Arvind Mahankali, 13 of Bayside Hills, won the National Spelling Bee by correctly spelling Knaidel, the Yiddish word for dumpling (links, links). However, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research has challenged the result, arguing the correct spelling is Kneydl.  Apparently, Arvind’s win is safe as the Spelling Bee uses the 3rd edition of Webster’s dictionary as the reference spelling guide, and Webster’s has it as Knaidel.  With this win Arvind  announced he is retiring from competitive spelling to focus on physics.