This weekend, the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament will take place in Stamford, Conn. In a scene from the 2006 documentary “Wordplay,” Will Shortz, the editor of the New York Times Crossword puzzle and the tournament’s longtime host, stands in a hotel ballroom in front of rows of eager-looking people seated in front of giant yellow folders propped up on long tables. “This is the puzzle that’s going to rip your heart out,” he says. Now consider a similar scene that aired on TV a couple weeks ago. A man in a tie, sweater and blazer addresses an equally attentive crowd of people at long tables. The yellow folders are there, too. Welcome to the National Crossword Tournament, a fictionalized version of the puzzle-solving competition. It was on a recent episode of “Elsbeth,” a comedic murder-mystery procedural that’s been spun off of “The Good Wife” and “The Good Fight.” In the show, a plucky lawyer immerses herself in various subcultures while investigating crimes. Here, she has fallen deep into a domain where exchanges like “Last Saturday’s 12-Down nearly ruined my weekend!” and “Those crossings felt especially cruel” take the tone of the juiciest gossip. Sarah Beckett, who wrote the episode, said that the solvers’ passion was what she admired about the subculture, along with “the dedication to being really, really good at something that other people aren’t.” The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament began in 1978 with 149 enthusiasts. Last year, the event had a record attendance of 889. “This is the most popular, most well-attended puzzle event in the United States,” said Tracy Bennett, a New York Times puzzle editor. There are magic shows, talent shows, songs and wild costumes. “There’s a person who comes in a pope or cardinal full regalia, with a big hat, and it’s all crossword puzzles,” she recalled. Tracy has been attending for about 15 years and competed a few times before becoming a tournament official. “I’m a pretty good solver,” she said, “but there’s the demonic Puzzle 5 that I never, ever finished in the time allotted.” Contestants are split into divisions based on skill, as determined by performance in previous competitions. Over the weekend, they solve seven puzzles of varied difficulty. (The aforementioned yellow folders prevent wandering eyes.) The top three contestants in the top three divisions advance to the playoffs, where they speed-solve the eighth and final puzzle on big whiteboards in front of a rapt audience. There is even live commentary. The first to finish with the most accuracy wins. Tracy was delighted to see that many of these details made it into the “Elsbeth” episode. “It had enough right that it was really enjoyable,” she said, listing the signs, the swag, the whiteboards and the overall vibe. Tracy wondered if Sarah, the TV writer, might even have experience as a puzzle constructor herself. “I don’t,” Sarah said, but noted that her mom is a “very good” solver. As a writer with a background in true-crime documentary, her skill lies in deep research. For this episode, she strove to learn the language of making and solving puzzles. She started by watching “Wordplay”: “It really helped give an understanding of just how hard these puzzles are and how good the solvers are.” From there, she went down the rabbit hole of blogs, Reddit and constructors giving one another feedback. After that, Sarah did what any good crime-TV writer does — she added in trysts, intrigue, deception and murder. But, she says, it was the puzzle people and their boundless enthusiasm that stuck with her. Now, she even solves the New York Times Crossword with her young daughter. There was some artistic license, though. In the episode, the killer tries to hide his tracks by posing as an editor and revising the coming weekend’s puzzles. “They would never be editing that close to publication,” Tracy said. “Usually we’re weeks ahead because our process demands it. So that made me laugh a little bit.” To all those competing in the 48th American Crossword Puzzle Tournament: Break a leg — er, a pencil tip. Solve Today’s Capture
Column of the WeekThis week, Madison Malone Kircher, a reporter on the Styles desk who focuses on internet culture, writes about today’s crossword, by John Ewbank. She said: “My introduction to the Crossword was through a daily calendar I received in my stocking one Christmas in middle school. It was a collection of New York Times puzzles and I, a 13-year-old know-it-all, quickly realized I, in fact, did not know it all.”
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