by KYW's John McDevitt
Did a third-place winner of a national puzzle tournament held in Philadelphia last weekend win fair and square? An investigation is now under way.
There were 646 competitors in the Philadelphia Inquirer's national Sudoku competition, held on Saturday (see previous story). Eugene Varshavsky of Lawrenceville, NJ took the $3,000 third prize.
But now, tournament spokesman Jay Devine says, suspicion has been raised on whether Varshavsky won on his own skills:
"He was a walk-in registrant, and he was very successful in terms of time in finishing the puzzles in the first couple of rounds. But then, when he got to the final round -- which was up on stage in front of all of the contestants there -- he was unable to figure out some of the very simple, initial components of the puzzle. And it was because of that that the tournament officials became very suspicious."
Entrants were allowed to wear headphones during the competition to eliminate distractions. One participant says that raises the opportunity for outside help via some sort of radio.
Devine says the ultimate goal is to protect the integrity of the championship, which has become one of the largest puzzle competitions in the United States. He says a decision in the investigation may be reached in a couple of days.
(File photo provided by Phila. Inquirer)
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