When the Svensson sisters won the park class in the Swedish Jigsaw Puzzle in early June, they laid out 500 pieces in 33 minutes and six seconds, including extra time for a piece that was dropped on the floor. It gave a margin of victory of six minutes.
Katarina Svensson, 20, also won the individual class. Magdalena, 24, turned seven.
The sisters have been diligent puzzlers since an early age.
– Our mother Viktoria is good, says Magdalena Svensson with emphasis.
– She’s been better than us, for a long time. But not now maybe, says Katarina.
– We have been puzzling a lot lately. And I think we have the advantage of being younger, at least when it comes to puzzles fast, Magdalena thinks.
Every four seconds
The winning time in the par-SM means that a piece of the 500-bit puzzle was put in place every four seconds, on average. To pour out and turn right all the pieces are included in the time, one can note.
But on a daily basis, the sisters do not puzzle on time, and rarely together.
– It is easier to have a puzzle alone, set up so that you can put some pieces in there when you feel like it, says Katarina.
When the pieces are poured out on the table, the Svensson sisters begin to sort and puzzle with an impressive dexterity.
– We only train before the championships. It’s a little hard to stress puzzle really. But fun too, of course, Magdalena thinks.
As a couple, they sit on opposite sides of the table. Then you are at least in the way of each other. Katarina is best at puzzles up and down, and also likes to put heaven, so she usually starts from that direction.
Not from the edges
The sisters often start from colors.
– Our theory is that it is faster to pick out pieces in colors than by shape, says Magdalena Svensson.
So they do not start with the edges, as many others do – even in the Swedish Championships.
Nature photographs are the favorite motifs. Cartoon or painted pictures are a little less popular. The sisters like to take their own area with a certain color, such as sky or sea, and puzzle according to color shades.
The World Cup begins with qualifying competitions on Midsummer’s Eve. If you go to the final of the pair competition (and they probably do the sisters), then a puzzle with 1,000 pieces awaits. This is new for Svenssons in a competition context.
– It’s a bit difficult, because you have no idea how fast it should go. A 500-bit you know approximately how fast it goes, says Katarina Svensson.
– 1,000 pieces take significantly more than twice as long as 500, says Magdalena.
– There are very many more combinations to try, Katarina states.
Giant puzzle
Big puzzles, however, are no stranger to the sisters.
– I bought a puzzle with 40,320 pieces a few years ago. It is twice eight meters, says Magdalena Svensson.
– But it sounds harder than it is, because the puzzle is divided into ten pictures with 4,000 pieces in each, says Katarina a little reassuring.
So far, they have not tired of the puzzle, more than temporarily.
– You are most eager to start anew when you have just finished another, says Magdalena Svensson.
Swedish champions Magdalena (left) and Katarina Svensson – as a puzzle picture, perhaps?
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