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My Sudoku prowess is very important to me. I told my partner I was a “Sudoku expert” on one of our very first dates, and it has been an accepted truth in our relationship since. I can usually crack the New York Times hard Sudoku in less than 30 minutes, which – if you know Sudoku – is pretty quick. And I can tolerate losing at word puzzles to my partner knowing I am truly exceptional at numbers.
So you can imagine my surprise the other day when he attempted the NYT hard Sudoku for the first time, and solved it within 12 minutes.
“What do you mean you solved it?” I yelled.
I was outraged. I love the man deeply, and I want him to succeed, but I did not want him to succeed at my one niche skill!
He shrugged. “It really wasn’t that hard.”
I felt one of my core beliefs explode inside my brain. Have I been bragging about something that’s actually very easy for all these years? Am I not as smart as I had believed? But I’ve watched videos of experts solving the hard Sudoku, and even they take 20 to 30 minutes. Are the online experts as stupid as me, or is my partner a genius at number puzzles, too?
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“This is ridiculous,” I muttered, and scowled at him. I felt irritated for the rest of the day.
The next morning, my Wordle guess was correct, which redeemed me, just a little. Later that day, I solved the hard Sudoku in 26 minutes, which wasn’t a personal best, but came close.
Still, the number puzzle had lost its shine. Who cares about cracking a Sudoku in 26 minutes if my partner could crack it in 12?
“I’ll give the Sudoku a go,” my partner said, and breezily picked up his phone.
I buried my head in my book, trying not to be invested in the outcome. How long would he take this time? Eleven minutes? Six? How complete would be my humiliation?
After 20 minutes, I glanced up at him. He looked annoyed, and I couldn’t help but feel pleased. “How’s it going?” I asked, as neutrally as possible.
He frowned. “I messed it up.”
I was gracious, of course. I told him that it was, in fact, very hard. But when he gave up the puzzle after another 20 minutes, I felt a surge of triumph and relief.
His win yesterday had been a freakish fluke! I was still the Sudoku queen!
Since then, order has been restored in our relationship. I still dance when I beat my partner at Spelling Bee, and he still beats me nine times out of ten. But I take comfort from my one remaining special skill. Sudoku may have no application in the real world, but the victory feels gloriously real.
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