THE first world Sudoku Championship kicked off in the Tuscan city of Lucca today with nine mini puzzles to be completed in ten minutes.

First to finish was Michal Karwanski from Poland who completed them successfully in six minutes and seven seconds.

This was the first session of the two-day and 48-puzzle contest entered by 90 competitors from 22 countries.

Most are European though the Philippines, India, the USA and Venezuela are also represented and the acknowledged godfather of Su Doku, Tetsuya Nishio from Japan is taking part.

Britain is represented by Nina Pell, an 18-year-old maths student at Sheffield University and the winner of The Times Sudoku Championship, and Nick Deller, 34, editor of Tough Puzzles magazine.

The championship has been organised by the Italian puzzle magazine publisher Nonzero Edizono, with the support of the World Puzzle Federation.

The Lucca tourist board is also an enthusiastic supporter though the only hotel big enough to accommodate the event is the Best Western located outside the historic city. There the contestants compete in silence in a basement conference room, watched by 30 members of the international media.

Wayne Gould, a retired Hong Kong judge who kick-started the Sudoku craze by bringing it to The Times will announce the winners tomorrow. There will be no money, just glory.

Read more from the championship in The Times and Times Online tomorrow and on Monday.

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