ACSers Make the Top 3 at the 13th International Festival for Young Mathematicians
By Deyan Bozhkov '25
Three ACS students participated with their teams in the 13th International Festival of Young Mathematicians held September 1-8 in Sozopol, placing in the top 3 for their age groups.
The Festival is a team competition, in which students solve problems in the morning and compete with another team next. The first four competition days rank the teams based on number of wins and the so-called "goal difference" (the total amount of points a team X has scored minus the total amount of points other teams have scored against X). If the team is among the best in its age group, the students take part in a final match (to determine the number 1) or a "small" final match (to determine who will be third).
ACS 9th grader Thomas Nastev competed with his team in the 8-9 grade category. After two wins, a draw, and a loss in the first four days, the team qualified for the small final and won it, placing Thomas and his teammates in third place.
ACS senior Deyan Bozhkov (of team "Sbirstein", roughly “Hotchpotch”) and junior Vladislav Natchev (of team "Nedodyalko-Combi") participated in the 10-12 grade category. After a win and a loss, the two teams were placed against each other on day 3, whereby "Nedodyalko-Combi" won the tough battle. However, on day 4 they lost to the team that proceeded to win the whole event, while "Sbirstein" won their match. This way, the two teams met again for the small final, "Sbirstein" winning the intense battle. Due to their previous victory against the bronze-winners, Vladislav's "Nedodyalko-Combi" also got bronze.
Congratulations to the young ACS mathematicians Thomas, Deyan, and Vladislav for their worthy performance!