A 4009 week

Codeforces Round 969 took place on Friday (problems, results, top 5 on the left, analysis, ratings). Edging out jiangly by just 5 points, tourist has finally broken the 4000 rating barrier. Even though one might say that 4000 is just a round number with no special meaning in the rating system, Gennady's recent run of form is simply amazing. He has won 6 out of his last 7 Codeforces contests, something that has not happened since 2015 (and even though I only checked Gennady's rating history, I can confidently say that it never happened for any other contestant), and which is even more impressive now given the much stronger competition in 2024. Congratulations!

The 3rd Universal Cup Stage 8: Cangqian followed on Saturday (problems, results, top 5 on the left). Gennady's team continued very impressive form here as well, winning the 6th stage in a row, and turning what was a very close two-horse race last season into a Max Verstappen-like domination (oh wait!). It was quite close this time, and by the end of the contest team HoMaMaOvO was solving problems faster, but they could not make up the time lost in the beginning. Congratulations to both teams and to the team Polish Mafia for the third full score!

Next week, IOI 2024 in Alexandria, Egypt will take front stage (participants). Together with the ICPC, the IOI is one of the two really big events in the competitive programming world. It is the event defining the year for the high school students who practice for it, and also the event where friendships can be made for the years to come. Good luck to all participants, check back my blog for the results next week (or just find them at the official website), and also check out the Swiss team's blog!