Foreword

Summary

It’s a pleasure for me to write a Foreword to this Hungarian Problem Book III which covers the Eötvös/Kürschák competitions of the period 1929-1943. As you have all the mathematics of it in the book itself, I would like to say a few words first on the present organization of the competition and then on the history of it.

The competition is organized every year on an October afternoon and every high-school student can take part in it, including students who have just finished high school that summer. It is a four-hour contest with three problems to solve. Students can use anything they bring with them such as books and notes. However use of computers and calculators is not permitted. The competition takes place simultaneously in 20 cities all over Hungary.

I cite the key sentence of the \Call for Participation" of the competition: "According to the traditions of the competition, the solution of the competition problems requires no knowledge beyond the usual high-school material; however, finding the solution challenges the student’s ability for independent mathematical thinking."

Of course, before and after the competition, there is a lot of work to be done. There is a Competition Committee (henceforth abbreviated to CC) consisting of about 10 people. (The fact that I am a member of this CC largely facilitates my writing this account.)