Yandex.Algorithm 2014 will have its final round on the 1st of August on the premises of Yandex's newly opened Berlin office. In addition to showing their skills in competitive programming, those reaching the final round of the contest will have an opportunity to socialise and browse the city's famous attractions during the three days of the finals.
Last year's event gathered more than three thousand participants from 84 countries, including 16 programmers from Germany, six Swiss nationals and two Austrians. One of the German contestants qualified 20th in the final round, which was held in one of St. Petersburg's most magnificent palaces and saw a Belarusian win the competition, with a Russian national scoring second and a student from Taiwan finishing in the third place.
The Yandex.Algorithm contest is open to everyone regardless of their educational background, location or occupation. The official language of the competition is English. The total prize fund for this competition is 540,000 roubles (about €10,800), with the major portion – 300,000 roubles (about €6,000) – going to the winner. The second and third places will give their winners 150,000 roubles (about €3,000) and 90,000 roubles (€1,800) respectively.
The programming championship will consist of six rounds that will last 100 minutes each. The warm-up round will take place on May 16. Registered contestants will need to solve at least one problem to participate in the qualifying round, which will be held one week after that – on May 25. The three championship rounds will be held online from July 1 to July 15 and will determine 25 top performers who will compete in the finals in Berlin on August 1.
Tasks in the Yandex.Algorithm contest are provided by the Yandex experts, who, according to the rules of the contest, cannot compete, but can contribute to the contest as part of the international organising team, which includes experienced experts from Russia, Poland and the United States.
In contrast to other programming competitions, Yandex.Algorithm allows contestants to choose when and how their solutions are evaluated – individually and right after submission, or in total and only when all of the solutions have been submitted. The first option gives additional points to each solution, although it also removes an opportunity to correct a solution before submitting. This arrangement gives contestants more flexibility in their competitive strategy and a better chance to win.