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This story basically starts many years ago. It's 2004 and I'm in England at the Mind Sports Olympiad, taking part in something called Mental Calculation. We were given a paper with lots of equations and our task was to write down the results. Only results and nothing else. So no intermediate calculations. There were those who counted it all and submitted before the time limit. I know I counted a few simpler ones. I was proud that I had correct even one square root of some 6-digit number. In any case, I don't think I end up last. And I found it interesting. But then again, it was one of those extreme competitions that one person out of ten million has a taste for...
Almost 20 years later, in February 2023, I am participating in this competition again. Again part of the English MSO, only differenct is that this time it's online. The Google Form, which we have 12 minutes for, certainly contains more than 50 equations. Scored from one to ten points. There is just one for ten-points, 56 * 56 * 56 * 56 * 56 * 56. I'm definitely not going to count that :-) I don't even want to spend time with 88 * 88 * 88. But I can handle a fair amount of the low-scoring ones. Addition of two to eight digits, decomposition into prime numbers, subtraction, division, some square root. I can't count calendar days. There are about 46 of us competing, I finish about 37th, and 26 advance to the semi-finals.
I have a plan. Next year I want to reach the semi-finals. I just need to practice a little. It should be enough to use regularly one Czech specialty.
So from now on (2/26/2023) I'll play one game every day and we'll see. But it is easy to say and hard to do... Somehow I don't have much time to play. Well, I'll play more games on other days... but it's May, and I played about 10 games. I can count plus points for making a big Abaku board, but that probably won't help me much to participate in the semi-finals. Anyway, the next task is from June to the end of September to play 1000 games. Or at least 250. Well, if I can do it...