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Qualification Round deadline: 6 September 2026register free →
Competition timeline

Rounds & Process

Three rounds, from an open online qualifier to a live, supervised final exam. Every round tests the same six domains of reasoning at increasing difficulty.

Round 1

Qualification Round

Open to everyone. Solve five reasoning problems online, at your own pace, before the deadline.

Format & scoring

The Qualification Round consists of five reasoning problems, A through E, spanning deductive logic, probability, and quantitative reasoning. Each problem is worth 5 points. You need at least 15 points (Junior), 17 points (Youth), or 20 points (Senior) to advance — see Age Groups for the full breakdown.

You may use books, the internet, and AI tools to help you research, but the written solution must be your own work. In the Qualification Round only, you may also work with friends or classmates. The later rounds are supervised and tool-free, so treat this round as practice for how you will reason under exam conditions.

The submission deadline is Sunday, 6 September 2026, 23:59 UTC+0. There is no fee to participate in the Qualification Round. Results are announced on Monday, 21 September 2026, by email and in your participant account.

Round 2

Semi-Final Round

A supervised 60-minute exam, including one problem built around a real research paper.

Format & scoring

Qualified participants sit a supervised, 60-minute exam with three problems worth 18 points total: one basic problem (4 points), one advanced problem (6 points), and one research problem (8 points) based on a short paper released one month in advance. You may use translation tools and AI to help you understand the paper during preparation. Score at least 8 (Junior), 10 (Youth), or 12 (Senior) points to advance to the Final Round.

Supervision. The exam must be supervised, either by a teacher who registers in advance (see Teacher Registration), or through the online supervision system using a webcam and a second device for ID verification.

Registration for the Semi-Final Round costs a small fee to help cover evaluation and infrastructure — financial aid is available for participants who need it. Results are announced on Monday, 2 November 2026.

Round 3

Final Round

A single, digitally monitored exam that draws on everything from the earlier rounds.

Format & scoring

Finalists sit one supervised exam of around 30 questions, mixing short-answer and multiple-choice formats across all six domains. The exam takes about 30 minutes and is digitally monitored from home through a dedicated exam portal.

Awards go to the Finalists with the most points; ties are broken using Semi-Final and Qualification Round scores. All Final Exams take place on Tuesday, 17 November 2026, with results announced Monday, 23 November 2026. See Awards for the full prize structure.