[Last updated: 17th August 2020 at 16:00]
The Mind Sports Olympiad’s Mental Calculations event was held on 15th August 2020 at 15:30 London time, and the results are available.
Calculation Categories
The calculation categories are those from the standard JMCWC and MSO events. To help with preparation, this document lists all of the calculation categories, including how they are presented during the competition: MSO 2020 Mental Calculation Categories.
Note that there are some changes to the original format:
- There are no “reverse calendar” questions. All calendar question ask contestants for the day of the week for a given date.
- All rounds contain two “best in 60 seconds” questions, where contestant get more points for more accuracy.
Event Rules
To ensure the competition is fair and the event runs smoothly, all participants should familiarize themselves with the full rules before the competition: MSO 2020 Mental Calculation Rules.
Format of the Competition
All questions are presented on a Powerpoint presentation. Contestants join a video call with the judge, who presents these questions and determines the scores. Here is an example of the Powerpoint presentation: MSO 2020 Mental Calculations Sample.
Round One
All participants start in a qualification group of maximum seven participants. There are ten questions to answer, each with a 15-second time limit! There are also two “best in 60 seconds” questions.
Final
There are fourteen slightly harder questions to answer, each with a 25-second time limit. There are also be two “best in 60 seconds” questions.
Grand final
Originally we had wanted to use a head-to-head format to decide the medals from the top 4 contestants from the previous round. However the competition took longer than expected so it was changed at the end of Round One. The original intention had been:
The top two participants from each of the semi-finals will compete in the final. Each contestant will have a head-to-head match against the other finalists.
For each question, the contestant with the fastest correct answer (or for “best in 60 seconds” questions, the most accurate estimate of the answer) will get all of the points.
The winner will be the contestant with the highest total score from their three head-to-head matches.