55 and going strong: 108 teams brainstorm at DI Open Quiz
Times of India | 11 May 2025
12 Kolkata: A lively and fiercely contested evening of quizzing unfolded on Saturday at the 55th edition of the Neil O'Brien DI Open Quiz 2025, held at the Dalhousie Institute to mark the 91st birth anniversary of quizmaster Neil O'Brien. Recognised as India's second-oldest quiz, the event drew 108 teams—60 of them from schools—who registered for a 30-question written preliminary round.Overwhelmed by the number of teams, Neil O'Brien's son, Derek O'Brien, said they had not had so many participating teams in 25 years. Last year, the number of participating teams was 88, among which six had reached the final round to fight for the Errol Cowper Trophy. This time, eight teams, Aar Jani Na, Groove like Dhruv, Hammer and Tongs, Inmaniacs, Quiz Lovers of Kolkata, Manatee, Shaukeens and What's In A Name, went to the finals. Quiz masters Shouvik Guha and Andrew Scolt quickly plunged into the final battle as they deftly steered the eight teams through six rounds.Operation SindoorPak drones enter Indian airspace, explosions heard just hours after truce dealSirens, explosions in border districts after Pak breaks deal: What we know so far'What happened to ceasefire?' J&K CM after explosions heard across SrinagarAt the end of six rounds in the final leg, Inmaniacs emerged as the champion, followed by Groove like Druv in the second place and What's In A Name in the third place.Before the final round started off, a special felicitation ceremony was held. Francis Groser, patent lawyer and veteran quiz master, who despite his frail health flew down from Delhi, was felicitated as was Errol O'Brien, veteran quiz master and Neil O'Brien's cousin. Errol had helped Neil organise the first Eddie Hyde Quiz in 1967.Once the rounds were over, Inmaniacs, comprising Gautam Ghosh, Sudip Kalyan Dey, Shayak Chakraborty and Anirudh Chari, were handed the trophy. "It feels great to be back at DI and win the trophy," said Gautam. Four quizzing legends were inducted into the Neil O'Brien Indian Quizzing Hall of Fame—Abhijeet Banerjee and Shouvik Guha for 2022 and Saranya Jayakumar and Navin Jayakumar for 2023. The Jayakumars are keeping the quizzing flag flying high in Chennai by setting up the Quiz Foundation of India.There were special prizes for members of the three school teams: The Heritage School, St Joseph's College (Team B) and Modern High School. St Joseph's College (Team B) also won a scholarship. The audience, too, got a chance to showcase their knowledge and bagged goody bags for the right answer. Most questions for the audience had the students from city schools getting it right.Derek announced that all the four heritage quizzes of the country—Eddie Hyde quiz, DI Open, Summer Invitation and Argus Quiz—were being institutionalized and would be held every year. The Eddie Hyde Quiz will be at the Church of Christ the King parish hall, while the other three will continue to be hosted at DI. The Summer Invitation will become an inter-school quiz.For the DI president, holding the heritage quiz over the last 55 years has been "an interesting journey".