Solving time: about 8 minutes on the day As long as you knew or guessed enough of various literary and general knowledge references, this was a straightforward puzzle by current championship standards, with two easy … Read more “23,728 – Championship Prelim 1, Puzzle 2”
Author: petebiddlecombe
RTC contests for Championship puzzles
The six puzzles from the two preliminary rounds will be published on Wednesdays, and I’m pretty sure this will start tomorrow. The Times website is being rather slow to put up the Grand Final puzzles … Read more “RTC contests for Championship puzzles”
40 years on…
In 1967, Terry Biddlecombe won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Woodland Venture. Today, I just managed to win a “Cheltenham silver cup” for the Times Crossword Championship. I’m afraid I was too busy accepting congratulations … Read more “40 years on…”
Unofficial Times cryptic RTC No. 12 – your times please
This is a weekly unofficial contest based on your times for the Times cryptic crossword from Saturday to Friday. In July 2007, someone commenting on Tony Sever’s Times 2 RTC blog suggested a competition like … Read more “Unofficial Times cryptic RTC No. 12 – your times please”
23,722 – a slow one
Solving time 13:36 Pleased to see that this time is substantially quicker than at least one other past finalist, but not attaching much significance to it – my times can vary widely in the few … Read more “23,722 – a slow one”
Unofficial Times cryptic RTC No. 11 – your times please
This is a weekly unofficial contest based on your times for the Times cryptic crossword from Saturday to Friday. In July 2007, someone commenting on Tony Sever’s Times 2 RTC blog suggested a competition like … Read more “Unofficial Times cryptic RTC No. 11 – your times please”
Jumbo 718 – Tricky Clue City, Arizona
Solving time: 50 minutes, with a dictionary used for the last couple of clues. This started out easily enough, but I got very bogged down in the SW corner (44A and D, 48, 54, 43) … Read more “Jumbo 718 – Tricky Clue City, Arizona”
23,716 – easy for old hands or medics?
Solving time 6:17 Although this was fairly quick, it seemed to use a few things that could be new to some. Across 1 R.A.(C(omi)C),O,ON – {working = on} is one for beginners to remember 5 … Read more “23,716 – easy for old hands or medics?”
Times Championship 2007
Not long to go before the big day in Cheltenham on Sunday 7 October. Last year we had five of our regular bloggers and commenters among the 24 competitors in the Grand Final. I hope … Read more “Times Championship 2007”
Mephisto 2455, Mike Laws – a puzzle of two halves
Solving time: 42 minutes Half of this time was spent strolling through what seemed a very easy puzzle, with at least a dozen clues that wouldn’t be out of place in a daily puzzle. The … Read more “Mephisto 2455, Mike Laws – a puzzle of two halves”