Fifteen school teams from across India on Thursday qualified for the quarter-finals on day one of the two-day Grand Finale of the national inter-school CCCC Cryptic Crossword Contest 2025. On Friday, the event will witness three semi-finals and a final showdown between the three top teams to claim the National Crossword Champion trophy.

The Grand Finale of this prestigious annual championship is being held at YMCA Delhi.

As many as 40 teams along with their mentor teachers converged on the national capital from schools across the country on Thursday. After a written preliminary round where each of the two-member teams had to solve a grid of 24 puzzles and an onstage Extra-C Round of cryptic clues with the theme ‘India’, 15 top scoring teams qualified to quarter-final round on the basis of their combined scores.

The teams invited to the Grand Finale were selected after two gruelling online stages held between July and September.

Earlier in the day, the event was inaugurated in the presence of dignitaries and guests of honour. The prominent among those present on the dais were Chief Guest Mr Rajesh Kumar Singh, IAS, Defence Secretary, Government of India; Mr Jitendra Srivastava, IAS, CMD, REC Ltd; Mr Gyaneshwar Kumar Singh, DG and CEO, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs; Mr Amitav Sinha, Director-General of Income-Tax, Ministry of Finance, Government of India; Mr Sharat Sinha, IPS, ADC, Delhi Police; and Mr Vivek Kumar Singh, IAS, Chairman, RERA, Government of Bihar.

Speaking to the audience, they praised the efforts of Extra-C, the civil society initiative and the organisers of the contest,for creating a competitive platform for crosswords for school students for promoting learning with fun. In their addresses, they said crosswords do not only hone cognitive skills but also provide a bulwark against ailments like dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Earlier, the dignitaries unveiled the National Crossword Champion Trophy 2025 and the CCCC 2025 T-shirt. They also released the event’s souvenir and diary.