International Chemistry Olympiad

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The International Chemistry Olympiad ( IChO ) is an annual competition for high school students. It is one of the International Science Olympiads .

The first IChO was held in 1968 in Prague (then Czechoslovakia ). It has taken place every year since then (except in 1971). Most of the first participants came from countries of the former Eastern Bloc , and all competitions were held there up to the 12th IChO in Austria .

Structure and rules for the competition

One of the coveted IChO medals.

Each participating country sends a delegation of a maximum of four participants and two supervisors (one of them is the head of the delegation, for many years Dr. Manfred Kerschbaumer) to the IChO. The delegation can also include a guest and a scientific observer. All participants must be under 20 years of age and they cannot be students . The International Information Center of the International Chemistry Olympiad is located in Bratislava ( Slovakia ).

Countries wishing to participate in the IChO later must send observers to two consecutive competitions before they can send their own delegation. A total of 61 countries took part in the 36th IChO (2004) in Kiel , and another 7 sent observers. A total of 68 nations were represented.

The competition consists of a theoretical and a practical test. Both last 5 hours and they are held on different days (usually the practice is done before the theory competition). A total of 100 points can be achieved, 60 in theory and 40 in practice. The two areas are independent of each other and the sum of the points determines the overall result.

The participants receive the (originally English) documents for the competition in their language, whereby it is the task of the supervisors to translate them from English. After the examination has been evaluated by a committee (this is always appointed by the country in which the Olympics are taking place), but before the result is determined, the supervisors discuss the result with the committee. Because the supervisors know about the exam before it takes place, any communication between them and the participants is strictly prohibited.

The competition covers almost the entire spectrum of chemistry , such as inorganic , organic , physical chemistry , analytical chemistry , biochemistry and spectroscopy . A part of this subject area is also included in the normal curriculum, but many of the subjects dealt with at the IChO are university-level . In preparation, a course lasting several weeks takes place in the host country, whereby so-called preparatory problems (translated: preparatory tasks) are issued. These preparatory problems deal with certain subject areas much more comprehensively than is required for a chemistry degree. Prerequisites for participation are a strong understanding of chemistry, an excellent ability to recognize the relationship between chemical topics and to reality, and of course a great interest in chemistry is also required.

All participants are ranked according to their number of points (no team rating). The top ten percent receive a gold medal, the next 20 percent a silver and bronze goes to the next 30 percent of the participants. Those participants are honored who could not achieve medal rank, but who solved a theoretical or practical problem perfectly. There are also the two special prizes “Best Theory” and “Best Practice”.

The IChO is an excellent opportunity for course participants to meet people from all over the world who have similar interests. There is also the opportunity to visit sights and come into contact with different cultures. The IChO also promotes friendships across national borders and thus paves the way for international understanding.

Preparation for the competition

Although it is in principle up to each participating country to determine the participants according to any procedure, regional and supraregional Olympiads are usually held, such as the German Chemistry Olympiad as a qualification in Germany or the Austrian Chemistry Olympiad in Austria . When the team has been determined, the IChO participants are sent from many countries to preparatory courses, where they are taught by the supervisors from their country. These lessons specifically cover those subject areas that appear in the Preparatory Problems .

The IChOs and their venues

  • The 53rd IChO will take place in Osaka ( Japan ) in 2021 .
  • The 52nd IChO should take place in Istanbul in 2020, but will not take place there due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • The 51st IChO took place in Paris ( France ) in 2019 .
  • The 50th IChO took place in 2018 in Prague ( Czech Republic ) and Bratislava ( Slovakia ).
  • The 49th IChO took place from July 6th to 15th, 2017 in Bangkok ( Thailand ).
  • The 48th IChO took place from July 23rd to August 1st, 2016 in Tbilisi ( Georgia ). Previously, Karachi ( Pakistan ) was planned as the venue.
  • The 47th IChO took place from July 20-29, 2015 in Baku ( Azerbaijan ).
  • The 46th IChO took place from July 21-30, 2014 in Hanoi ( Vietnam ).
  • The 45th IChO took place from July 14 to 23, 2013 in Moscow ( Russia ).
  • The 44th IChO took place from July 21 to 30, 2012 in Washington, DC ( United States ).
  • The 43rd IChO took place from July 9th to 18th, 2011 in Ankara ( Turkey ).
  • The 42nd IChO took place from July 19-28, 2010 in Tokyo ( Japan ).
  • The 41st IChO took place from July 18 to 27, 2009 in Cambridge ( England ).
  • The 40th IChO took place from July 12 to 21, 2008 in Budapest ( Hungary ).
  • The 39th IChO took place from July 15 to 24, 2007 in Moscow ( Russia ).
  • The 38th IChO took place from July 2nd to 11th, 2006 in Gyeongsan ( South Korea ).
  • The 37th IChO took place from July 16 to 25, 2005 in Taipei ( Taiwan ).
  • The 36th IChO took place from July 18-27, 2004 in Kiel ( Germany ).
  • The 35th IChO took place from July 5th to 14th, 2003 in Athens ( Greece ).
  • The 34th IChO took place from July 5th to 14th, 2002 in Groningen ( Netherlands ).
  • The 33rd IChO took place from July 6th to 15th, 2001 in Mumbai ( India ).
  • The 32nd IChO took place from July 2nd to 11th, 2000 in Copenhagen ( Denmark ).
  • The 31st IChO took place from July 4th to 14th, 1999 in Bangkok ( Thailand ).
  • The 30th IChO took place from July 5th to 14th, 1998 in Melbourne ( Australia ).
  • The 29th IChO took place from July 13-22, 1997 in Montreal ( Canada ).
  • The 28th IChO took place from July 14 to 23, 1996 in Moscow ( Russia ).
  • The 27th IChO took place from July 13-20, 1995 in Beijing ( China ).
  • The 26th IChO took place from July 3rd to 11th, 1994 in Oslo ( Norway ).
  • The 25th IChO took place from July 11-22, 1993 in Perugia ( Italy ).
  • The 24th IChO took place from July 11-22, 1992 in Pittsburgh and Washington, DC ( USA ).
  • The 23rd IChO took place from July 7th to 15th, 1991 in Łódź ( Poland ).
  • The 22nd IChO took place from July 8th to 17th, 1990 in Paris ( France ).
  • The 21st IChO took place from July 2 to 10, 1989 in Halle (then GDR ).
  • The 20th IChO took place from July 2nd to 9th, 1988 in Espoo ( Finland ).
  • The 19th IChO took place from July 6th to 15th, 1987 in Veszprém ( Hungary ).
  • The 18th IChO took place from July 6th to 15th, 1986 in Leiden ( Netherlands ).
  • The 17th IChO took place from July 1st to 8th, 1985 in Bratislava (then Czechoslovakia ).
  • The 16th IChO took place from July 1st to 10th, 1984 in Frankfurt am Main (then West Germany ).
  • The 15th IChO took place from July 2nd to 11th 1983 in Timișoara ( Romania ).
  • The 14th IChO took place from July 3rd to 12th 1982 in Stockholm ( Sweden ).
  • The 13th IChO took place from July 13 to 23, 1981 in Burgas ( Bulgaria ).
  • The 12th IChO took place from July 13 to 23, 1980 for the first time outside the " Eastern Bloc " in Linz ( Austria ).
  • The 11th IChO took place from July 2nd to 11th, 1979 in the former Leningrad (then Soviet Union ).
  • The 10th IChO took place from July 3 to 13, 1978 in Toruń ( Poland ).
  • The 9th IChO took place from July 4th to 14th, 1977 in Bratislava (then Czechoslovakia ).
  • The 8th IChO took place from July 10th to 19th, 1976 in Halle (then GDR ).
  • The 7th IChO took place from July 1st to 10th, 1975 in Veszprém ( Hungary ).
  • The 6th IChO took place from July 1 to 10, 1974 in Bucharest ( Romania ).
  • The 5th IChO took place from July 1 to 10, 1973 in Sofia ( Bulgaria ).
  • The 4th IChO took place from July 1 to 10, 1972 in Moscow (then the Soviet Union ).
  • In 1971 the IChO did not take place.
  • The 3rd IChO took place from July 1st to 5th, 1970 in Budapest ( Hungary ).
  • The 2nd IChO took place from June 16 to 20, 1969 in Katowice ( Poland ).
  • The 1st IChO took place from June 18 to 21, 1968 in Prague (then Czechoslovakia ).

See also

Web links

The preparatory problems , the results and the theoretical and practical tasks of the respective competition can be found on the respective page.