Sudoku and Grand Masters

I love Sudoku! And not the easy, medium, or even hard varieties of this fun puzzle. Only Sudoku labeled as diabolical, evil or fiendish will do for me. Almost always, wherever I go I carry in my pocket a few puzzles to work on during idle moments. I am rarely ever stumped on a puzzle, even with the more difficult levels. My main problem is in carelessly filling them out and making stupid mistakes because I was going so fast that I didn’t see a certain number in a square.
When I started out, I used a website titled Websudoku.com, which has all levels and even times you and lets you know if you made a mistake (if you want to know that). But I found it more convenient to just go out and buy one of the many good Sudoku puzzle books out there. My all-time favorite so far is the New York Post book of Fiendish Sudoku, by Sudoku “Grand Master” Wayne Gould.
So, you may already be asking, “What in the world is a Grand Master in Sudoku?” Well, if you’re asking me, you’re asking the wrong guy. I know there are Soduku competitions and there’s also some guy on the Web who calls himself the world’s only Sudoku Grand Master. As for me, who cares? Either you enjoy doing Sudoku or you don’t. The whole concept of “Grand Master” is a bit of a puzzle to me in itself, so I decided to investigate its usage. First let me say that I am the most familiar with the term from its application to young chess Grandmaster Gabriel Schwartzmann, who a few years ago chose to live here in Gainesville and had the opportunity to write a compelling and informative weekly column about chess in my local newspaper, the Gainesville Sun. But I figured that Gabriel achieved his status most likely by racking up enough points in sanctioned matches and tournaments to give him the needed rating. But how do you do it in Sudoku? I sure don’t know of any Sudoku tournaments where I live, and I don’t see any Sudoku on ESPN (to me, it seems just as valid a sport as poker). So where does the title come from?

Apparently, the term “Grand Master” originates with the designation applied to leaders of guilds, most notably the Masonic Lodge (Wikipedia, “Grand Master”). Other than that, it denotes the highest achievement in some sports (and chess, of course). But to come out and say you’re a Grand Master in Sudoku? O.K., if you say so…

Although I love Sudoku, I think that when I finish Wayne Gould’s “fiendish” book (I have about ninety more puzzles left to do in it), I’m going to switch over to try my hand at Kakuro puzzles, which appear to be a bit more challenging. Who knows, maybe I’ll become a Kakuro Grand Master … NOT!!