May 31, 2007
Got this interesting email from TopCoder a few days back:
After the match, I moved back up to Division 1. Part of me wishes I hadn't, because I've had success in Division 2 before, and staying in Division 2 gives me my best chance of winning more prizes. But there's no way I'm tanking intentionally; I've still got coder's pride after all.
Hello punzki,Sweet! This was after I'd dropped to Division 2 (again) and placed 1st in my room and 5th overall in SRM 350. I was excited about finally winning some TopCoder cash, until I found out about all the paperwork I need to accomplish within 60 days, and that TopCoder will withhold 30% in taxes from my winnings. Still, $22.40 is money well-earned and I plan on using it to celebrate a bit.
Congratulations! The results of TopCoder SRM 350 are official. You have
won $32.0 (sic).
After the match, I moved back up to Division 1. Part of me wishes I hadn't, because I've had success in Division 2 before, and staying in Division 2 gives me my best chance of winning more prizes. But there's no way I'm tanking intentionally; I've still got coder's pride after all.
May 10, 2007
I'm very proud of my performance on today's TopCoder Single Round Match 348. First place in my room, and 7th overall in Division 2! How I wish today's match had cash at stake...
I would've ranked higher (at least 3rd overall, in fact!) if I hadn't resubmitted for the 1000-point problem, which got me a huge deduction. I had to recheck my solution because I noticed that the return type was long and my code only counted ints. And it later turns out that none of the system tests had a return value that exceeded int's capacity...
After dipping down to Division 2 for the past three matches, I'm now back to Division 1 with a blue rating! The competition is going to be tougher but at least I can really feel that I'm improving and that I'm more prepared for the harder problems.
I would've ranked higher (at least 3rd overall, in fact!) if I hadn't resubmitted for the 1000-point problem, which got me a huge deduction. I had to recheck my solution because I noticed that the return type was long and my code only counted ints. And it later turns out that none of the system tests had a return value that exceeded int's capacity...
After dipping down to Division 2 for the past three matches, I'm now back to Division 1 with a blue rating! The competition is going to be tougher but at least I can really feel that I'm improving and that I'm more prepared for the harder problems.
Labels: :D, contests, programming, TopCoder
April 15, 2007
Well, my run at the 2007 TopCoder Open has come to an end.
Algorithm Competition: To say that my performance in Online Round 1 was disappointing would be an understatement. I submitted to the two easiest problems, but one got successfully challenged and the other failed the system test. If I had just gotten one of them correct, I could've made Round 2. Looks like I'll need a lot more experience (and practice) if I want to get far in TopCoder. Next step: Work my way back up to a blue rating, and hopefully win some cash!
Marathon Match Competition: I didn't pass Online Round 3 (placed 91st, top 50 qualify to Round 4), but I definitely had loads more fun with this competition. I think I did better with the marathon matches because they encourage a lot of experimentation by trying out different approaches. Next step: Get a yellow rating (I'm very near!), and place in the top 20 in the next marathon match.
Hurrah! I've won two shirts!
(On a side note: This will be the last of my TopCoder Open posts. Until next year.)
Algorithm Competition: To say that my performance in Online Round 1 was disappointing would be an understatement. I submitted to the two easiest problems, but one got successfully challenged and the other failed the system test. If I had just gotten one of them correct, I could've made Round 2. Looks like I'll need a lot more experience (and practice) if I want to get far in TopCoder. Next step: Work my way back up to a blue rating, and hopefully win some cash!
Marathon Match Competition: I didn't pass Online Round 3 (placed 91st, top 50 qualify to Round 4), but I definitely had loads more fun with this competition. I think I did better with the marathon matches because they encourage a lot of experimentation by trying out different approaches. Next step: Get a yellow rating (I'm very near!), and place in the top 20 in the next marathon match.
Hurrah! I've won two shirts!
(On a side note: This will be the last of my TopCoder Open posts. Until next year.)
Labels: contests, programming, TopCoder
April 07, 2007
First, the good news: I made it into the Online Round 1 (see list of qualifiers here)! The last qualifying round was a relative push-over (I ranked a respectable 105) because all the geniuses had already qualified in the first two rounds. Still, can't complain about the result... and I've already won a shirt!
Here's the bad news: Because of my indicated preference (you choose from three time slots for Online Round 1), I've been grouped with the heavy-hitters in TopCoder: Petr, ACRush, kalinov, and the lot. Which basically means that my chances of advancing to the next round are nil. I'm not being pessimistic, just realistic. But on the bright side, like I said... I've already won a shirt!
(I knew shouldn't have picked the time slot that falls on a weekend. It was the one that most people would pick first, and since those with higher rankings are prioritized, it makes sense that all the big names would be assigned there.)
Here's the bad news: Because of my indicated preference (you choose from three time slots for Online Round 1), I've been grouped with the heavy-hitters in TopCoder: Petr, ACRush, kalinov, and the lot. Which basically means that my chances of advancing to the next round are nil. I'm not being pessimistic, just realistic. But on the bright side, like I said... I've already won a shirt!
(I knew shouldn't have picked the time slot that falls on a weekend. It was the one that most people would pick first, and since those with higher rankings are prioritized, it makes sense that all the big names would be assigned there.)
Labels: contests, programming, TopCoder
April 03, 2007
I've qualified for Online Round 3 of the 2007 TopCoder Open Marathon Match Competition! Take a look at the standings here. I dropped from my provisional rank of 85 to my final rank of 105 (the top 200 qualify). Still, not bad!
After coasting into Round 2, I found myself hard-pressed to survive the cut this time. The objective of this Marathon Match (see problem statement) was to create a player AI for a poker-like game; the rules are similar to five-card draw except that there's only two cards, the card values are only from 0 to 4, and there's an infinite number of each value in the "deck".
I made submission after submission, fine-tuning my algorithm to improve my score. At some point, I found the key to getting a good score: fold when your hand sucks... which is what you're supposed to do in real poker anyway. Being a poker player really helped!
My next objective is to make it to Round 4 (duh!) and to get a yellow rating (currently at blue). The competition will be much tougher next time and the race to get into the top 50 will be very tight.
After coasting into Round 2, I found myself hard-pressed to survive the cut this time. The objective of this Marathon Match (see problem statement) was to create a player AI for a poker-like game; the rules are similar to five-card draw except that there's only two cards, the card values are only from 0 to 4, and there's an infinite number of each value in the "deck".
I made submission after submission, fine-tuning my algorithm to improve my score. At some point, I found the key to getting a good score: fold when your hand sucks... which is what you're supposed to do in real poker anyway. Being a poker player really helped!
My next objective is to make it to Round 4 (duh!) and to get a yellow rating (currently at blue). The competition will be much tougher next time and the race to get into the top 50 will be very tight.
Labels: :D, contests, programming, TopCoder
March 29, 2007
There are three qualifying rounds for the 2007 TopCoder Open Algorithm Competition, and if you place in the top 550 in one
I ranked 705; I didn't qualify. I feel very fortunate though that I've still got two more qualifying rounds where I could redeem myself.
The best way to describe my performance today would be: I sucked. To be honest, I expected to qualify today. The problems weren't all that hard. The difficult problem was too tough for me and I never bothered with it, but the easy and moderate problems were a cinch... or so they were supposed to be.
(The following narration won't make much sense unless you know the rules.)
I got fixated on a messed-up and error-prone approach for the easy problem which I couldn't even get to work properly (runtime errors). Then I panicked, opened the moderate problem, thought it was too difficult, then went back to the easy problem. I finally managed to submit a a solution which didn't have any runtime errors.
The moderate problem turned out to be not as hard as I thought. I hastily submitted a working solution, but I lost a lot of points because the timer started ticking as soon as I opened it. After that, I reviewed my solution to the easy problem and found a bug. I fixed it and submitted it again, which merited a 10-percent penalty for resubmitting. Later on, despite all my efforts, it would fail the system test because the whole approach was just plain wrong.
Discouraged, I didn't bother with the difficult problem and simply waited out the rest of the Coding Phase. The Challenge Phase did not turn out well for me either. I made one unsuccessful challenge, and got beaten to the punch to three would-be successful challenges by a matter of seconds! Argh!
(Edit: I missed the second qualifying round today... One last chance on Wednesday!)
I ranked 705; I didn't qualify. I feel very fortunate though that I've still got two more qualifying rounds where I could redeem myself.
The best way to describe my performance today would be: I sucked. To be honest, I expected to qualify today. The problems weren't all that hard. The difficult problem was too tough for me and I never bothered with it, but the easy and moderate problems were a cinch... or so they were supposed to be.
(The following narration won't make much sense unless you know the rules.)
I got fixated on a messed-up and error-prone approach for the easy problem which I couldn't even get to work properly (runtime errors). Then I panicked, opened the moderate problem, thought it was too difficult, then went back to the easy problem. I finally managed to submit a a solution which didn't have any runtime errors.
The moderate problem turned out to be not as hard as I thought. I hastily submitted a working solution, but I lost a lot of points because the timer started ticking as soon as I opened it. After that, I reviewed my solution to the easy problem and found a bug. I fixed it and submitted it again, which merited a 10-percent penalty for resubmitting. Later on, despite all my efforts, it would fail the system test because the whole approach was just plain wrong.
Discouraged, I didn't bother with the difficult problem and simply waited out the rest of the Coding Phase. The Challenge Phase did not turn out well for me either. I made one unsuccessful challenge, and got beaten to the punch to three would-be successful challenges by a matter of seconds! Argh!
(Edit: I missed the second qualifying round today... One last chance on Wednesday!)
Labels: :(, contests, programming, TopCoder
March 22, 2007
I've qualified for Online Round 2 of the 2007 TopCoder Open Marathon Match Competition! Take a look at the standings here.
Well, that wasn't so hard. All you had to do was make a submission that compiled and you'd make it to the next round because the cut-off score was zero to become one of the top 500 advancers. Awesome achievement, huh? Well, I did score 2523.80 (and ranked 186) so I guess I actually earned my ticket to round 2... and a limited edition 2007 TopCoder Open t-shirt!
Well, that wasn't so hard. All you had to do was make a submission that compiled and you'd make it to the next round because the cut-off score was zero to become one of the top 500 advancers. Awesome achievement, huh? Well, I did score 2523.80 (and ranked 186) so I guess I actually earned my ticket to round 2... and a limited edition 2007 TopCoder Open t-shirt!
Labels: :D, contests, programming, TopCoder
March 12, 2007
Wish me luck, friends. I'm going to test my coding skills at the 2007 TopCoder Open. Aside from the lure of fame and fortune, I had this nagging problem solving itch that I felt compelled to scratch.
I'll be joining the traditional Algorithm Competition and I'll also be trying out the Marathon Match Competition for the first time. The Marathon Match Competition doesn't have the same nerve-wracking time pressure as the Algorithm Competition, which is good since I have responsibilities at work that I can't just drop.
Registration is closed for the Marathon Match but it's not too late to register for the other three events (Algorithm, Component Design and Development, Studio Design). What are you waiting for?
I'll be joining the traditional Algorithm Competition and I'll also be trying out the Marathon Match Competition for the first time. The Marathon Match Competition doesn't have the same nerve-wracking time pressure as the Algorithm Competition, which is good since I have responsibilities at work that I can't just drop.
Registration is closed for the Marathon Match but it's not too late to register for the other three events (Algorithm, Component Design and Development, Studio Design). What are you waiting for?
Labels: contests, programming, TopCoder
