Sudoku Champs: The puzzle pathway powering India’s young solvers

Mention Sudoku and the image that forms in one’s mind is possibly that of a senior citizen pondering over a section of the newspaper, armed with a pencil and a cup of tea or coffee.

While that might indeed be true to a certain extent, Sudoku and puzzle solving is now an organized ‘sport’ of logic and precision in India, one that is producing champions that subsequently don national colours at global tournaments.

And aiding this process is the Sudoku Champs, a junior national championship organised by Logic Masters India, the national representative of the World Puzzle Federation.

A launchpad

Sitanshu and Hemant Malani have fond memories of participating in the very first edition of the Sudoku Champs, back in 2015.

“It is a separate category for junior solvers from schools and colleges across India. Top solvers from these categories represent India in Asian Sudoku and World Junior Sudoku Championships,” explains Sitanshu, in an interaction with The Bridge.

Since the first edition a decade ago, the tournament has grown, explains Hemant. “When it was organised in 2015 for the first time, there was limited reach. Now, the participant numbers have increased,” he says.

Additionally, these players, after emerging through the Sudoku Champs, went on to bring laurels for the country at the international competitions.

“5 people finished in the top 3 in the Asian Championship. Indian teams in 2 categories won the championship,” says Hemant, with glee.

The framework of Sudoku Champs, therefore, is designed in a manner that youngsters across the country get exposure to top-flight regional and national competition. The tournament is organised across multiple age groups: U10, U12, U15 and U18.

A city-level competition is the first stage. Winners across age-categories from the city level progress to a national level competition and winners at that stage earn a berth to represent the country.

This year, starting the 16th of November, a city round is set to take place every week with results by the category being announced on the same day. The city-wise rounds would culminate in Mumbai and Kolkata on December 13th and 14th respectively and on the 15th, the combined results would be revealed.

“We had four members from each of the categories represent India at ASC 2025 in Chennai organized by Logic Masters India. The motive was to have this structure where we get the maximum number of schools to participate and get the most engagement from the community,” says Hemant.

While the participating levels are on the rise, Sudoku and puzzle solving are still seen with skepticism.

Overcoming skepticism

The biggest barrier to entry, according to Sitanshu, is the perception of parents. “People think there is no future in Sudoku, so people don’t really take it seriously,” says Sitanshu.

Sudoku is often perceived as difficult for kids to solve. But contrary to what people think, the performances of youngsters, Hemant says, have been excellent. “We’ve seen that when kids come up and perform, they do really well. It’s just the parents who feel that the kids can’t perform.”

To bust the myth, Logic Masters India has created multiple avenues for people to connect and explore Sudoku and puzzle solving.

“We have online competitions right through the year. We organize an annual offline Indian sudoku championship every year. We have WhatsApp communities, groups from various cities. We also have a Discord channel where we do live streams of how people solve puzzles,” says Hemant.

It is via these outreaches where puzzle solving happens in unison that Logic Masters India keeps the community engaged and growth as an outcome happens organically. And both Sitanshu and Hemant help the initiative with a hands-on approach that involves creating puzzles as well.

Community solving

As much as solving puzzles is fun, creating them is enjoyable for the duo as well. “When authoring, you would be starting with a blank paper,” says Hemant. Thereafter, he goes through a range of techniques that he wants the user to employ when solving and incorporates it in the development process.

“Sometimes, when you’re able to achieve all that you were targeting, it is more satisfying to create than to solve. And when people solve it and give you feedback that they were able to solve it, it is more satisfying than solving one,” he says with a smile.

Having evolved from solver to puzzle creators, Hemant and Sitanshu are now feverishly working to develop the next generation of Indian solvers.

“Young prodigies can come up from any category. So, I want to engage with school communities,” says Sitanshu, while adding that the Sudoku Champs serves as the right platform for the youngsters to test their skills and experience solving in a competitive environment before progressing to the biggest international challenges.

“Participants from 2024 champs had a chance to compete in an international event in India. In 2026, India is hosting the World Sudoku and Puzzle Championship as well and we have the Asian Sudoku Championships in Thailand in February,” he says.

And their singular message to the young aspirant is simple: join the community.

“I have seen many people being apprehensive and think that solvers at Logic Masters India are professional and I’m a casual solver and I can’t become a part of the community. All the events we organize, we keep it beginner-friendly. All of us in the community began by solving classic sudoku, so don’t hesitate to join the community,” Hemant concludes.

Sudoku Champs 2025: Important dates

Chennai: 16th November, 2025 | Venue: IITM Research Park, Tharamani | Register here

Delhi: 23rd November, 2025 | Venue: FOSTIIMA Business School, Dwarka | Register here

Hyderabad: 30th November, 2025 | Venue: Global Edge School, Kokapet | Register here

Bangalore: 6th December, 2025 | CLATutor, Jayanagar | Register here

Mumbai: 13th December, 2025 | Venue: Veer Sarwarkar Sabhagriha Shivaji Park, Dadar | Register here

Kolkata: 14th December, 2025 | Venue: Actuators Educational Institute, Park Street Area | Register here