The second edition of IXL (Indian Crossword League) was bigger than its debut in 2013, in every sense – heavier participation, a more streamlined final round, a superior solving battle – and bigger surprises.
This year, the top 20 of the online rounds were invited to participate in the finals (instead of the top 10, as was in 2013), and the weekly round winners were given wildcard entries. The last bit proved to be a game changer – in the end, the top three slots went to the wild card entrants. Here's how it all unfolded.
Prelim Round
The prelim round this time did away with the asides of logical reasoning/GK/clue-writing; it gave us two crosswords (15x15 and 13x13) to be solved in an hour. The crosswords were THC-style and well-suited for the prelims I thought, of moderate difficulty and with a good mix of clue types.
Sanjay Vinoo was the first among us to hand in his answers at around the 30 min mark. After him, the all-correct submissions went in this order, spaced a few minutes from each other: Ramki Krishnan, Arvind Ramaswamy, Mohsin Ahmed and Kishore Rao. Abhay Phadnis was the final entrant into the top six, with one error (a misspelling of SATISFIED!).
[My bugbears geography and the deletion clue type joined hands in a clue for {-l}ESSEN, which I didn't get. That, combined with the befuddling B(EST*)RIDE, meant a deadlocked top-left quadrant in the 15x15 for a long time.]
I spoke to the top-ranked solvers of today about the clues they struggled with, and found a classic example of "What is food for one is poison for another". One solver had trouble with BASIL, another solved it cold. One said lift = ENNOBLE was tricky, another thought it was but obvious. The only consensus appears to be on two points:
(1) AHOM got answered based on wordplay alone (hidden reversed in 'Mohandas') and a guess that this must be an 'old kingdom'.
(2) Most solvers did not pause to parse what "Bibi" was doing in the CHANDELIER clue. They saw the crossings, they saw LIE – and dunked the answer in.
Pictures we clicked before the start of the game:
A mixed bunch - contestants, organisers and members of the audience. (L to R) Kishore, Rahmat, Sohrab (the youngest finalist, just out of school), Venkatesh, Shachii, Shuchi, Nagendra, Satyadeo, Padmasree, Jose, Bhargav, Chaturvasi (Rishi), Colonel Gopinath, Ramki, Arvind.
First non-virtual meeting with Sowmya Ramkumar.
The participants exchange pleasantries. The “Chief Arbiter" (ahem) strikes a pose.
"The Early Birds" – 13 of 20 (?) Finalists Group Photo: IXL Finalists who traveled from other cities/countries reached the venue before most of the residents of Bangalore did. (L to R) Arvind, Vinayak, Kishore, Ramki, Jose, Sowmya, Prithwiraj, Anish, Venkatesh, Rahmat, Shachii, Sohrab, Abhay, Shuchi.
Close to noon, we walked in to the auditorium and took our seats.
Lahar (apologies for the out-of-focus face) meets THC setter Gridman (Rishikesh).
On a Break
After the prelim round was a short break while the judges shortlisted the candidates for the on-stage round.
Post-solving notes exchange?
Abhay Phadnis taking his wife over some of the clues of the prelims crossword.
Banter during the break. Ajeesh looks happy!
Final Round
The top six of the prelims went in for the final on-stage round: Sanjay Vinoo, Ramki Krishnan, Arvind Ramaswamy, Mohsin Ahmed, Kishore Rao and Abhay Phadnis. This round was much the same as last year's: interactive solving of a crossword displayed on screen, in which the clues were put to the contestants one-by-one in quiz style. This time, the infinite bounce format was used, and participants had to attempt two grids instead of one.
First clue of the on-stage final: Rough soundtrack (6), which Vinoo passed and Ramki cracked with ease.
We witnessed some top-notch solving in the final round. Applause-worthy were Ramki's ACCREDIT and COARSE, Mohsin's WIRELESS and GALLIUM (done without checkers, despite an error in the clue!), Kishore's EMIR, and the unsolved question passed to the audience - Prithwiraj's GESTURES. And then there was there that 'googly' clue, which nobody could answer [Hang outside stellar body (7)].
The Down clues were easier with the checkers from the Across clues in place.
Clue 6d: Take back with reference to demand (7) _E_L_I_
At the end of the on-stage round, Kishore, Arvind and Ramki were tied with the same score for the top position. The prelim round performance was considered as the tie-breaker, which led to this order of the top three:
1. Ramki Krishnan (the winner)
2. Arvind Ramaswamy
3. Kishore Rao
The winner's name is announced.
IXL 2014 Top Six with the organisers
At the end, a day well spent.
[Update (23-Dec-2014)] Q&A with the IXL 2014 Champion Ramki Krishnan
In between phone calls and congratulatory messages, Ramki sportingly made time for a quick Q&A with CU after his win.
Q. How did you start on your crossword journey?
Ramki: I started solving crosswords in my teens, was inducted into it by my father and aunt - both were avid crossword buffs. I used to solve Indian Express, TOI, ET, and the occasional THC, quite regularly till college, but it became rather sporadic once I started my career. In 2012-13, the interest was rekindled thanks to THC, the Facebook Crossword groups and also your blog :-)
Q. Which crosswords do you solve now?
Ramki: I now attempt the Hindu crossword daily, and the Guardian as well.
Q. Your favourite setters?
Ramki: In the Guardian, Rufus and Arachne (no surprises :)), and in the Hindu I don't have a particular favourite, I like them all! I also have learnt from some of the fantastic setters and solvers on the Facebook groups of CCS and 1ACross, many of whom also participated in the IXL - Sowmya, Prasenjit, Aravind, Sanket, Ajeesh, Mohsin, SSv Avtaar to name just a few.
Q. In the IXL prelims, did you struggle with any clues?
Ramki: I struggled a bit with BASIL (the word was also used as Tulsi in another clue!), AHOM (was a guess in the end), BESTRIDE. The crossing letters created by the easier clues helped. For some, it was a case of solve first and figure out the annotation later!
Q. Why didn't you score higher in the online IXL rounds?
Ramki: On most of the Sundays, I had some other commitments and could not start on time (in fact I solved Round 1 from inside a bus!) Also made silly mistakes in a couple of rounds (DALMA!)
Ramki's response on the experience of playing at the IXL as a 'wild card entrant' and winning the contest [video]:
[RSS/email subscribers – if you cannot see the embedded video, please visit the blog: IXL 2014 Finals]
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My pick of ten outstanding clues from 2014. Which clues were your favourites this year?
In a good cryptic clue, the 
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