DPS Pune crowned National Crossword Champions for 2022

The top 3 teams in the CCCC Grand Finale, held at Delhi’s YMCA Auditorium. (Source: Ashish M.)

The largest event of its kind in India, the CCCC kicked off this year with a pan-India online round. Based on scores, 32 school teams made it to the Grand Finale in New Delhi, which had a written prelims and an online Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) round. From here, the top 12 moved to the quarter finals, the top six to the semis, and the top three to the finals. 

The winners and the other contestants were awarded prizes by senior IAS officers such as Sunil Barthwal, IAS, Secretary (Commerce); Sanjay Kumar, IAS, Secretary (Education); G. Asok Kumar, IAS, Director NMCG; and A K Ambastha, IFS. Vivek Kumar Singh, who is Bihar’s Development Commissioner and an avid crossword solver, was also present as the CCCC’s chief mentor.

But what exactly are cryptic crosswords?

Cryptics look exactly like your regular daily crossword, except that every clue is a word puzzle which must be solved before you can fill in the grid. The clues often have puns, anagrams, and references, with puzzle creators having their own style that players must get used to. It’s a tango of sorts between setter and solver, and for many, this connection develops cryptics into a lifelong hobby.

“Our favourite clue was the last one in the grand finale, which helped us win,” shares winner Ashish, who is in class 11 along with teammate Kuhu. “The clue was ‘One from the Arctic in the ski mountain’. The answer was ESKIMO, which is a word hidden in ‘th E SKI MO untain’”. This was the duo’s second win at the CCCC—they also won in 2021—and as a long-time solver, Ashish feels cryptics can be quite logical. “It may seem hard at first, but there are certain conventions which make it easier to solve the clues. If you keep practicing different sets, you can surely master it.”

CCCC’s crossword clues were set by Ramki Krishnan, who is six-time champion of the Indian Crossword League. Here’s a look at his grid and clues for the written round of the contest:

Cryptic crossword grid at the CCCC, solved by the team from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Public School, Hyderabad. Its clues are in the photo below. (Source: Extra-C).

Cryptic crossword clues for horizontal words (Across) and vertical words (Down) on the grid. Each clue is a word puzzle which participants had to crack. (Source: Extra-C)

How to register for 2023’s contest

Extra-C, a civil body in Patna, is the organisation behind the CCCC, the Indian Crossword League, as well as NICE, which was an inter-college crossword contest that debuted this year. You can keep an eye on their website, crypticsingh.com, for updates on all of these events for 2023. First-timers who are good at puns and creative thinking are encouraged to apply.

For reminders, you can follow @iepuzzles on Instagram, which is The Indian Express’ hub for game news and event alerts from the world of crosswords, sudoku and quizzing. Have you tried any of our themed puzzles yet?