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Struggling to Reach Specialist on Codeforces? Looking for Advice!
By Isamatdin, history, 6 hours ago, translation, In English

Hello Codeforces community,

I've been working hard to reach the Specialist rank, but I feel like I'm hitting a wall. I've put in quite a bit of effort practicing problems and studying algorithms, yet progress is slow. So, I thought I'd reach out to all of you for advice!

Here’s a bit about what I’ve been doing so far:

  • Practicing Basics: I’ve been solving a mix of 1400 and 1500 rating problems to strengthen my understanding of basic algorithms and data structures.
  • Focused Practice: I’m trying to work on specific areas like sorting, binary search, and dynamic programming, but sometimes it’s hard to know which topics to prioritize.
  • Time Pressure: In contests, I struggle to solve problems fast enough to get a good rating boost. Questions for You
  • How did you break through to the Specialist rank? Was there a specific approach, topic, or routine that helped?
  • Any tips for improving speed and accuracy under contest conditions?
  • Are there particular topics you found crucial at this stage? I don’t want to waste time on areas that won’t help me grow as much. Thank you in advance for any insights or advice you might have. Looking forward to learning from all of your experiences!

Happy coding!

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6 hours ago, # |
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Auto comment: topic has been translated by Isamatdin (original revision, translated revision, compare)

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    2 hours ago, # ^ |
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    I Have seen your Progress and this works only for u since u already have enough Knowledge

    1. Don't Over Complicate Problems.
    2. Try to Improve ur speed

    then u are specialist u don't need any additional thing

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5 hours ago, # |
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I think that you should practice on leetcode.com. 2000 rating there = specialist on cf.

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5 hours ago, # |
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Impressive practice progress, I'm also stuck very hard and can't reach specialist but I think the most reliable way is "over-level" to reach there.

That is, if the coding strength level is at expert then we will reach specialist in shorter time. Which require more intensive level grinding like RPG games...

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5 hours ago, # |
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practice 1300-1400-1500 questions with different topics

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5 hours ago, # |
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i can't reach specialist too, but i think i am not solving enough problems. What topics should i learn and solve? I cant solve constructives. Should i learn it?

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    5 hours ago, # ^ |
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    You should learn "Two pointers")

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      5 hours ago, # ^ |
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      never used this in my entire life. well i used once for classic two pointers. still, where can i find problems to practice two pointers

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3 hours ago, # |
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I'm not able to solve C consistently in Div. 2, that's why I'm not able to reach Specialist. Hell, I'm not even able to reach 1300.

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