In less time than it takes most people to brush their teeth, Thomas Snyder can knock out a Sudoku puzzle, and Leyan Lo can solve a Rubik's Cube, blindfolded. Last year, each became the undisputed champ of his corner of the gaming world. Lo, 22, a first-year doctoral student in physics, won two national titles at the 2007 Rubik's Cube U.S. Open, while Snyder, 28, a bioengineering postdoc, collected the triple crown: world and U.S. Sudoku champion and U.S. puzzle champion. But how do they compare head-to-head?
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Jeffrey Coolidge/Getty
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Lo |
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Snyder |
| Basking Ridge, N.J. |
Hometown |
Buffalo, N.Y. |
| 2004 Caltech Winter Competition, 15th place |
Rookie Competition |
2004 U.S. Puzzle Championship, 6th place |
| “A few minutes each day.” |
Training Regimen |
“10 to 20 minutes . . . I use them as a sort of morning coffee. |
| “I have been fortunate enough not to have any.” |
Puzzling Injuries |
“When I get very involved in solving puzzles, I might forget to eat or sleep.” |
| The Fridrich method, a three-step process involving 119 algorithms |
Strategy |
Keep it simple. “By writing less in the grid, you will confuse yourself less and make fewer errors.” |
| Appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno |
Biggest Perk |
“With the puzzle in most every newspaper, it is quite a thrill to be recognized as the world's best at solving it.” |
—Ted Boscia, MA '07
