The Hungarian Puzzle Association is the member of the World Puzzle Federation. The Association aims to provide an organized framework for those interested in puzzle solving and puzzle competitions, promoting meaningful and engaging ways to spend free time. It provides the structure for the annual puzzle-solving championships and independently organizes certain competitions. To promote puzzle solving, it holds lectures and competitions throughout the country. The Association also hosts international puzzle competitions in Hungary as well as supports the participation of Hungarian puzzle solvers in international events.
Some interesting facts about the World Puzzle Championships held in Hungary so far
In 1999, the competition was opened by Ernő Rubik, whose name is well known around the world among lovers of logic puzzles. Among the puzzle creators were Zoltán Feleki, György István, Károly Kresz, and Ede Markos, as well as Dr. László Mérő, who had previously competed in the World Puzzle Championship himself and developed numerous new types of logic puzzles, many of which have since appeared in puzzle magazines around the world. The puzzles from the championship were later published under the title Szuperrejtvények (Super Puzzles), a book that can still occasionally be found in online antiquarian bookstores.
This book helped uncover the second major generation of Hungarian logic puzzle solvers. Not only did they soon fight their way into the Hungarian national team, but they also enriched local puzzle publications with new types of puzzles. It’s no surprise that by the 2005 World Championship, Zoltán Horváth, Pál Madarassy, and Zoltán Németh had already become some of the most important puzzle authors.
In 2011, the organizers faced a unique challenge. The World Puzzle Federation decided that from that year onward, both the Logic Puzzle World Championship and the Sudoku World Championship (which was held separately for the first time only in 2006) should be organized at the same location. Instead of the usual five-day event, Hungary hosted a massive eight-day competition, welcoming more than 200 puzzle solvers. And for those who still hadn’t had enough of puzzles after eight days, there was a chance to test not only their mental but also their physical endurance in the unique Hungarian 24-Hours Puzzle Marathon.
Each of these world championships held in Hungary was coordinated by the Hungarian Puzzle Association, and it will be no different this year, when at the end of September, Eger will become the “capital”of the world’s logic puzzle solvers.
Meet Our Team
György István
Lead Organizer
A lifelong puzzle enthusiast who began as a passionate solver and soon became a creator himself. Founding chairman of the Hungarian Puzzlers’ Association and Chief Organizer of the World (Sudoku & Puzzle) Championships held in Hungary (1999, 2005, 2011, 2025). Outside the puzzle world, he works as a transportation engineer.
Notable achievements as a solver: individual silver medalist at the World Puzzle Championship (1995), and team bronze medalist (1995, 1997, 1998).
Zoltán Horváth
WSC Competition Director
He is a puzzle and game enthusiast who has been creating puzzles since 2001. This is his third time contributing to the WSC and his fifth time to the WPC. Some of his more memorable creations include the “solve on a cube” idea in 2005, Halved Squares Sudoku and 3D Sudoku in 2011, and the 2013 “Welcome round” on a Chinese round table, which he designed together with his friend Gyula Slenker.
He has taken part in several WSC and WPC events over the last two decades. In his best years, he finished in the top 10 at the WPCs.
Although mainly a logic puzzle constructor, this year he took on the role of WSC Competition Director, which brought many additional responsibilities. Nevertheless, he also prepared several individual and team rounds for the WPC.
He hopes that with their ideas the organizers have managed to create interesting and diverse competitions. He wishes everyone good luck and an enjoyable week in Hungary!
Zoltán Németh
WPC Competition Director
A long-time puzzle lover, he has recently been more of a creator than a solver. His best achievements as a solver were 21st place individually and a team bronze medal (both in 2004). He has served as competition director and puzzle author at three WPCs in the past (2005 and 2011 in Eger, Hungary, and 2013 in Beijing, China).
Outside puzzles, Zoltán works as an IT manager. As hobbies, he is also a skilled piano player and choir singer. He regularly publishes puzzles on PuzzleSquare.
Zoltán Gyimesi
Organizer, Pilot Tester
Former professional chess grandmaster, Hungarian champion, European rapid champion, and Olympic silver medalist. Married, father of three children. As a logical thinker, he immediately fell in love with puzzles when he first encountered them in the early 2000s. Due to his chess commitments, he has taken part in “only” 13 WPCs and 13 WSCs so far, mostly after 2012, when he retired from chess. He also contributed to the preparations of the WPCs in 2011 and 2013. After his chess career, he worked as a network manager for Hungary’s largest door-selling company, but since February he has been on a sabbatical year, allowing him more time to solve puzzles and travel around the world.
Notable achievements as a solver: 5th place individually at the 2005 WPC; team bronze at the 2018 WPC.
Nóra Péterfia
Web Development
She joined the organizing team in 2025, contributing to the technical and web development aspects of the competition. Although relatively new to sudoku and logic puzzles, she has recently started exploring them and enjoys the occasional challenge. She has long been connected to the broader puzzle community through her love of traditional crosswords and her membership in the Hungarian Puzzlers’ Association.
Her main responsibility is building and maintaining the event’s website, ensuring everything runs smoothly on the digital side. She also values the opportunity to gain insight into the logic puzzle world through this role. Her background includes experience with jigsaw puzzle competitions, which has given her useful perspective for her current involvement.
In her free time, she enjoys swimming and working on jigsaw puzzles. She is excited to meet everyone in person at the competition!
László Mérő
Puzzle Author
Originally trained as a mathematician, he spent ten years as an artificial intelligence researcher before joining the Institute of Psychology at Eötvös Loránd University, where he has been a professor for over four decades. His popular science books have been published in eleven languages.
As a solver, he was a member of the Hungarian team that won the bronze medal at the World Puzzle Championship in 1997. As a puzzle author, he has contributed to all three World Championships hosted in Hungary.
László G. Nagy
Puzzle Author
He is a 53-year-old economist and father of two. He has been a puzzle constructor for four decades, focusing mainly on logic puzzles. He represented Hungary as a competitor at three World Puzzle Championships (1994, 1995, and 1996). Among these, he remembers 1995 with particular pride, when the Hungarian team earned the bronze medal.
Péter Gyimesi
Puzzle Author, Pilot Tester
Eldest son of Zoltán Gyimesi, he is a programmer and currently pursuing an MSc in Mathematics. He is a medalist at both the International Mathematical Olympiad and the International Olympiad in Informatics. Thanks to his parents, he was introduced early to logical thinking and puzzles. He has participated in five WPCs so far, and the WSPC in Eger is his first time as an organizer.
Notable achievements as a solver: 3rd place in the under-18 category at the 2019 WPC.
Viktor Samu
Organizer, Puzzle Author
He has been passionate about logic puzzles since the age of seven and remains just as enthusiastic 25 years later. Since entering the Hungarian puzzle community in 2017, he has been a regular contestant at the World Puzzle Championship. The WSPC in Eger marks his first major role as an organizer, following earlier contributions to the 24-Hour Puzzle Championship.
In his professional life, he works as an application scientist in the semiconductor industry, where he also makes use of his problem-solving and puzzle-creating skills. His most notable results as a solver include a team bronze medal at the 2018 WPC and a top-20 individual finish at the 2022 WPC.
Éva Kasparek
Organizer, Puzzle Marker
She has been solving crosswords ever since she learned to write. In 2013 she entered a “100 Years of the Crossword” competition, where she finished 1st among newcomers and 2nd overall. A member of the Hungarian Puzzlers’ Association since 2014, she quickly advanced to the master category within a year and has been serving as its president since 2018.
A retired mathematics teacher, she enjoys solving crosswords, sudoku, and logic puzzles (though, as she says, not always quickly). She has never participated in a World Championship before, so she is especially excited to join the WSPC in Eger as a marker and organizer.
György Herke
Sudoku Author
He first encountered sudoku at the age of 13 and was immediately drawn to the numbers and logic behind the puzzle. He began competing in 2011 with the national selections and has been a member of the Hungarian Sudoku team at the World Championships since 2016, serving as an A-team member from 2017 onward. His best individual results include 63rd place in India (2017) and 60th place in Canada (2023). Outside the puzzle world, he works as a mechanical engineer.
Pál Madarassy
Organizer, Puzzle Author
Cartographer, mathematician, logistician, public administrator, orienteer, and collector of puzzle competition T-shirts. This is his second contribution to the WSC and his fourth to the WPC. Some of his more memorable creations include “evergreens with evil twists” and the “moving screen test.”
He also serves as the director of this year’s 24-hour Puzzle Championship.
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, he was the WPC Champion (Brazil, 2007).
Károly Kresz
Sudoku Author
As a newly graduated programmer, his long-standing interest in puzzles became a lasting passion when he joined the Hungarian national puzzle team. At the World Puzzle Championships he achieved three team bronze medals (1995, 1997, 1998) and placed 8th individually in 1995. Since then, he has continued both puzzle creation and programming.
Anikó Kozics
Organizer, Pilot Tester
She discovered the world of logic puzzles in 2002, first as a competitor and a few years later as part of the organizing team, helping with logistics and checking. Over time she became deeply involved in puzzle competitions, and for the past 15 years she has been one of the main organizers of Hungarian logic and sudoku events as well as the international 24-hour Puzzle Championship.
While she does not create puzzles, she takes care of countless background tasks: managing registrations, test-solving, proofreading puzzle sets before printing, and transporting materials and equipment to the venues.
Since 2013 she has also been active in crossword solving and has served on the board of the Hungarian Puzzlers’ Association since 2017. Two years ago, she launched a logic and sudoku club for beginners to help more people discover the world of puzzles.
Her involvement with the WPC-WSC dates back to 2005, when she first joined as a marker in Eger. In 2011 and 2013 she took on the responsibility of proofreading the final puzzle sets in addition to other organizational tasks. Her long-standing commitment to the 24-hour Puzzle Championship began in 2002; since 2005 she has been working tirelessly throughout the entire 24 hours of each event, just like the competitors themselves. Unfortunately, due to an accident this tradition has recently been interrupted.
She is nevertheless delighted to support the organizing team of this year’s event, even if only for a few days.
She wishes the competitors the best of luck and her fellow organizers a successful event.
Gyula Slenker
Puzzle Author
He became fascinated by logic puzzles in 2000, inspired by the book Szuperrejtvények, published after the 1999 World Championship in Budapest, and the newly launched Logika magazine. For years, his puzzles appeared regularly in print. As an author, he contributed to the World Puzzle Championships in Eger (2005, 2011) and was part of the author team for the 2013 WPC in Beijing.
In his professional life, he works as a software developer at LOGESZ. He is also the proud father of three adult sons and grandfather to four grandchildren.
Zoltán Feleki
Puzzle Author
He is an electrical engineer and has been passionate about logic puzzles and crosswords since childhood. He is more of a creator than a quick solver. He has contributed as a puzzle author and member of the organizers’ team to all World Championships hosted in Hungary. He also designed the logos for all four of these events.
László Osvalt
Organizer, Puzzle Author
He has been involved in puzzle solving since 1999. He participated in six World Puzzle Championships and helped organize the 2011 event in Hungary. He also contributed to the launch and organization of the 24-Hour Puzzle Championship.
He works as a computer scientist and is the father of two. His hobbies include writing, role-playing, and hiking.
Kartal Nagy
Organizer, Puzzle Author
He has been passionate about mathematics and logic games since childhood, earning a silver medal at the 2016 International Mathematical Olympiad. He joined the Hungarian puzzle community in 2017, at the same competition as Viktor Samu, and has been a regular participant in the World Puzzle Championship since 2018, achieving top-30 finishes in recent years.
As an author, he has already contributed puzzles to the Puzzle GP and the 24-Hour Puzzle Championship.