Hello Codeforces!

We’re excited to invite you to a brand-new AI-native competition from JetBrains — not your typical algorithm marathon. Meet the Blackbox Cup, happening on March 15, 2026.

TL;DR: The Blackbox Cup is here to give you a fun (and challenging) taste of working with unknown systems, messy constraints, and missing context, with any tools allowed (yes, even AI! 🤯).

❓ What to expect? Imagine joining a project with no documentation, no backlog, and vibes like “we’ll explain later.” Your mission: explore the system, uncover hidden logic, and start solving tasks — step by step, through experimentation and smart guesses.

• ⛰ Start with warm-ups and climb the leaderboard as the challenges get harder.

• 🤖 AI tools are welcome! AI assistants and modern developer tools are fully allowed — resourcefulness is part of the challenge.

• 👶 👵 Two leagues: Junior (high school students, 16+ y.o.) & Senior (university students, graduates, and professionals)

🗓 Save the dates:

• March 1–14, 2026 — Trial Round (no time limit; it’s already live, so jump in anytime to get familiar with the format and the platform)

• March 10, 2026, 16:00 UTC — Live session: Trial Round editorial + Q&A

• March 13 — Registration deadline

• March 15, 2026, 9:00–14:00 UTC — Main Round (5 hours)

Graduating from high school or finishing your Bachelor’s this year and looking for your next step in education with a focus on CS and AI? Winning the JetBrains Blackbox Cup can also boost your chances of getting a fully-funded JetBrains Foundation scholarship for:

• BSc Software, Data and Technology at Constructor University Bremen — winners get invited to the interview.

• BSc Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at Neapolis University Pafos — winners get extra points on the entrance test.

• MSc Advanced Software Technology at Constructor University Bremen — this program focuses on ML research, so scholarship interviews are based on your profile (CV, motivation letter, etc.), but Blackbox Cup participation can be a nice addition to your portfolio when applying!