Chapter 11: Contest Craft

Overview

Knowing algorithms is necessary but not sufficient — you also need the practical meta-skills to deploy them under time pressure. This chapter covers everything around the algorithms: choosing the right data structure, deciding between DP and greedy, debugging when you're panicking, and planning your study progression. It also includes copy-paste-ready templates and cheatsheets. Come here when you want to level up your contest performance, not just your algorithmic knowledge.

Navigation

Coming from: Chapter 10 — Patterns and Recipes — meta-patterns for recognizing which technique to apply
Going to: Chapter 12 — Practice Ladders — structured practice from CF 1100 to 2100

Topics at a Glance

#	Topic	Difficulty	Key Trigger Phrase
01	Codeforces Tips and Workflow	Intermediate	"How do I structure my contest strategy?"
02	Study Plan — CF 1100 → 2100	Intermediate	"What should I study this week?"
03	Common C++ Templates	Intermediate	"Give me copy-paste-ready contest code"
04	STL Quick Reference	Beginner	"What's the syntax for lower_bound again?"
05	Complexity Cheatsheet	Beginner	"What's the complexity of this operation?"
06	Data Structure Selection Guide	Intermediate	"Which data structure handles range queries + point updates?"
07	DP vs Greedy Guide	Beginner	"Should I use DP or greedy here?"
08	BFS vs DFS Guide	Beginner	"Should I use BFS or DFS?"
09	Debugging Under Pressure	Intermediate	"Got WA and I'm panicking"
10	Reflections	Beginner	"I feel stuck and not improving"

Appendices — drills, mock contests, and posters

#	Topic	Use it for
11	Speed Drills	Timed implementation practice for common templates
13	Mistake Journal	Capture wrong submissions as data, not noise
14	Mock Contest 1	Div 2 warm-up simulation
15	Mock Contest 2	Technique diagnostic
16	Mock Contest 3	Speed round
17	DS Selection Poster	One-page decision tree for data structures
18	DP Pattern Poster	One-page taxonomy of DP shapes
19	Graph Algorithm Poster	One-page graph algorithm map

If You Only Read 3 Files

1. Data Structure Selection Guide — because choosing the right data structure is half the battle. This decision matrix saves you from that agonizing "should I use a segment tree or a Fenwick tree?" moment during a contest.
2. Debugging Under Pressure — because WA on test 5 with 30 minutes left is the most stressful moment in CP, and having a systematic debugging protocol (instead of randomly changing things) can save your rating.
3. Study Plan — because undirected practice is the #1 reason people plateau. This 32-week roadmap gives you a concrete week-by-week plan from CF 1100 to 2100.

Cross-Chapter Connections

• Data Structure Selection Guide references all major structures from Chapter 2: Data Structures
• DP vs Greedy Guide connects Greedy (Chapter 1) with DP Thinking Framework (Chapter 4)
• BFS vs DFS Guide complements BFS and DFS from Chapter 3
• Common Templates provides ready-to-use implementations of structures from Chapters 2–6
• Study Plan maps directly to the practice problems in Chapter 12: Practice Ladders
• Debugging Under Pressure pairs with Debugging and Stress Testing from Chapter 0

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File Listing

File	Topic	Level
bfs-vs-dfs-guide	BFS vs DFS Decision Guide	⭐
dp-vs-greedy-guide	DP vs Greedy Decision Guide	⭐
stl-quick-reference	STL Quick Reference	⭐
common-templates	Common C++ Templates	⭐⭐
complexity-cheatsheet	Complexity Cheatsheet	⭐
data-structure-selection-guide	Data Structure Selection Guide	⭐⭐
debugging-under-pressure	Debugging Under Pressure	⭐⭐
cf-tips-and-workflow	Codeforces Tips and Workflow	⭐⭐
study-plan	Study Plan — CF 1100 → 2100	⭐⭐
reflections	Reflections	⭐

Suggested Reading Order

Two paths through this chapter — they are not used in the same moment.

Before contests (study and preparation):

1. complexity-cheatsheet — quick reference for all complexities
2. stl-quick-reference — STL containers and algorithms at a glance
3. bfs-vs-dfs-guide — when to use which traversal
4. dp-vs-greedy-guide — when to use DP vs greedy
5. data-structure-selection-guide — pick the right structure for the job
6. common-templates — copy-paste-ready C++ contest templates
7. cf-tips-and-workflow — contest strategy and testing workflow
8. study-plan — personalized progression plan from 1100 to 2100
9. reflections — honest observations on getting stuck and getting better

During contests (quick-reference path):

1. complexity-cheatsheet — sanity-check your candidate approach
2. stl-quick-reference — syntax recall under pressure
3. ds-selection-poster, dp-pattern-poster, graph-algorithm-poster — one-page decision aids
4. debugging-under-pressure — protocol when WA strikes