Chennai girl makes it to su-doku nationals

21-year-old R Thejesvini mastered the number game at the Times Su-doku Championship held in the city
R Thejesvini, a computer science student from RMK Engineering College, had no idea what she was in for when her dad introduced her to Su-doku in the 10th grade. Thejesvini had her initial tryst with Su-doku in school when her father casually asked her to try solving a classic crossword.“Initially, I found it simple but then I realized there are more variations to the game,” the 21-year-old says. After battling it out at the regional finals on Sunday, she is one among the four participants who bagged the highest points and will be representing Chennai at the Times Sudoku national finals in Mumbai. The national winners will head to Croatia for the World Championship.
Thejesvini has been a part of Su-doku tournaments in the city on several occasions, winning the first place almost every time. “Those were very mild competitions. Here, I realize there are many types of puzzles.” Ask her how she got through the competition and she smiles, “The first round was quite simple but the last round drove me insane!”
Nervous she may be about the finals, but Thejesvini is confident as well. “I am sure the rest there are going to be more experienced at the game than me. But I am representing Chennai and I am sure I will make this city proud,” she says.
Quiz her on what was the most challenging part of the competition and she says, “I found diagonal Su-doku very difficult. It is a very challenging variation and I wasn’t able to solve it. But I am going to work on that!”
Thejesvini’s father Chandragupta, a realtor, is overjoyed with his daughter’s win. “I am extremely proud of her,” says he. “She and her mum would sit for hours and solve puzzles.
More than me, it was her mum that encouraged her for the competition.” Chandragupta recalls how apprehensive he was when he realized the competition was tough. “She is lucky to be a part of this whole competition. I believe this is just the beginning.”