1RaShEeD1's blog

How to Become a Codeforces Candidate Master
By 1RaShEeD1, history, 3 weeks ago, In English

Hey, Codeforces fam!

I'm wondering if USACO the best place for Candidate Master journey. I know it's competitive and well-structured, but how does it compare for those of us focused on reaching that elusive CM title? Is grinding USACO a good pathway, or should I focus more on specific CF problem sets?

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3 weeks ago, # |
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USACO and codeforces are quite different. I'm stuck in USACO silver rn, and I've seen some specialists say that they're in USACO gold.

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3 weeks ago, # |
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Solve 100 div2 As, 100 div2 Bs, 100 div2 Cs, 100 div2 Ds. To become purple you just need to solve ABCD consistently and fast.

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    3 weeks ago, # ^ |
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    From recent contests or did you follow any ladder of some sort?

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      3 weeks ago, # ^ |
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      From recent contests will give you a better understanding of what problems look like nowadays. But older problems are valuable as well.

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    3 weeks ago, # ^ |
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    To become purple you just need(must) have high IQ

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    3 weeks ago, # ^ |
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    100d is not enough for cm we need more

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      2 weeks ago, # ^ |
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      You have solved 13 problems of rating 1900. You can't expect to reach a rating when you have ~10 ACs on problems of that rating range.

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        2 weeks ago, # ^ |
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        what do u suggest to me what range I should solve

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          2 weeks ago, # ^ |
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          I've seen that you solved a lot of problems, and not only easy ones. I think you need to improve your speed. You could try doing virtual participations on div2s and div3s and focus on solving ABCs as fast as possible. I saw that in the contests where you solved ABC, you were slow in doing so. Also, you can practice 800-1000 rating problems (div2 A range) and try solving them in ~5 minutes average. That's what I did a few years ago to improve my speed.

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            2 weeks ago, # ^ |
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            so I have to give virtual contest and solve abc fast are you sure this works I am going to do that

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              2 weeks ago, # ^ |
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              Trust me. You will reach green and then cyan by solving ABC fast consistently. After that, you start worrying about Ds. I'm currently solving ABCDs consistently, not always Ds as fast as I would like. I need to be able to solve Es now, to reach Master, so that's what I'm practicing. Just Es. When you're confident about solving ABCs in 30/40 minutes, start practicing only Ds.

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    3 weeks ago, # ^ |
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    The problem is that i solve A,B consistently i rarely solve C in DIV 2 what should i do more !!

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    2 weeks ago, # ^ |
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    I dont think its just about solving 100 questions of each rating, its more about wheather you are able to use concepts you have learned while doing these questions.

    I have seen many users just solving 20-25 question max for each rating before moving on and many who have solved approx 100 for a rating but still being stuck there(yeah me included), ultimately it is true everyone can improve but number of questions depends person to person, its more imporatant to understand more and think more then to do more questions ig...

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2 weeks ago, # |
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USACO and codeforces are correlated but very loosely. I'm USACO Platinum but only mid-expert. I know someone in USACO Gold who is master, someone in silver around the same rating as me, and someone who's platinum and still a pupil.

edit: i also know a master who's in silver but he took the contests at 3am so thats probably why

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