About Me
Hi everyone! I am Melvin and I live in the Philippines. I am a licensed Agricultural and Biosystems Engineer and currently working at the top university here in our country. Since entering school way back 2002 in elementary, numbers have always been exciting for me. So how did Sudoku change my life? And how did Sudoku shape important events in my life?
The beginning of my Sudoku Journey
It was the year 2008, in sixth grade, when I first encountered sudoku. I was just reading a local newspaper when I saw on the last page a sample sudoku puzzle. It caught my attention simply because there are numbers on it. So I read the basic rule and tried it. And after a few minutes of solving it, I remembered how frustrated I was because I couldn’t get the answer. It came to a point where the newspaper got a hole because I was erasing my answers all the time. But as a competitive child, I didn’t stop. And this was the moment Sudoku bewitched me and I loved it!
Sudoku Competitions
In the same year (2008), I don’t know how it happened, but I suddenly became the representative of our school for a sudoku competition. And I lost. I couldn’t even solve one puzzle during the competition. After that, I continued practicing solving sudoku puzzles. Starting 2009, I encountered various sudoku variants and this was the year I knew in myself I improved. And I did. Since then, I have joined different sudoku competitions as a representative of our school and won. But my breakthrough year is 2012. I became the regional champion and joined the 12th Philippine Sudoku Super Challenge where I placed 1st Runner-Up in my age category. I represented the Philippines in the 2012 Beijing International Sudoku Tournament held in Beijing, China, and in the 6th BRAND’s Sudoku Thailand International Open held in Thailand. This was the year I loved Sudoku even more because I realized that many people also love sudoku as much as I do. And it was a bonus year for me as I met my Sudoku idols like Kota Morinishi and Thomas Synder. Sudoku really changed my life.
Me and Sudoku Now
Right now, I’ll admit I can’t compete competitively like before since I have a different career path. But Sudoku is part of my everyday life. It’s always in the back of my mind. The advice I can give to those who want to try sudoku and are currently trying, is just practice and practice and practice. Cliche as it may sound but practice makes perfect. And this website will be a big help for you to be a sudoku expert someday like me. From the basic rules and techniques up to the hardest one, Sudoku Essentials will definitely be essential for all sudoku enthusiasts. And I believe that sudoku will not only be a hobby for you but a passion as well.