This year, I had the opportunity to participate in the National High School Problem-Solving Competition organized by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium. Since this is a team competition, I did not enter alone; my teammates were Gergely Csanád Sinka and Gábor Bathó. Representing Lehel Vezér High School, we competed as the Panyigaik-MÁV team. The competition consists of several rounds, and as the name suggests, it involves solving problems with historical significance, such as negotiating peace treaties or handling incidents while role-playing historical figures.
The first two rounds were conducted online, which we solved together. Based on our results, we advanced to the regional finals in March 2024, held in Debrecen. Here, we had to present our solution to a professional jury, with 10 minutes to present and an additional 5 minutes for the jury to question us, all behind closed doors. We were given 6 days to prepare the presentation before the competition day. In the regional round, the task was to rework the points of the “shameful” Peace of Vasvár of 1664. The solutions, presentation style, and overall presentation were evaluated to determine advancement. We finished the regional round in first place, advancing to the national finals in Budapest, held in April at the MCC central college.
In the final, the task was to solve the 1898 Fashoda Incident from the French perspective. Similar to the previous rounds, we had 6 days to prepare. However, to reach the “grand” final, one must first win the semifinals, which this year involved 4 divisions with 8 teams each. We managed to secure first place here as well, advancing to the grand final where only 4 teams presented in front of an audience. The jury was tough, and the competition was fierce, but we still managed to achieve second place nationally.
All in all, it was a challenging and rewarding competition with excellent participants and juries. For anyone interested in history, I highly recommend this competition. I hope it brings you as much joy as it did for me!
András Mihály Oláh, Jászság Group 3
Congratulations to the team!
