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Last month, we saw great performances by three veteran TopCoder members: one from India, one from the Russian Federation, and one from China. In this article, they tell us a little bit about themselves.
TCCC07 Rd 1A: 1984
TCCC07 Qual 1: 1895
SRM 363: 1727
Q: What brought you to TopCoder?
A: I heard first about the Google India Code Jam and didn't know much about the format of the challenge then. I came in at something like 120 in the rankings for the contest, but I was sure I could make it to the onsites the next time. Hence I started competing in TopCoder for practice.
Q: What advice would you give to someone just starting out?
A: Do only what you want to do and do all that you want to do. Make sure no one around you knows what it is. :-)
I like konqueror's quote: "Well, I can't die of hunger. So let me do what I want to."
Q: What was the biggest contributor to your progress this month?
A: I am writing a local challenge for our campus, to create teams for the upcoming ACM ICPC. I think I wrote a nice problemset, and that helped me practice well written invariant rich code.
Q: Who is your favorite teacher, professor, or coach?
A: First of all, my best inspiration is Shreevatsa, or aboyner. I really love following tomek's code. And I enjoy competing, and share a lot in common, with konqueror.
3 wins in August
Won last 14 components
Q: What brought you to TopCoder?
A: I got information about TopCoder from nicka81 around 2 years ago. After a while I decided to improve my coding skills and worked on a couple of development components. It was amazing, because I had never been required to code so fast and with such high quality. Next I tried design competitions, and was again amazed by how profitable it was!
Q: What's your proudest TopCoder moment?
A: Of course, it was my first design competition. Before my attempt that component had been reposted several times, and its prize had become very large. So, I decided – why not start design competitions with this one? There were a total of three submissions, and who would ever have thought that my submission would win!
Q: What's one thing you learned at TopCoder that has helped you in other areas of your life?
A: Fast typing on an English keyboard! The touch method with ten fingers helped me very much, because I recognize that the most needed design competition skill is describing everything. Sometimes I even feel myself sweating all over just from typing. Just try TopCoding and you will feel it, too!
Q: What's the biggest obstacle you've had to overcome?
A: I have to overcome laziness, and I think that's true for most Russian designers and developers too. Simply imagine – almost all the Russian designers are yellow TopCoders, but we produce only a few components because we like to relax very much. So I always look to Petr's achievements and try to do my best on the design side.
4 components, 4 wins
Q: What brought you to TopCoder?
A: I joined because I can learn new techniques, and earn good payments, from TopCoder competitions.
Q: What’s your proudest TopCoder moment?
A: I think it would be anytime I've had to teach myself something new.
Q: What advice would you give to someone just starting to learn coding, or starting in TopCoder competitions?
A: Don’t give up. The most difficult part of accomplishing something is getting started. I spent one month on my first component competition, and at the end, the win was robbed by another person.
Q: What was the most help this month?
A: urtks and assistant, they encouraged me. The TCCC prize is a great encouragement, too. :-)
Q: Who is your favorite teacher, professor, or coach?
A: magicpig -- he is a good competitor and teacher. He teaches me a lot. If you have any questions, you could ask him. :-)
Q: What's your most stressful TopCoder moment?
A: It's anytime the submission phase is closing, and I haven’t finished my submission.
