![]() Most contestants attend simply to test themselves, enjoy the games, and rub shoulders with the greats of the puzzle world. In fact, only a handful expect to be in contention for the top prize of $1,500 and a Merriam-Webster dictionary. Next weekend in Stamford, Conn., a few of the 350-plus crossword enthusiasts in attendance will be demonstrating such super-skills at the 25th annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. How can someone be so fast? How do the top solvers complete a Sunday crossword in The New York Times in an impossible-sounding time of 12 minutes? Gordon could fill in the letters that he'd just committed to memory. Rosen was still able to solve the puzzle from scratch almost as fast as Mr. Gordon filled it in once more just before the officials convened. The third year everything was the same, except this time, in addition to reviewing his puzzle on the previous night, Mr. Rosen again, to everyone's astonishment, finished first. The next day when it was solved by the testers, Mr. Gordon carefully reviewed his puzzle to refresh his memory. This time on the night before the testing Mr. Gordon had another puzzle in the contest. Rosen, despite knowing all the answers from the start. Gordon's puzzle was tested, he raced to fill it in, too - and finished well behind Mr. Among the testers were David Rosen, one of the country's best solvers, who had won the tournament four times before retiring, and Peter Gordon, a crossword editor and constructor who had made one of the puzzles himself. Several years ago, shortly before an American Crossword Puzzle Tournament was scheduled to be held, a group of officials met to test the puzzles.
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