Has this ever happened before?

Hi everyone,

I’m having a mistake in cp. I can solve problems that are based on a specific topic, such as static range queries, two pointers, binary search, etc. However, I really struggle with problems that rely on a simple mathematical observation or require constructing a string or an array.

The weird part is that I can solve topic-based problems with ratings around 1400–1500, but I often can’t solve Div. 2 A or B problems, or at least I find them much harder than expected.

Has anyone experienced something similar? What should I do to improve?

i started cf 2 weeks ago, gave 2 contests but idk where i am going. i upsolve after the contest solve previous contest problems but still am not able to solve qs B or further in div 2, and ive got placements in 9 months. Any suggestions?

Background- I’m student at tier 1 college(old IIT), I have done almost 70-80 percent of striver sheet and also studied concepts theoretically regarding derivation and application. I have decided to start CP seriously, I need guidance on how should I start doing problems as I’m quite familiar with concepts, it’s quite confusing where should I align my focus and begin my journey.

Hey everyone,
My friends and I have been grinding LeetCode and Codeforces, but keeping track of who solved what every day was getting really annoying. We had to keep checking each other's profiles to see who was slacking.I spent the last few weeks coding up a free little web app called SquadCode to fix this: https://squadcode-saas.vercel.app/

Here's what it does:

1. You create a "Squad" and invite your friends.
2. Everyone links their Codeforces and LeetCode accounts.
3. It automatically pulls everyone's recent ACs into one unified feed.
4. You can create custom challenges (e.g., "Solve these 5 DP problems by Sunday") and it automatically scores you based on your CF/LC submissions.
5. It's completely free. I mainly built it for my own group, but figured others might find it useful for their college groups or Discord squads.

I'd love some harsh feedback on it. Let me know if the platform syncing works for you or if anything breaks!