Roy figures out his way to the final

Roy Taylor, in finals of The Times Sudoku competition.

Sudoku supremo Roy Taylor is looking to make the borough proud with his puzzle-solving skills.

The 64-year-old number cruncher has been selected to take part in The Times National Sudoku Championships in London on September 26.

Around 100 people from across the country will battle it out to complete the fiendishly difficult number puzzles and win a trophy and £1,000 prize. Mr Taylor, of Beck Grove, Shaw, has been enjoying the Japanese brain teasers for the past four years and finishes 10 a day.

He had to submit several puzzles and the time he completed them in to the newspaper to qualify for the tournament.

Contestants will tackle eight puzzles in two one-hour sessions. The eight who correctly complete them all in the fastest time go through to the grand final.

Mr Taylor said: “You can come unstuck. Sometimes you try to be too quick so you have to be a bit careful. The simplest of mistakes can blow you up later on.”

Tackling puzzles has been recommended for boosting brain power and Mr Taylor added: “I’m 64 now so I hope there is an element of keeping you mentally alert.”

But his wife Denise is not a fan. He joked: “She’s not at all into them. But it keeps me quiet so she buys more and more.”

Mr Taylor is not the only local puzzle fan flying the flag for the borough as the Chronicle recently revealed that fellow Shaw resident Liane Robinson (44) is jetting out to Turkey in November with a team of eggheads to take part in the World Puzzle Championships.

“It must be something in the water,” quipped Mr Taylor.

n Play Sudoku every night in the Chronicle.