As of the beginning of March, there are no international-level mental calculation events planned for 2021 (although hopefully it will be possible for one to be arranged later this year!)
In the meantime, the Canadian Mind Sports Association hosted an online calculation competition/challenge that is open to everyone around the world.
Update: as the competition is now finished, the results are available here!
Format of Competition
There are several categories, each with a 5-minute time limit. You are responsible to following the rules, marking and scoring your own answers, and reporting them to the organizers.
The individual categories are:
- additions (sets of ten 2-digit numbers)
- multiplications (2-by-2 digits, such as 35 x 64)
- divisions to 2 decimal places (e.g. 123 รท 4 = 30.75)
There are also some optional extension categories, including:
- decimal square roots (according to the rules familiar from the World Cup and Memoriad competitions)
- calendar dates (also conforming to the familiar rules)
- 3-by-3 and 8-by-8 multiplications
- squares of 2-, 3- and 4-digit numbers
- multi-part calculations involving brackets
Be sure to read the full rules, including the rules for marking the categories, before starting. Remember that the organizers need to know the number of questions attempted, the number correct, and the total score.
Details of Competition
The deadline for competing and entering your scores is 15th March 2021, so aim to finish by pi-day! You’ll just need a couple of hours. The questions are available in various formats, and I personally advise to use the PDF versions, and write answers with pen and paper.
Full instructions are on the website for the Canadian Mind Sports Association.
Note: all questions about this event should be sent to the contact on their website, not to me, as I am not an organizer of these events.
Good luck!
