Memoriad is a large Mind Sports competition held every 4 years (since 2008) in a different international city. In many ways, it is the Olympic Games of Mind Sports. Memoriad includes events in:
- Mental Math
- Memory
- Speed Reading
The event is open to everyone of all ages, subject to approval.
Past events were held in:
- Memoriad 2008 in Istanbul
- Memoriad 2012 in Antalya
- Memoriad 2016 in Las Vegas
The 2020 event (Dubai) was postponed due to the pandemic, and we await details of whether/when it will take place.
Competition Details
You need to register several months beforehand and pay the entry fees – in 2016 this was $15/event. However, most serious competitors have historically been awarded free accommodation for the duration of the event.
All categories are contested using the official Memoriad software (download “Memoriad Simulator”), which is also useful for training for this event and for the Mental Calculation World Cup.
Competitors usually attend for 1–5 specialist events and optionally compete in other non-specialist events for fun or experience. For example a soroban expert may do Flash Anzan, Addition and Division, but also for fun, Names and Faces Memory.
Category Details
Future competitions are likely to include a similar list of categories to the 2016 competition:
- Mental Calculation Categories:
- Flash Anzan (adding together numbers flashed rapidly on a screen)
- Addition (each question has ten 10-digit numbers to sum)
- Multiplication (each question has two 8-digit numbers to multiply)
- Exact Division (each question is a 10-digit number divided by a 5-digit number for a 5-digit answer)
- Square Roots (each questions is a 6-digit number whose square root is needed to 5 decimal places)
- Calendar dates (day of the week for as many dates as possible in 1 minute)
- Memory Categories—see website for full list
- Speed Reading—a single document with multiple-choice questions to assess comprehension
Further Information
More information about this can be found on the official Memoriad website. Upcoming competitions are announced here (subscribe for email updates about all competitions) and of course on the official website.