Kickstart Competitive Programming

3 min readNov 10, 2021

What is it?

Competitive Programming, often abbreviated as CP in short, is a mind sport where participants need to write programs to solve well-defined problems. These problems are often related to Algorithms, Data Structures, Math and Logic.

Typically, a CP Contest consists of 5–6 questions that he needs to solve within a definite time frame (usually 2–3 hours). Contestants from all around the globe compete with each other, and try to solve as many problems as possible and as fast as possible. Based on their performance, the contestant is given a rank and a rating.

But why does one do it?

It helps to improve problem solving skills. By product of this is that it helps in placements and internships. Most of the companies have an Online Assessment Round which has Data Structures and Algorithms problems. Being familiar with CP helps in those rounds. One can also get referrals.

How should you even get started?

Pickup a language, preferably any one from C++, Java or Python. Understand the basic syntax of that language. You should be comfortable with variables, loops, if else statements and functions. This is enough to get you started.

Once you are familiar with the basics of the language you have chosen you can straightaway dive into solving problems. There are various competitive programming platforms available.

CodeChef is one of the world’s largest and most popular global competitive programming platforms. It has its headquarters in India, and it organises 5 major contests in a month — Long Challenge, Cookoff, Lunchtime and two Starters rounds.

Codeforces is globally recognized as one of the best platforms. It is maintained by a group of competitive programmers from ITMO University, Moscow led by Mike Mirzayanov. It organises roughly 7–8 Contests every month. Moreover, it also offers the feature of Virtual Contests, which are immensely helpful to practice and improve.