Busy but Master #3 - Codeforces

#	User	Rating
1	tourist	4009
2	jiangly	3823
3	Benq	3738
4	Radewoosh	3633
5	jqdai0815	3620
6	orzdevinwang	3529
7	ecnerwala	3446
8	Um_nik	3396
9	ksun48	3390
10	gamegame	3386

#	User	Contrib.
1	cry	167
2	Um_nik	163
3	maomao90	162
3	atcoder_official	162
5	adamant	159
6	-is-this-fft-	158
7	awoo	157
8	TheScrasse	154
9	Dominater069	153
9	nor	153

Alternative name: "Road to Master when you don't have time".
Episode 1: link
Episode 2: link
Episode 3: October 2024

UPD: So glad to hear your support <3

I already feel it, just need to be calm.

Practice results

The first half of the month was mind-blowing for me. First, I managed to solve a 3200-rated problem. Then I noticed that I no longer felt as much joy from just solving problems, so I decided to try something new. I started doing virtual contests to see if I had better chance for master than before. I chose contests that I had already completed four years ago, and omg my dopamine levels exploded. In my first virtual contest, I reached top39.

After that, I realized I needed to see my rating, including virtual contests, so I found Codeforces Anytime. Second and third VC — top139 and top183. After two virtual contests, my rating was 1969, and my performance in the last one was 2203. That was impressive for me. I gained a lot of confidence, and in my next official contest, I reached top 39. Hell nah, that felt like a dream. Of course, that contest was late at night, so there were fewer participants, but still it was close to my best finish ever (top 33).

Then came another contest where I gained +54 rating points. Now I have a 2020 rating, and just one more top 100 finish could make me master. But... Average Codeforces moment and I dropped back to rxpert. At least in the last contest of the month, I took back Candidate Master, which is at least something.

Conclusion? Need to write VC before official rounds :)

By the way, I learned one interesting trick that I wish I knew before. I have been using it for a few days and I love it. After solving a problem, I add it to a document and add a few sentences about what the problem taught me. Maybe there is some trick or something else. I find that when I write, I understand the logical steps of the problem better and remember better.
Example: problem

If it looks like binary/ternary search problem, but it doesn't have one extremum, try to use greedy method but find lower/upper bounds for iterator.
So instead of binary_search(1, n) it will look more like for i in lower(n)..=upper(n)

Solved problems:

R	1800	1900	2000	2100	2200	2300	2400	2500	2600	2700	2800	2900	3200	Total
Count	5	3	0	6	10	5	6	5	3	4	1	0	1	48

Fun fact: every month I solve more problems (30->39->48) but spent +-the same amount of time. This means that I solve problems faster — nice(2).

Contest results

CF	Standings	Pos	Delta	Solved	Few notes
Codeforces Round 977 (Div. 2, based on COMPFEST 16 — Final Round)	link	1215	-8	3/8	Nothing interesting on contest. Bad C2 implementation. But E1-3 problems were really interesting. Enjoyed upsolving up to E2.
Codeforces Round 978 (Div. 2)	link	39	+163	4/7	First contest after practicing few virtual contests. It was like midnight in my region but I decided to participate anyway. Top39. The best finish as for now. Instantly become CM. I actually believe I could solve even D2, but it was hard to focus on last minutes and D2 contains few edge cases. +motivation.
Educational Codeforces Round 170	link	234	+54	5/7	Yeah buddy. That is the performance I expect from myself. Solved 5 problems, let's go. If I haven't made few mistakes on D, I could have been top 70. I really like that I was able E, that is 2200 rating (master performance). Now I have 2020 rating, just one good contest I need.
Codeforces Round 979 (Div. 2)	link	4085	-136	3/8	I'm an expert again. From this point I realized I don't want to cf anymore. I was really bad on thinking in this round. And then on implementation (D), so in general it was one of the worst performance during last 3 months. As usual after upsolving up to F, I realized it was just bad day, no need to panic.
Codeforces Global Round 27	link	1990	-38	4/9	First div1+div2 for me (I want to participate in div1 as CM one day). 3 hours of emotional roller coaster (aka pain). I couldn't figure out how to solve C. I knew it should be an easy solution, but my brain stopped working. I almost cried, xd, I was so mad at the problem setters (but the only problem is me). I solved it. "Yeah, now I can quickly solve D, then E, then win the t-shirt." God damn it. Just WA2 all the time. A moment of silence for my angry control system. For the first time, I decided not to finish this contest. I went to the kitchen and made myself some food. Spent 15 minutes. Food in the microwave. Yeah, let's try this thing. Ugh, AC. I'm so glad I got this accepted, otherwise I'd end up with so much negative delta that the next cfs would just have to return those points. But -38 is like 0.5 of a good contest. Not such a big deal. Moving on.
Educational Codeforces Round 171	link	441	+55	4/6	Last contest of the month. I need to become a CM or no one will read my november blog. Solid result. Top441, I almost couldn't have done better. I still don't know how to solve E. Or no, I know how to solve it, but it's f*cking flows. I decided not to even learn flows because I'd forget them after a few minutes anyway. I just understood what flows could theoretically solve, so next time I come across it, I can probably copy-paste a template (or no). Anyway, rating 1900, last cf of the month. What could be better? At least some positive results to keep practicing.
Result	link	Avg. 1334	+90	Avg. 3.8/7.5	I feel like now I am a solid CM. Nothing more to add. I need to become more consistent and learn how to control my emotions. The last few contests have upset me with how I handled my emotions.

Mini achievements

Fully upsolved 5 div2.
Made it to the semi-finals of ICPC, but will not be able to attend it because...
Finally became Candidate Master (twice) — max rating 2019.
Top39 Div2.
Solved 3200 problem without editorial (I swear, men, these numbers are pointless).
Full live Div3 contest (top80).
New topics: Kruskal Reconstruction Tree, Tree flattening with Euler tour, Xor hashing.
30+ active days

Conclusion

It's not as easy as I expected. Sometimes when I'm on +morality and think I already "have master abilities" I start setting higher goals like IM/GM, but then I wake up. I need to learn to control my emotions if I want to see great results. So I'm back in city and ready for changes.