A newbie’s main intention and will should be only to solve div 2 (A and B), div 3 (A, B, C) and div 4 (A, B, C, D) always, to rank up to Pupil. Sometimes we solve 3 div 2 As in a row but struggle with them in live / virtual contest, why does this happen? Stress and Anxiety is the answer Fear of losing rating points puts our Mind in an intense pressure, the pressure of the ticking clock, fear of Wrong Answer 5x on div 2 A problem, and most importantly,

Fear of staying in Newbie Forever! All this is false unless and until you give Contest just for fun and treat every contest as a learning opportunity! If you follow these methods, I’m sure that you’ll gain, at least some points! But you should never cheat! Because it destroys every thing you have and ensures that You have entered the brainless mode, in which you just come to pass your time! You just need to compare yourself, from your past-self! Each person has spent some amount of time in CP, and

Each person has it’s own pace, if you have slower pace, believe in yourself that if you’re are capable of even understanding the problem statements or v. close to coding the first problem, congratulate and award yourself, because you’re one of the Earth’s few people to do this!.

Treat yourself like a Bamboo tree, it doesn't appear the moment you start watering it, it comes after many years of consistent practice (watering the bamboo seed), soon or later the bamboo tree rises, that's it, be yourself and trust yourself and your instincts, you can do this!

Thank you Guys, I Love share information on Competitive Programming with you all, if you find this interesting then plz upvote!

Prayag Awasthi

Problem 1. Adding Dice (ADDDICE)

#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;

int main() {
    int x; cin >> x;
    
    int n = 9 - x;
    cout << (n <= 6 ? "YES" : "NO") << endl; 
}

Problem 2. Pass (PASS)

#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;

int main() {
    int t; cin >> t;
    while(t--){
        int n = 5;
        vector<int> a(n);
        for(int i = 0; i < n; i++) cin >> a[i];
        
        int sixetys = 0, thirtys = 0;
        for(int i = 0; i < n; i++){
            if(a[i] >= 60) sixetys++;
            if(a[i] >= 30) thirtys++;
        }
        cout << (sixetys >= 2 && thirtys >= 4 ? "Pass" : "Fail") << endl; 
    }
}

Problem 3. Average Survival (AVGSURV)

#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;

int main() {
    int t; cin >> t;
    while(t--){
        int n; cin >> n;
        vector<int> a(n);
        for(int i = 0; i < n; i++) cin >> a[i];
        
        int maxs = *max_element(a.begin(), a.end());
        
        int l = 0;
        for(int i = 0; i < n; i++){if(a[i]==maxs) l++;}
        cout << l << endl;
    }
}

Shoutouts to:

Setter: Shreyan Dominater069 Ray and Nishank IceKnight1093 Suresh
Tester: Sushil SmolBrain Raaja

Problem 1. Point Calculation (POINTCAL)

#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;

#define fastio ios_base::sync_with_stdio(false); cin.tie(NULL);
#define endl "\n"

int main() {
    fastio;
    int a, b, c; cin >> a >> b >> c;
    cout << (a * 3 + b) << endl; // because C cancels out and b * 1 is b.
}

Problem 2. Plant (TEMPPLANT)

#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;

#define fastio ios_base::sync_with_stdio(false); cin.tie(NULL);
#define endl "\n"

int main() {
    fastio;
    int t; cin >> t;
    while(t--){
        int n; cin >> n; 
        vector<int> a(n);
        for(int i = 0; i<n;i++) cin >> a[i];
        int maxh = 0;
        for(int i = 0; i < n-1; i++){
            int curr = min(a[i], a[i + 1]); // keeping track of adjacent elements
            maxh = max(curr, maxh);
        }
        cout << maxh << endl;
    }
}

Problem 3. Red Yellow Cards (RYCARDS)

#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;

#define fastio ios_base::sync_with_stdio(false); cin.tie(NULL);
#define endl "\n"

int main() {
    fastio;
    int t; cin >> t;
    while(t--){
        int r, y; cin >> r >> y;
        cout << r + (max(0, y - r) / 2) << endl;
    }
}

Shoutouts to:

Contest Admin, Statement Verifier and Setter: Shreyan Dominater069 Ray
Tester : Nishank IceKnight1093 Suresh
Text Editorialist (Codechef): Nishank IceKnight1093 Suresh

We have all been there. You look at a problem, It looks simple. You spend 30 minutes typing, tweaking variables, and hitting compile.

"Wrong Answer on Test 3." "Time Limit Exceeded."

Suddenly, the voice in your head starts. “Why can’t I do this? Am I stupid? Maybe I’m just not built for competitive programming.” Stop right there. Let’s talk about how to stop hating yourself and how to break out of that dark mental loop.

1. Separate Your Rating From Your Self-Worth. Your Codeforces rating is not an IQ test. It is a measurement of practice hours and muscle memory. The Trap: Looking at Grandmasters and thinking you are a failure because you aren't green or blue yet. The Reality: They were stuck exactly where you are now. They just didn't quit. The Rule: A bad contest doesn’t mean you are bad. It just means your code had a bug. Fix the bug, separate yourself from the screen, and move on.

2. Put Down the Keyboard (The 20-Minute Rule) When frustration hits, your brain goes into "panic mode." You stop thinking logically and start changing lines of code randomly, hoping for a miracle. If you get stuck on a problem for 20 minutes, step away completely. Walk away from the screen. Get a glass of water. Talk to the Duck: Grab a physical object and explain your logic out loud line-by-line. If you can't explain it in plain English, you cannot explain it to the compiler.

3. Track Your Wins, Not Just Your Failures We tend to remember the 5 problems we failed, but we completely forget the 50 problems we already solved. Look back at your submission history from a month ago. Remember how hard those early problems felt? You can solve them easily now. You are growing, even when it feels like you are standing still.

4. Lean on the Hub Competitive programming can feel incredibly lonely if you stay isolated in your own bedroom. If a problem is breaking your spirit, don't suffer in silence.

Drop the problem link into our Unified Discord post-contest debrief channels. Let’s look at the logic together. True growth happens when we struggle as a community, not as isolated individuals.

Final Thought: So, you need to be yourself, don't try to think that you're stupid, you just need to compare yourself from your old-self! And always Be Happy!!!

Thank you, Prayag

Hey Codeforces!

Like a lot of beginners out there (especially younger coders like me, I'm 12), I recently hit a massive brick wall. I was grinding hard and slammed through about 145 problems—mostly the usual 800 to 1000 rated stuff. I thought I was absolutely cracked and ready to carry. But nope. Every single time a live contest kicked off, my brain would literally Ctrl+Alt+Del. I completely froze up on Div. 2 B and Div. 3 C. I was hard-stuck at a 900 rating and it was driving me crazy. I had the daily grind down, but the second that contest timer started ticking, panic mode activated. I realized I was spending way too much time blindly typing out code, hoping for a lucky "Accepted," instead of actually teaching my brain how to break down the logic. So, I threw my old routine out the window and tried something totally different. I picked up two super simple, non-coding tricks that completely saved my sanity. If you are stuck in the "Grey/Green zone" even though you are practicing tons, you've gotta try this.

1. Talking to a Rubber Duck (Seriously) You’ve probably seen the meme about software engineers talking to yellow rubber ducks, but it is a total game-changer for competitive programming. Now, when a problem makes absolutely no sense, I don’t just stare blankly at the screen. I look right at an object on my desk (or my pet, or whatever is nearby) and explain my logic out loud like I'm teaching a friend. Why it works: When you just think inside your head, your brain gets lazy and skips steps. But when you are forced to say it out loud step-by-step ("Okay, so I’m looping from 0 to N, and then I need to check if this number is bigger than the last one..."), your brain instantly goes: "Wait, hold on, that's going to break on zero." You catch your own silly bugs and edge cases before you even touch the keyboard.

2. Typing the Logic in Plain English First Instead of immediately opening a main() function and writing messy nested loops, I started writing out my entire plan in plain text comments first.

void solve() { // 1. Grab the input and check if N is an odd number // 2. If it's odd, it's impossible, so just print -1 and bounce // 3. If it's even, sort everything so we can easily match pairs // 4. Use a long long for the answer so we don't overflow and crash }

Use code with caution. Why it works: Trying to figure out the math puzzle while worrying about C++ syntax, fast I/O, and vector limits completely fries your brain. It's too much data at once. By writing the strategy in regular comments first, the hard part is already done. Turning it into actual C++ code after that is just a super easy game of translation. How It’s Going Since I started using the duck and the comment system: I can finally solo Div. 2 A and actually make a real run at Div. 2 B without getting stuck. Yeah, I code a little bit slower at the start, but I get way fewer Wrong Answers (WA), which saves a massive amount of time. The pre-contest jitters are completely gone because I actually have a game plan the second the round starts .If you are a Newbie struggling to get past that basic implementation barrier, step away from the keyboard for five minutes. Grab a notebook, find a rubber duck, and talk your code out loud line by line.

It builds the real mental muscles you need to level up. What are your go-to tricks when your brain completely freezes during a round? Let’s chat in the comments!

Thank you, techgodprogrammer

Hey everyone! I am incredibly excited to announce the launch of a brand-new Discord server built entirely for competitive programmers who want to learn, discuss solutions, and grow together! Instead of isolating everyone into separate skill channels, this server is designed to be one massive, unified community space. We believe that Newbies, Pupils, Specialists, Experts, and Candidate Masters should all chat, debug, and share insights in the exact same rooms to maximize mentorship and learning speed. What makes this server special? Native Onboarding Role Selection: The moment you click join, Discord will let you instantly select your official Codeforces rating tier to customize your color profile! Unified Hub Channels: One central place to talk about algorithms, hardware setups, and interesting CF blogs. Post-Contest Debriefs: A dedicated fast-paced channel to discuss approaches, logic, and system tests right after the contest timer hits zero. Deep Problem Solving Help: A shared debug channel where any rank can post tough problems and get structural advice. Our Core Philosophy: We keep the vibe highly positive, supportive, and joyful! Elitism and toxicity are strictly prohibited. However, to keep the platform valuable for everyone, we have an absolute zero-tolerance policy for live-contest plagiarism. If you are looking for an active network of passionate peers to ride the rating waves with, we would love to have you. Join the Community Here: https://discord.gg/DnVz7ygW8 Good luck in your upcoming rounds, and let's get those Accepted verdicts!

I'm doing this all for, the beginners as I'm too a beginner, seeking for some help and working forward to maintain a unity between other Competitive Programmers.

Thank you, Prayag