Discussion Thread

About Sudoku Mahabharat 2022 - What's New?

This is a quick guide to what's new compared to last year's Sudoku Mahabharat.
  • 4 Rounds instead of 8. Everyone's best 3 scores will be considered in the final rankings.
  • 6 variants instead of 5 each round. To make up the numbers, 2 6x6 Classics instead of 4.
  • Rounds may be slightly more difficult than usual in terms of "Time Taken", and therefore slightly less finish-able.
  • Due to the Covid Pandemic situation, we will not be finalizing any details about the offline finals at this point. Any points below that are dependent on that are marked with ***. Since the offline registration process and the Prizes that we can give are contingent on this, those details have been removed altogether.
  • The base points from the SM Rounds will simply be the total score of participants. With just 3 rounds counted, this is a reasonable way to ensure that performance in online rounds is a significant part of doing well in ISC (as it will roughly count as one extra round proportionally).

Why the Changes?

The main reason for four rounds is we want a lighter schedule this year while we are restructuring and adding to LMI. Since it is just 4 rounds, having 6 variants per round makes more sense in order to explore more variants over the course of the series. Having 2 6x6 Classics instead of 4 still achieves the aim of having a warm-up for newcomers to get into the contest. This naturally means there will be that bit more to solve as a 6x6 variant and a 9x9 variant take the slots of the 6x6 Classics. As a general note, SM has a dual aim, i.e., a) providing something to solve for newcomers and casual participants and b) challenging India's top solvers and keeping them somewhat in touch with solving levels of a WSC. We can achieve both these goals without the rounds necessarily being finish-able for the top X or Y solvers, which is arbitrary anyway. Instead, what we will aim to do is, within the 6 variant pairs, we will try to have 2 easy pairs, 2 medium pairs and 2 hard pairs, so that there is something for everyone. We request the participants to consider this target when providing feedback for any given round. The other changes are hopefully self explanatory.


Recap of Other Points about SM & ISC

  • This is a national contest aimed at encouraging the best Sudoku solvers of India to participate and experience the excitement, thrill and puzzling atmosphere on the lines of various national championships and the World Championships.
  • The SM series consists of 4 online rounds (approximately one every 3-4 weeks), based on different themes of Sudoku variants.
  • Like the recent years before 2020 and 2021, the offline final will have a participation fee which will mainly be to recover venue/food costs. This fee will be updated a little later once the venue is confirmed. The online rounds will continue to be free for all.***
  • There are 3-4* spots for the Indian A team for WSC 2022, which will be decided by this tournament.***
    *Depending on whether the player awarded a wildcard from WSC 2019 participates.
  • There will be a separate playoff at the end of the offline finals to determine the Mahabharat winner. There will be an eligibility criteria for this playoff, as explained below, to preserve the essence of Sudoku Mahabharat.***

Eligibility

All players who have achieved any one of the following are NOT eligible to participate in the playoff to determine the Sudoku Mahabharat winner.
  • Represented India in A-Team at the World Sudoku Championship at least once in the last 10 years..
  • Represented India in B-Team / UN-Team at the World Sudoku Championship at least twice in the last 10 years..
  • Won the Sudoku Mahabharat title twice.
According to LMI Records, the following players (in alphabetical order) are not eligible to participate in the playoff:
  • Amit Sowani (WSC 2016-B, WSC 2018-B)
  • Gaurav Korde (WSC 2012-A)
  • Gaurav Kumar Jain (WSC 2016-B, WSC 2017-B)
  • Jaipal Reddy (WSC 2017-A)
  • Kishore Kumar (WSC 2018-A)
  • Pranav Kamesh (WSC 2018-A)
  • Prasanna Seshadri (WSC 2018-A)
  • Rajesh Kumar (WSC 2015-B, WSC 2016-B)
  • Rakesh Rai (WSC 2016-A)
  • Rishi Puri (WSC 2017-A)
  • Rohan Rao (WSC 2018-A)
  • Sumit Bothra (WSC 2014-A)
  • Swaroop Guggilam (WSC 2014-B, WSC 2016-B)

Special Case Team Selection

If an Indian citizen is living outside India and cannot attend the offline finals due to this reason, then that Indian may qualify into the Indian A team if they fall into ALL of the below criteria.
  • The participant must be in the top 3 of the Sudoku Mahabharat online rounds considering best three scores.
  • The participant must be in the top 3 Indians considering the best four scores after six Sudoku Grand Prix rounds.
  • The participant must produce a soft copy of some proof of residence showing that they are not in India at the time of the offline finals.
RoundAuthorDatesIndia 1India 2India 3
Standard & NeighboursR. Kumaresan25 Feb-02 Mar 2022Rohan RaoJames PeterNityant Agarwal
Odd Even & HybridsMadhav S. & Arun I.01 - 06 Apr 2022Kishore KumarManjiriJames Peter
Converse & OutsideHarmeet S. & Dhruvarajsinh P.22 - 27 Apr 2022Kishore KumarJames PeterJaipal Reddy
Math & IrregularNityant A. & James P.27 May - 01 Jun 2022Rohan RaoKishore KumarAshish Kumar
All rounds will start some time on Friday and will be open till Wednesdays.
All times in Indian Standard Time (GMT_PLUS_5:30)

Format

Each round will have 18 Sudokus to be solved in 90 minutes
All rounds will have the following composition:
  • Two 6X6 Standard Sudokus
  • Four 9X9 Standard Sudoku
  • Six 6X6 Sudoku Variants
  • Six 9X9 Sudoku Variants
Any Sudoku variants used in each round will appear in both sizes, 6x6 and 9x9, i.e. there will be six different Sudoku variants in a round.

Scoring

  • In each round, the fourth best Indian score among eligible players will be scaled to 100. Others' scores will be adjusted proportionately.
  • For International Rankings, the tenth best score in each round will be scaled to 100. Others' scores will be adjusted proportionately.
  • Participants will get points as allotted for each sudoku correctly submitted.
  • Instant Grading is enabled, so upon submitting participant will know if the answer is correct or not. Penalty exists for wrong submissions. (Also refer FAQ.)
  • There will be a time bonus of 1 point per full minute saved by players submitting all sudokus correctly within 90 minutes.
  • For determining rankings for offline finals consideration, each player's best 3 scores out of 4 online rounds will be summed up to calculate the total score (so, the worst score is discarded). For authors, the round authored is considered as a round with a 0 score.
  • For Organizers of SM who wish to participate in ISC, the base points will be equal to the base points of the highest Indian scorer.

    • International Players

    • Like every other contests at LMI, international players are encouraged to participate in these contests
    • These contests will be included in LMI Sudoku ratings.
    • International players are not eligible to win either the ISC or the Mahabharat title at the offline finals but can attend and participate managing their own expenses. We request any interested International players to let the organizers know early, before Round 4, so we can consider it in our plans.

    Questions?

    If you have any questions or doubts or suggestions, please ask in the forum.

    Last edited by Administrator @ 9/6/2022 11:24:48 AM.