ash1794“I’m not a coach yet.”
I wrote that on Codeforces in April 2015, a month before the World Finals. This page is the gym first, then the journey: how I practised, and how I got better.
Chapters
The gym
Start
One language, a hundred easy problems, and the USACO Guide as the map.
Practise
“most of you starting out get into analysis paralysis, and are looking for immediate gains or results in ratings. the answer for growth is to just keep solving problems and keep practicing.”
LinkedIn, 2024 Upsolve
“Even if you miss the contest make sure you upsolve the discussed problems.”
Winter Coding Camp, 2014
Before I coached, I competed
Before I coached, I competed
2012 to 2016. Topcoder, CodeChef and Codeforces from my first year at Amrita, most of it in 2013 and 2014.
Topcoder, then CodeChef
First contests
Registered on Topcoder in September 2012; first SRM, SRM 558, that October. First CodeChef contest, the November Challenge, rated 1212.
The grind year
Topcoder: 35 contests
Best CodeChef Cook-Off finishes: 50th in August, 65th in December.
The climb
The climb
The mentor chain
The mentor chain
A group, a camp, a blog
Alongside the contests: a camp over the winter break, and my first problems as a setter.
Winter Coding Camp 2014
Organiser
Eight days over the winter break, organised with mycodeschool, with its own public Codeforces group (117 members).
World Finals Problems in GYM
Blog post
A public Codeforces post asking why the gym had no World Finals sets. It is where the line at the top of this page comes from.
“I’ve always wondered why there aren’t any World Final sets in the Gym.”
Codeforces, 24 April 2015 Battle of Whiz 2015, CodeChef
Problem setter
I set two original problems for BOW2015: BOW15A and BOW15B.
Back in the room
In 2024, after years away, I came back to competitive programming, rusty, through mentoring and competing again. Then a week-long ICPC camp, and the day after it ended, my own series.
Winter Camp 2024
Problem coordinator, with Deepak Kumar Gour running the camp
An on-site camp for college ICPC teams, 70 participants. I packaged an ICPC 2022 regional set, 11 problems, in Polygon.
CampGrind
CampGrind
“Only Advice: Solve Problems”
My own series, on Codeforces: an invite-only group for students rated 800 to 1400, aiming at 1600. I chose every problem.
- Contest
- Ninety minutes, ICPC style: a mashup of five existing Codeforces problems, not sorted by difficulty.
- Topics
- Graphs, DP, number theory, ad hoc, binary search, greedy.
- Edition 1
- Contests four evenings a week, each followed by a live discussion.
- Edition 2
- February 2025. Two or three contests a week and one discussion on Saturday, so there was time to upsolve if academics got in the way.
- Rating
- The group kept its own rating, and it counted upsolving, not just the contest. It froze at the end of each edition.
- The group
- “Invite-only camp for targeted CP practice. Expected Rating: 800-1400. Goal: 1600. Only Advice: Solve Problems” The group is invite-only and private, so there is no link.
“These ratings will take into account not only contest performance but also upsolving post contest”
“Remember to read all problem statements. This is ICPC style contest, and is not sorted by difficulty.”
“Based on feedback, schedule, problem difficulty are all subject to change. This is completely optional.”
“And as always the way to get better, is to Solve Problems”
Camps and contests, since 2024
Camps and contests, since 2024
GoForGold, NST’s ICPC programme founded by Deepak Kumar Gour. After joining NST in January 2025 I managed it as Program Manager, then handed it back to him.
Online camps: Winter is Coming, ICPC India Training Camp
Manager
A week-long online camp over the new year, then a weekly five-hour ICPC training camp through February 2025.
The 2024 camp, written up
Wrote it
The public write-up of the 2024 camp, on Codeforces.
IOI Bootcamp, NST Sonipat
Trainer
A camp for school students in grades 6 to 12. I was one of its trainers and set three Div 2 homework sets: STL, Sorting and Searching, Graphs and DP.
OCPC x ICPC India Elite Camp, NST ADYPU Pune
Coordinator, OCPC India mirror
The first official OCPC mirror camp in India, organised with ICPC India. I wrote the public announcement.
ICPC AlgoQueen 2025 finals
Chief Problem Judge
The finals of a girls’ programming cup.
Winter Camp 2025
Instructor and technical consultant
The winter camp, a year on. The online Winter is Coming camp ran again the same month.
ICPC Camp 2026
Instructor and technical consultant
The camp included a masterclass by Errichto.
For the record
For the record
“Don’t chase the ratings. Chase learning topics and keep challenging yourself with problems that keep bringing out the best in you.”
CodeChef 2005, Topcoder yellow, Peaks
Topcoder peak, 1623, SRM 638
Codeforces peak, 1848, Expert
ICPC World Finals, Marrakech, Contestant