Packet 2: Tossup 12

Xerxes I was credited with inventing this activity in a treatise on it by Pedro Damiano. A Sasanian (-5[1])Book of the Deeds claims that Ardashir I mastered (15[1])a predecessor to this activity. 1-by-1 (15[1])“citadels” (15[1])are utilized (15[1])in a “large” variant (15[1])of this activity (-5[1])named for (15[1])Tamerlane. (15[4])To impress Maria (15[2])Theresa, (15[10])Wolfgang (15[1])von Kempelen constructed a fake (15[1])automaton (15[3])that could (15[1])supposedly perform (15[4])this (15[1])activity (15[4]-5[1])called the (*) Mechanical (10[2])Turk. (10[2])This activity (10[1])evolved from the ancient Indian chaturanga. The Spanish priest Ruy (“ROO-ee”) López names a sequence (10[1])used in this game. For 10 points, the Persian “shāh māt” is the origin of what board game’s term “checkmate”? (10[1])■END■ (10[1])

ANSWER: playing chess [accept Great Chess or Large Chess; prompt on Shatranj or Chatrang or Chaturanga before “chaturanga” is read]
<History - Other, Khang Le> | VAULT II Packet 02
= Average correct buzzpoint

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Buzzes

PlayerTeamOpponentBuzzpointValue
William TurnerBathBirmingham B17-5
Parth JagtapArmand duplantis fan clubMichael Touse-Squid2615
Jeffrey WuBelmont ALexington B3215
Amory Kaufman-YoungProvidenceEden Prairie3315
Carson TidwellExhibitionJohns Creek3515
Chris YooBooz Allen InternsJeopardy Rejected Ibean Batutu3915
Nathan SilvermanwhateverAlways Set the Kurve42-5
Pranavkrishna BharanidharanBella VistaBurlington Trojans4415
Sanjay RajagopalEast Chapel HillChapel Hill A4515
Sowrish KomaragiriTantaene Animis Caelestibus IraeChapel Hill B4515
Gus SullivanMinnetonka BBurnsville4515
Skand ParvatikarLeif Eriksen's Striking AppearanceBasileus II: Electric Boogaloo4515
Vivaan KohliLambert BInnovation A4815
Aydin HirjiRenertNorthern4815
Rishaan Saboo (North Gwinnett)Georgia CGeorgia A4915
Rohit RajaNot Just BikingThey fuck you up your buzz and neg4915
Ethan BonnellPC Chris Master RaceI have no buzzer and I must neg4915
Ryan FangThe Young JitsTed Offensive4915
Dhruva DevabhaltuniChattahoochee AChattahoochee B4915
Krish NathanHooverNorthview B4915
Adhrit YadavLambert AInnovation B4915
Sheehan BankaNorthview AMidtown4915
Alvan HossainLexington ABelmont B4915
Fionn QuinnGlebeAbbey Park4915
Darren KellisOstia OrcasAn even worse idea5015
Will BartonSouthperialOxford5515
Elliot EarleySheffield AManchester A5615
Charlie NichollsCambridgeBirmingham A5615
Mitch McCullarThey'll Just Let Anyone Edit Chicago Open These DaysHoya gonna stop the Fighting Irish?5615
March DelfinWith Less Than 2 Years of Combined Quizbowl ExperienceDon't Ever Take Sides Against the Family5815
Jack DisburyChimeraSheffield B6015
Toby HewgillManchester BEdinburgh6015
Soham GohilMansfield AMansfield B6015
Terry TangMidnight Bus to VistaPrat Pack6015
Nikola WuHeauton TimorumenosBig Brown Ballers6115
Aarnav Asudani (Oak Valley)CaliforniaNew York6215
Keaton Finan (Finan Homeschool)WashingtonGeorgia B62-5
Swastik RoyTexas AKentucky6215
Ryan LiuNorth CarolinaTexas B6215
Jonathan LeeCheese SandwichMartingrove6215
Rosaline DaffinSouthamptonWarperial6510
Sasha FillbrandtMountain Dew is BetterVirginia Tech6510
Arjun PantCary AcademyGrimsley6610
Van LeMinnetonka CMinnetonka A6610
Saisabari RameshWaltham BWaltham A6810
Manasvi DuggiralaAlways Set the Kurvewhatever8210
Victor Fu (North Gwinnett)Georgia BWashington10210
Harvey WagstaffBirmingham BBath10310

Summary

TournamentEditionMatchHeardConv. %Power %Neg %Avg. Buzz
VAULT II at Georgia Tech2026-01-246100%100%0%46.50
Triangle Cup2026-03-133100%67%0%52.00
VAULT II at Eden Prairie HS2026-03-133100%67%0%48.00
VAULT II at McGill2026-03-134100%100%0%50.75
VAULT II at UCSB2026-03-135100%80%20%61.20
VAULT II Northern UK2026-04-243100%100%0%58.67
VAULT II Southern UK2026-04-244100%50%25%69.75
VAULT II at Harvard2026-04-304100%75%0%52.25
VAULT II at MINT2026-06-195100%80%20%67.40
VAULT II Stanford Online2026-07-178100%88%0%47.88