbr/\u003e30. Wide shot two finalists at easels\u003cbr/\u003e31. Medium shot finalist\u003cbr/\u003e32. Zoom out one finalist finishes puzzle first\u003cbr/\u003e33. Medium shot spectator sitting on the floor\u003cbr/\u003e34. Close shot Howard Barkin solving in final round \u003cbr/\u003e35. Wide shot Howard Barkin and Tyler Hinman Solving in final round\u003cbr/\u003e36. Medium shot Tyler Hinman at easel\u003cbr/\u003e37. Medium shot Tyler Hinman winning\u003cbr/\u003e38. SOUNDBITE: (English) Tyler Hinman, tournament winner: \u003cbr/\u003e\"You can sort of see how both people are doing based on how much their arms are wagging. And I saw him and he was tucking down and so it was clear he was writing everywhere and ?\" (shrugs). \u003cbr/\u003e39. Tilt up participants\u003cbr/\u003e40. Wide shot building outside with banner\u003cbr/\u003eHundreds of crossword aficionados met in Brooklyn, New York recently (March 1-2) to put their skills to the test. \u003cbr/\u003eThe American Crossword Puzzle Tournament is the country's most established competition of its kind and is now in it's 31st year. \u003cbr/\u003eMany of the games were played at tables in a ballroom filled with over 700 guests, who came to Brooklyn from 40 different US states and countries including the Netherlands, France, Switzerland and the Dominican Republic.   \u003cbr/\u003eUnder the direction of New York Times Puzzle editor William Shortz the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament has grown in popularity, and attracts some of the nation's brightest, who compete for a $5,000 grand prize. \u003cbr/\u003eShortz says that the competition has a range of difficulties to suit everyone. \u003cbr/\u003eBut he says that each year there is a 'killer' puzzle for the true experts. \u003cbr/\u003eBecause a growing number of people are wanting to take part, the tournament was moved this year from Stamford Connecticut to Brooklyn. \u003cbr/\u003eThe ballroom at the Marriot hotel is over 17,000 square feet, making it more comfortable for the puzzle solvers. \u003cbr/\u003eSteve Smith is the creator of the board game \"Word Sweep\". \u003cbr/\u003eHe says that the best puzzles force you to think flexibly, not just about synonyms, but the 'deeper definitions of words'. \u003cbr/\u003eLong-time participants like 2000 winner Doug Hoylman, a retired actuary, come back each year to see how they'll fare against the competition. \u003cbr/\u003eHe started doing crosswords as a child and enjoys the atmosphere of the tournament, where he can meet others who share the same hobby. \u003cbr/\u003eHolyman says he got his nickname 'the Iceman' because he never shows his nerves. \u003cbr/\u003eIn the final round, the tournament gets more intense. \u003cbr/\u003ePlayers have to successfully adjust from the privacy of doing a crossword with breakfast to the stress and excitement of performing in front of a crowd -- finalists stand in front of hundreds of spectators to fill out the puzzles on large boards while wearing white noise headphones. \u003cbr/\u003eCommentators analyse their performance and make jokes while they finish the puzzles under pressure. \u003cbr/\u003eMaths professor Kiran Kedlaya, this year's ninth finisher, is from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)  - he sees the tournament as a time to test himself in an area outside his profession. \u003cbr/\u003eThe most common groups at the tournament, he says, are people whose work involves math, writing or music. \u003cbr/\u003eKedlaya, a group of graduate students, and a few other professors in MIT's maths department,  meet every afternoon to solve the day's New York Times puzzle.\u003cbr/\u003eHe says that one time he made it to the final round of the competition and eventually came second. \u003cbr/\u003eKedlaya says that was a nerve wracking experience. \u003cbr/\u003eThis year's winner was Tyler Hinman, 23, who finished with his fourth consecutive win. \u003cbr/\u003eHe described the puzzle as both difficult and fair, adding that key techniques are reasoning and using horizontal clues to fill in the vertical words and vice-versa. \u003cbr/\u003eThe puzzle he solved Sunday included \"cirri\" for the plural of \"wispy white clouds,\" \"bitmap\" for an \"image composed of binary data,\" and the author Gertrude \"Stein,\" identified by the title of one of her works.  \u003cbr/\u003eHinman says he's not a particularly voracious reader and has become good at crosswords mainly by finding all the puzzles he can online.\u003cbr/\u003eHe says he gets nervous before a tournament, but somehow manages to stay focused on the puzzle when onstage. \u003cbr/\u003eAnd keeping cool is worth it -- his next puzzle is what to do with the grand prize of $5,000.   \u003cbr/\u003eKeyword 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