Blog
This is the first entry in a series I’m calling Chasing Expert.
In this series, I will document my journey from Codeforces Newbie → Codeforces Expert (1600+), and from Top 18% on LeetCode to earning the Guardian badge (Top 2.5%).
This will be my brain dump of what works, what doesn’t, and what deliberate practice really looks like.
For the past few years, I’ve been “good” at algorithms.
But I don’t want to be good — I want to be great.
I truly believe competitive programming–style questions like LeetCode and Codeforces force you to think deeper and faster.
They force you to work on hard problems.
They force you to do something so difficult that it permanently changes the way you think.
So I decided to take the next step.
Before you improve at anything, you need to know where you actually stand.
Over the last month:
Importantly, I did not learn any new techniques during this period.
No new data structures.
No new tricks.
No prep cramming.
I only used the tools already in my toolbox.
That’s what makes this a true baseline.
You need a baseline because progress lives in the narrow band above your current ability.
For example:
Without a baseline, you’re guessing.
With one, you can train deliberately.
For getting your personal rating:
For determining the rating of a question:
As of January 2026, this is my starting line.
From here on out, the goal is simple:
If you’re also Chasing Expert — les get it. I’m here with you.
I’ll see you at the next checkpoint.
Follow along on YouTube where I’m documenting this journey in real time (contests, breakdowns, and lessons learned).