Robair Wins A Crossword Tournament

At least he didn't have to wait as long as Ellen Ripstein.

Yesterday was the annual Community Blood Services Crossword Tournament in Ridgewood, New Jersey (just over the border from Paramus). At left, a picture of the winner, the one and only Robair. He won the trophy you see and a $500 check and the thrill of being North Jersey's crossword king.

The finals were a nailbiter. It was basically a two-person race, Robair, and a woman by the name of Elaine who is better known in the National Puzzler's League as "tyger". Robair had a rocky road to his finish, with 31-Down entered as ALOT rather than ATON which screwed up his crossers. But eventually he figured out one of the hardest answers, 36-Across, COTEDOR (Cote d'Or). He walked over to tyger, who finished first, to congratulate her on her win! But he saw that the F in square 24 was entered as an L on her grid, giving Robair the victory. Tough luck for tyger, a smart lady and a great competitor.

On hand to run the tournament was Nancy Schuster, a veteran crossword editor known for her many years working on the Dell magazines. Other guests in the house included New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz (who entertained with some great word games and a selection of bad clues from published NYT puzzles), Washington Post puzzle editor Fred Piscop, and constructors Paula Gamache, Michael Shteyman, and David J. Kahn.

Robair's laid down the gauntlet that he's going to be a force this year at Stamford.