3 Stars from 3 contests.

How I became 3 stars on CodeChef by just participating in only 3 contests.

Piyush Ahir | Jun 3 | 3 min read

Everyone likes those shining stars on their CodeChef Profile. Is it easy? Yes, you can earn those elegant stars on your profile. But How? Let me explain to you and before beginning this article, I want to state that this is my first article. So, please provide valuable feedback so that I can improve my next articles.

CodeChef username : @piyushahir28

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less. — Marie Curie

In the world of Competitive Programming (CP), earning a good star rating on CodeChef is a big deal. It is an ultimate achievement that can outshine in your resume. But the road map for this journey is not very clear to most of the students, and they find no easy path to start with. To become good at CP, everyone told you to choose a programming language, learn DSA, and practice a lot. I am not denying it, this all is very much important. But before beginning, you need to be aware of the platform where you are going to put your 3 to 4 hours a day, and that’s the real trickery behind my 3 stars from 3 contests.

The magic is that when we create an account on CodeChef, they already give a 1500 rating to us, which is 2 stars. But those stars are not visible on our profile until we participate in the rated contests. So, that means we all are 2-star coder? Haha, yes, but keep one point in your mind after participating in a rated contest, you need to maintain that position (Rating on your profile) because one poor performance will decrease your rating. So, keep practicing.

But how did I know this? The answer is simple I took a step forward and participated in my first ever rated contest which is MAY COOK-OFF 2021, and here I attempt only one question out of six, and then I go to bed (it’s a 3-hour contest from 21:30 to 24:00), and what I saw in the morning, hurrah I got 2 stars with a rating 1467 by just attempting a single question, however, my rating got decreased by 37 because I only attempted a single question.

You have to grind hard for improvement and don’t get depressed by seeing others’ results. Many people will suggest to you that you need to participate in various rated contests. I also agree that it’s good, but I will recommend you to first practise before jumping into contests.

To know more about CodeChef monthly rated contests, please visit the official website of CodeChef.

Finally, I want to say that you all can achieve this, but you need to take that first step. Practice regularly.
I hope this article helps you, and now you are ready to start your journey.

All the best.