Codeforces and Polygon may be unavailable from December 6, 19:00 (UTC) to December 6, 21:00 (UTC) due to technical maintenance. ×

solvemproblr's blog

How hard is it to become red in CF
By solvemproblr, history, 5 years ago, In English

Hi!

I'm just university freshman and I've been doing cp for 2-3 years. I'm planning to spend my upcoming 3-4 years for learning cp. My current goal for this period is to reach grandmaster. From one side, for me it seems it's somehow possible, by working hard and also considering I've 3-4 years, but from the other side we can see so many people struggling in orange or purple for many years and also considering I'm not good at math and I don't have special skills.

So I want to ask you how hard is it to become red? Is it somehow possible for me or do I need to change my goal? Also it would be perfect if you (I mean red guys) shared your stories on making red(how much time did it take, how hard it was, etc.).

Thanks in advance)

P.S I'm not asking about how to become red because it's asked before in so many blogs, I'm asking about how hard is it to become red.

Tags red
  • Vote: I like it
  • +168
  • Vote: I do not like it

Comments Comments (96)
| Write comment?
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +4 Vote: I do not like it

Um... like all the other thousands of posts out there about this topic: PRACTICE.

→ Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +18 Vote: I do not like it

    Hi
    Yes I need to practice to become better, but I'm not asking how to be red, I want to know how hard it is or how much time does it take.
    And also wait, are you bot, my blog got 9 downvotes in 5 mins, whille yours get 7 :thonk:

    Spoiler
    → Reply
    • »
      »
      »
      5 years ago, # ^ |
      ← Rev. 2   Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

      Like I first said, all the grandmasters will say: "it will take a lot of time, as one needs much practice"

      and FYI I'm not a bot :)

      → Reply
      • »
        »
        »
        »
        5 years ago, # ^ |
          Vote: I like it +84 Vote: I do not like it

        Ok, please click all boxes containing street signs

        → Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +120 Vote: I do not like it

For me it was 3K-4K problems hard so good luck.

→ Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +19 Vote: I do not like it

    When you say 3-4K hard problems, do you mean hard for your current level or hard at whichever level you were at the time ?

    For example, when you were $$$1500$$$ a problem rated more than $$$1700$$$ might have been hard :)

    → Reply
    • »
      »
      »
      5 years ago, # ^ |
        Vote: I like it +41 Vote: I do not like it

      3K problems hard != 3K hard problems

      Reading comprehension is also important :)

      → Reply
      • »
        »
        »
        »
        5 years ago, # ^ |
        ← Rev. 2   Vote: I like it +28 Vote: I do not like it

        I assumed it was a typo.

        Can you please explain what '3k problems hard' means, according to you ?

        → Reply
        • »
          »
          »
          »
          »
          5 years ago, # ^ |
            Vote: I like it +62 Vote: I do not like it

          He just answered the question.

          A:How hard it is?
          B: It's 3K-4K problems hard.

          → Reply
      • »
        »
        »
        »
        5 years ago, # ^ |
          Vote: I like it +57 Vote: I do not like it

        Nah, that sentence doesn't even make sense. You're not gonna become orange if you solve thousands of div 2 A or B. That's why using the number of problems as a metric is foolish. Look at how people went full ratism and downvoted ghoshsai5000 for asking a sincere question here. That's disgusting.

        → Reply
        • »
          »
          »
          »
          »
          5 years ago, # ^ |
            Vote: I like it +8 Vote: I do not like it

          Almost all people (who are not fool ofc) know that it's not possible to achieve it by solving thousands of easy problems and TripleM5da didn't say if you solve 3K-4K problems you will be grandmaster, he just said he got it in this way. Also personally I didn't take this comment seriously because it was more likely written for motivating.

          But I'm agree about ratism thing

          → Reply
        • »
          »
          »
          »
          »
          5 years ago, # ^ |
            Vote: I like it +19 Vote: I do not like it

          Actually you kind of can what I meant was imagine taking time to solve 3K-4K problems averagely your level that's how tough it is. It might be less hard for people with better education thou, since I never went to school and started practicing from college. But you can kind of factor in that time in your education too.

          → Reply
          • »
            »
            »
            »
            »
            »
            5 years ago, # ^ |
              Vote: I like it +8 Vote: I do not like it

            I would prefer something like an estimation of number of hours spent practicing but it's still fair if you mentioned "averagely your level" in your initial comment.

            → Reply
        • »
          »
          »
          »
          »
          5 years ago, # ^ |
            Vote: I like it +3 Vote: I do not like it

          Number of problems is just thrown around as a metric because it's easy to measure -- just go to a bunch of online judges and sum up how many problems you solved.

          I believe my count was easily over a thousand when I got red as well, though since I solved contests that necessarily includes several easy ones. As long as you aren't specifically looking for easy problems to inflate your count I think it's a reasonable stat since it's hard to know if a problem is at the right level before solving it.

          → Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

    did you practice only on codeforces?

    → Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +27 Vote: I do not like it

    Has anybody realised that rotavirus's comment disappeared. He just said "impossible" o_O

    → Reply
    • »
      »
      »
      5 years ago, # ^ |
        Vote: I like it +9 Vote: I do not like it

      It was because I got muted for 48 hours. When someone gets a mute for 48 hours, their latest komments have been deleted.

      → Reply
      • »
        »
        »
        »
        5 years ago, # ^ |
          Vote: I like it +3 Vote: I do not like it

        Were you muted because of your comment, sir?

        → Reply
        • »
          »
          »
          »
          »
          5 years ago, # ^ |
            Vote: I like it +3 Vote: I do not like it

          for you he is Mr.Master

          → Reply
          • »
            »
            »
            »
            »
            »
            5 years ago, # ^ |
              Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

            Were you muted because of your comment, Mr Master (I can feel the cringe writing this)?

            → Reply
        • »
          »
          »
          »
          »
          5 years ago, # ^ |
            Vote: I like it +18 Vote: I do not like it

          I was muted because of my another komment at the another blog

          → Reply
    • »
      »
      »
      5 years ago, # ^ |
        Vote: I like it +3 Vote: I do not like it

      the future deleted that comment

      → Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +167 Vote: I do not like it

Just stop taking this too seriously. From what you mention you seem to be thinking about whether it is possible for you to get red, but i think that is not important. What you should think of is how you can get good instead. Also, I see a lot of people that get very focused on one thing and cannot do it good. Btw, maybe you should have a hobby or interest, for example, listen to our songs :) You can avoid your brain always working in the same way, and thus acting like a robot, which is bad because CP is about creativity.

→ Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it -51 Vote: I do not like it

    how have you become Legendary Grandmaster tzuyu_chou in just 19 months ? Share with us some tips and tricks dude

    → Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +26 Vote: I do not like it

    Thanks for your answer tzuyu

    → Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +21 Vote: I do not like it

    I believe, the question "how hard it is to become red" is quite similar to "how hard it is to become a millionaire". Yes, hard. But the biggest difficulty here is not the hard work. Count (approximately) how many people aimed to do this are as determined as you are (or more), count the probable percentile you'll get into (taking into account talent, teachers, parents, age, work etc.) and count how many grandmasters+ there are and cry. You may train the hardest but still not be the best. Even more subjective opinion (and controversial, probably) is, 2400 is the kind of a cutoff, where the hard work only won't usually pass because there are lots of hardworking people but competitive programming is competitive. I don't think just being a grandmaster is the best aim also, it's mainly about being fast and efficient in 2 hours. You can be an experienced coder, a walking algorithm library, a program architect, a mathematician, a teacher, etc. There are tons of directions to follow, make sure you won't regret doing competitive programming all your best years.

    → Reply
    • »
      »
      »
      5 years ago, # ^ |
        Vote: I like it +4 Vote: I do not like it

      There are tons of directions to follow, make sure you won't regret doing competitive programming all your best years.

      Well, I'm not doing cp to be experienced coder. If I wanted that, I would just learn some algorithms and focus on work. I'm doing competitive programming because I need this competition, it's ok if I can't be the best. It's ok If I stay at the same level after 3-4 years, I won't regret. For me it's much better than practicing for being program architect, mathematician, teacher...

      → Reply
    • »
      »
      »
      5 years ago, # ^ |
      ← Rev. 2   Vote: I like it +11 Vote: I do not like it

      There are tons of directions to follow, make sure you won't regret doing competitive programming all your best years.

      My 2 cents is to know why you're doing CP (this is unrelated)

      → Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

    can you explain what you did so that you became LGM in only 2 years? special kind of practicing?

    → Reply
  • »
    »
    4 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it -20 Vote: I do not like it

    "Don't take it that serius" said LGM

    → Reply
    • »
      »
      »
      4 years ago, # ^ |
      ← Rev. 2   Vote: I like it +39 Vote: I do not like it

      Did you notice the message below the comment box about this post beong ancient? And the popup after that? (btw thanks for implementing that, it's so good).

      And tzuyu's comment is on point. Isolated, the first sentence sounds strange, but in context it makes sense

      → Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +103 Vote: I do not like it

Though this may be cruel, existing results shows that your personal features matters a lot. For some who are gifted, reaching GM could be much easier. There are LGMs who are very young, while there are also who have devoted their whole time to competitive programming and still struggles at a certain level. Becoming someone with extremely high rating is desirable, but what is more important is that you enjoyed the process of learning and competing. Wish you good luck!

→ Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +15 Vote: I do not like it

    Thanks a lot!

    Well, the biggest problem I have is that I'm not good at math, also I'm not gifted and I don't think I have any features. That was the reason of writing this blog. But still I'm hoping to be better in math ))

    → Reply
    • »
      »
      »
      5 years ago, # ^ |
        Vote: I like it +14 Vote: I do not like it

      "Well, the biggest problem I have is that I'm not good at math"

      I think you should abandon the idea of being "good" or "bad" at math, or anything similar. There probably is some notion of innate talent, but I think people can go much further than they realize with deliberate effort.

      → Reply
    • »
      »
      »
      5 years ago, # ^ |
        Vote: I like it +24 Vote: I do not like it
      Well, the biggest problem I have is that I'm not good at math, also I'm not gifted and I don't think I have any features.

      This always works handy as an excuse. It is very reassuring to think that people doing well in competitive programming are doing well because they have talent or gift or whatever.

      → Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +13 Vote: I do not like it

    I assume those young guys, that have reached LGM are not just gifted, but they spend much more time practicing than others, also probably they have better way to do that, as I know that you can spend your time uselessly while practicing, for example it's easier with a teacher.

    → Reply
    • »
      »
      »
      5 years ago, # ^ |
      ← Rev. 2   Vote: I like it +10 Vote: I do not like it

      Yes, you are right. For example, djq_cpp, the 14-year old LGM, is from Nanjing Foreign Language School in Nanjing in Jiangsu Province, the school is one of the best schools in China in OI, and Jiangsu Province is one of the provinces where many students study for Olympiad in Informatics, many of them in order to get into better universities. They have very intense and systematical training in schools and students typically start at a very young age, with many starting in primary school.

      I was once a contestant from Jiangsu Province, and competed with students there. I also went to prestigious schools for training, so I know a little about it.

      → Reply
      • »
        »
        »
        »
        5 years ago, # ^ |
          Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

        Wow, that's very different from what we have in Russia afaik, I assume that US also doesn't have such schools.

        → Reply
      • »
        »
        »
        »
        5 years ago, # ^ |
        ← Rev. 2   Vote: I like it +8 Vote: I do not like it

        Can I read about it somewhere in more detail? I'm now curious, because my knowledge matches what never_giveup said — there are no such schools in my region (Ukraine, Russia, Poland etc.), unless we have very different views on what "intense and systematical training" means (based on how strong Chinese contestants are, I wouldn't think so).

        → Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

Itst used less than one year to reach GM.I want to be as strong as Itst QAQ

→ Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +43 Vote: I do not like it

    you used less than 1./2 year to reach 2398 rating. I want to be as strong as you

    → Reply
    • »
      »
      »
      5 years ago, # ^ |
        Vote: I like it +14 Vote: I do not like it

      You used less than 3 years to reach max.1895

      I want to be as strong as you QAQ

      → Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +41 Vote: I do not like it

It's easy just wait until Christmas, Mike allow us to change the colour of our handles xD

→ Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
← Rev. 2   Vote: I like it -20 Vote: I do not like it

If you achieve a 2100 rating, then you have 15% chance of becoming a red.

If you achieve a 1800 rating, then you have 33% chance of becoming a 2100 rating with just time and practice.

If you become 2100 rating then tried hard to become red for 2 years and failed, then It's impossible to become red unless you find one magical pill. There are only 7 of them. Each of them can be used exactly one time. It's unknown how many out of 7 is not used yet. So, GOOD LUCK.

→ Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +5 Vote: I do not like it

    erdos got to 4000 and took the pill anyway

    → Reply
    • »
      »
      »
      5 years ago, # ^ |
        Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

      Anyway, If this is true, then we know that the number of unused pills will not exceed 6 since erdos wasted one :) but WHO IS ERDOS !?

      → Reply
      • »
        »
        »
        »
        5 years ago, # ^ |
          Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

        Well the number of unused pills is 0 because he took all of them and then some.

        → Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it -18 Vote: I do not like it

Here is the truth.

+140 iq and yes It's f**k**g related to this.

strong math, technical aptitude.

extensive training for at least one year.

but for the inspiration part. Man, it is unnecessary to become red, just become expert.

→ Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +17 Vote: I do not like it

    Nvm, I have 300iq

    → Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +1 Vote: I do not like it

    I believe, everyone can improve a LOT more than we expect or think. IQ doesn't matter that much. Mostly, people who say they can't improve because of low IQ, I have noticed that the problem doesn't seem to be their IQ or anything, the problem is that they think they work hard a lot whereas actually they didn't practice much. For example, they might say that they solved 100 Div2A/2B, why are they still specialist/pupil. It is because solving 100 Div2A/B is not the end, but the beginning of competitive programming. I_love_Tanya_Romanova at one point studied 20 hours/15 hours PER DAY!! I don't think most people give that much dedicated time per week, as much he was once giving in A DAY, so clearly he is a very strong coder.

    → Reply
    • »
      »
      »
      5 years ago, # ^ |
        Vote: I like it +15 Vote: I do not like it

      While I agree with the overall idea of the comment above, I should add that the context I'm mentioned there is highly misleading: I've never done consistent training/preparation at the "15+ hours per day" level, and I don't even think it is sustainable. Moreover, trying to do something like that would most likely be counterproductive, and dangerous to your physical and mental health.

      I do believe that I would've performed significantly better if I've practiced more :)

      → Reply
    • »
      »
      »
      5 years ago, # ^ |
        Vote: I like it -57 Vote: I do not like it

      Please don't downvote my comment, my intention was not to offend anyone, I was just pointing out an observation I've seen in my own case / by observing people close to me.

      → Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +6 Vote: I do not like it

Why does everyone insist on strong Math? Most problems would not even require any math at all.

→ Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +32 Vote: I do not like it

    I guess it's not just about math, it's about mathematical thinking, you learn math and stuff, but you may never use math formulas while solving problems, but if you know math you solve particular problems faster or just solve.

    But idk this maybe wrong, cuz I'm not good at math...

    → Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
    ← Rev. 2   Vote: I like it +47 Vote: I do not like it

    Sometimes I observe even the opposite effect. People without strong CS background or language knowledge are gaining rating pretty fast because of being strong mathematicians. Of course by that I don't mean being PhD at Calculus or Linear algebra but being good at mathematical olympiad and/or discrete maths problems because it assumes you have a strong analytical mind in discrete structures, good math induction, etc.

    Take an IOI list and an IMO list and count similarities.

    → Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +46 Vote: I do not like it

    "that's why you're blue"

    Spoiler
    → Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +33 Vote: I do not like it

It is NP-hard

→ Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it -27 Vote: I do not like it

    Yes, but unfortunately it's not just np-hard, it's complexity is like $$$O((n^n)!)$$$ ...

    → Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +19 Vote: I do not like it

my friend said it's very easy.

→ Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +14 Vote: I do not like it

How hard is it to become an expert at CF?

→ Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it -18 Vote: I do not like it

    The same as how hard it was to become pupil at CF.

    → Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

    Do some non-negligible practice(>=Div2 C problems) for 1 year and I think Irrespective of your current level, you will get blue.

    → Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +5 Vote: I do not like it

Never ever talk with bot about codeforces ratings

→ Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +8 Vote: I do not like it

This video summaries useful tricks as well as long-term methods of learning thing that is either too hard for you or you have never heard about it. Learning is a long process requires not only motivation but also discipline in order to stay in the line.

→ Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +3 Vote: I do not like it

Author, P-Bot is not working

→ Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
← Rev. 3   Vote: I like it +21 Vote: I do not like it

I think the question should be "how much time am I willing to spend?" instead of "how hard is it to become red?", and the time needed isn't trivial. For me, during the weeks before I got red, I spent at least 1-2 (sometimes up to 6 ish) hours per day solving problems that I wasn't able to solve from some contest or other.

→ Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

who cares? :')

→ Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

I would like to know how hard is it to become candidate master in codeforces? (Sorry for asking here)

→ Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +19 Vote: I do not like it

Just click on your handle, then choose "magic", then you can become red in seconds.

→ Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

    That magic is still working with you, is it a bug? Oh wait,...

    → Reply
  • »
    »
    5 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

    well, that works for at most 20 days in the year!

    → Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

Did somebody explain how Benq got LGM in just 4_5 years?

acctualy he was pupil at first.

→ Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

As hard as becoming red after seeing yourself at mirror

→ Reply
»
5 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

I want to be as strong as Itst QAQ

→ Reply
»
4 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it -14 Vote: I do not like it

How hard is it to become blue on CF? And What should be the plan for going from newbie to high-level expert in 3 months?

→ Reply