The Mental Calculation World Cup (German: Weltmeisterschaften im Kopfrechnen, or World Championship in Mental Calculation) is an international competition for

mental calculator Human calculator is a term to describe a person with a prodigious ability in some area of mental calculation (such as adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing large numbers). The world's best mental calculators are invited every two ye ...

s, held every two years in Germany.

Mental Calculation World Cup 2004

The first Mental Calculation World Cup was held in

Annaberg-Buchholz Annaberg-Buchholz () is a town in Saxony, Germany. Lying in the Ore Mountains, it is the capital of the district of Erzgebirgskreis. Geography The town is located in the Ore Mountains, at the side of the ''Pöhlberg'' ( above sea level). ...

, Germany on 30 October 2004. There were 17 participants from 10 countries. The World Cup involved the following contests (and two surprise tasks): *Adding ten 10-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 10 minutes **Winner:

Alberto Coto Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic '' Albert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The diminutive forms are ''Albertito'' in Spain or ''Albertico'' in some parts of Latin America, Alber ...

(Spain); 10 correct results; 5:50 minutes, world record *Multiplying two 8-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 15 minutes **Winner:

(Spain), 8 correct results *Calendar Calculations, two series one minute each, dates from the years 1600–2100 **Winner: Matthias Kesselschläger (Germany), 33 correct results, world record *Square Root from 6-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 15 minutes **Winner:

Jan van Koningsveld Jan van Koningsveld (born 1969 in Emden) is a mental calculator. He is the champion of Extracting Square Roots of 2004 and 2008 as well as the champion of Calendar Calculation of 2008 at the Mental Calculation World Cups. In addition, he finishe ...

(Germany) In the overall ranking the first place is taken by Robert Fountain (Great Britain), the runner-up was

(Germany).

Mental Calculation World Cup 2006

The second Mental Calculation World Cup was held on 4 November 2006 in the

Mathematikum The Mathematikum is a science museum, located in Gießen, Germany, which offers a huge variety of mathematical hands-on exhibits. It was founded by Albrecht Beutelspacher, a German mathematician. The Mathematikum opened its doors to visitors on ...

museum in

Gießen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univers ...

, Germany. 26 Calculators from 11 countries took part. The World Cup involved the following contests (and two surprise tasks): *Adding ten 10-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 10 minutes **Winner: Jorge Arturo Mendoza Huertas (Peru); 10 correct results *Multiplying two 8-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 15 minutes **Winner:

(Spain) *Calendar Calculations, two series one minute each, dates from the years 1600–2100 **Winner: Matthias Kesselschläger (Germany) *Square Root from 6-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 15 minutes **Winner: Robert Fountain (Great Britain) Robert Fountain (Great Britain) defended his title in the overall competition, the places 2 to 4 have been won by

(Netherlands), Gert Mittring (Germany) and Yusnier Viera Romero (Cuba).

Mental Calculation World Cup 2008

The Mental Calculation World Cup 2008 was held at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

, Germany on 1 July 2008. It attracted 28 calculators from 12 countries. *Adding ten 10-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 10 minutes **Winner:

(Spain), 10 correct results in 4:26 minutes. world record *Multiplying two 8-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 15 minutes **Winner:

(Spain), 10 correct results in 8:25 minutes, world record *Calendar Calculations, dates from the years 1600–2100, one minute **Winner:

(Germany), 40 correct results *Square Root from 6-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 15 minutes **Winner:

(Germany)

(Spain) won the overall title.

, starting for Germany this time, became second, and Jorge Arturo Mendoza Huertas (Peru) finished third. Robert Fountain, who won the title in 2004 and 2006, achieved a fourth rank.

Mental Calculation World Cup 2010

The Mental Calculation World Cup 2010 was held at the University of Magdeburg, Germany on 6–7 June 2010. It attracted 33 calculators from 13 countries. *Adding ten 10-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 10 minutes **Winner:

(Spain), 10 correct results in 3:42 minutes, world record *Multiplying two 8-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 15 minutes **Winner: (Spain), 10 correct results in 4:56 minutes, world record *Calendar Calculations, dates from the years 1600–2100, one minute **Winner: Yusnier Viera (Cuba), 48 correct results, world cup record *Square Root from 6-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 6:51 minutes,' world cup record **Winner: Priyanshi Somani (India) *Most Versatile Calculator (the best score for solving six unknown "surprise tasks") ** Winner: Gerald Newport (U.S.) Priyanshi Somani (India) won the overall title. (Spain) came second, and

finished third.

Mental Calculation World Cup 2012

The Mental Calculation World Cup 2012 was held from 30/9/2012 to 01/10/2012 in the

museum in

, Germany. 32 calculators from 16 countries participated. The world cup involved the following 5 main contests : *Adding ten 10-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 7 minutes **Winner: Naofumi Ogasawara (Japan); 10 correct results in 191 seconds, world record *Multiplying two 8-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 10 minutes **Winner: Freddis Reyes Hernández (Cuba), 10 correct results in 361 seconds *Calendar Calculations, One minute, random dates from the years 1600–2100 **Winner: Myagmarsuren Tuuruul (Mongolia), 57 correct results, world cup record *Square Roots from 6-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 10 minutes **Winner: Naofumi Ogasawara (Japan), 8 correct results (each solved, up to all the first 8 digits: 3 integers and 5 decimals) *Most Versatile Calculator (the best score for solving another 5 unknown "surprise tasks") ** Winner: Naofumi Ogasawara (Japan), 500, perfect score. Naofumi Ogasawara (Japan) won the title in the overall competition (combination of all 10 categories). Hua Wei Chan (Malaysia) was 2nd overall, and

was 3rd.

Mental Calculation World Cup 2014

The Mental Calculation World Cup 2014 was held from 10/10/2014 to 12/10/2014 in the Faculty of Mathematics in

Dresden University of Technology TU Dresden (for german: Technische Universität Dresden, abbreviated as TUD and often wrongly translated as "Dresden University of Technology") is a public research university, the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, th ...

, Germany. 39 mental calculators from 17 countries participated. The World Cup involved the following 5 main contests: *Adding ten 10-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 7 minutes **Winner: Granth Thakkar (India); 10 correct results in 242 seconds, *Multiplying two 8-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 10 minutes **Winner: (Spain), 10 correct results in 295 seconds, world cup record *Calendar Calculations, one minute, random dates from the years 1600–2100 **Winner: (Spain), 64 correct results, world cup record *Square Roots from 6-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 10 minutes **Winner: Rhea Shah (India), 10 correct results in 135 seconds (each solved to eight significant figures), world cup record *Most Versatile Calculator (the best score for solving another 5 unknown "surprise tasks") **Winner:

Andreas Berger Andreas Berger (born 9 June 1961 in Gmunden, Oberösterreich) is a former Austrian track and field sprinter, who ran in the 100m and 200m. In 1993 he tested positive for the banned steroid Metandienone, together with his teammates Franz Ratzen ...

(Germany), 365/500 Granth Thakkar (India) won the title in the overall competition (combination of all 10 categories). (Spain) was 2nd overall, and Chie Ishikawa (Japan) was 3rd.

Mental Calculation World Cup 2016

The Mental Calculation World Cup 2016 was held from 23 to 25 September 2016, in Bielefeld Germany. 31 mental calculators from 16 countries participated. The World Cup involved the following 5 main contests: *Adding ten 10-digit numbers, 7 minutes **Winner:

Yuki Kimura is a Japanese model and ''tarento''. She is better known by her stage name Yukipoyo (ゆきぽよ). She is represented by her agency ''VIP Models Agency''. Kimura's father is Japanese, her mother is half Filipino and half Spanish. Kimura debut ...

(Japan) *Multiplying two 8-digit numbers, 10 minutes **Winner: Lee Jeonghee (South Korea) *Calendar Calculations, one minute, random dates from the years 1600–2100 **Winner: Georgi Georgiev (Bulgaria), 66 correct results, world cup record *Square Roots from 6-digit numbers, 10 minutes **Winner:

(Japan) *Most Versatile Calculator (the best score for solving another 5 unknown "surprise tasks") **Winner: Lee Jeonghee (South Korea) *Memoriad Trophy **Winner:

(Japan)

(Japan) won the title in the overall competition (combination of all 10 categories). Tetsuya Ono (Japan) was 2nd overall, and Lee Jeonghee (South Korea) was 3rd.

Mental Calculation World Cup 2018

The Mental Calculation World Cup 2018 was held on 28–30 September 2018 at the

Phaeno Science Center The Phæno Science Center is an interactive science center in Wolfsburg, Germany, completed in 2005. The Phæno Science Center Phæno arose from urban planning by the City of Wolfsburg. In 1998 City officials were developing a plot of vacant, ...

in Wolfsburg, Germany. 82 calculators from 24 countries applied for the qualification; 33 calculators from 17 countries were qualified and took part at the contest in Wolfsburg. The World Cup involved the following 5 main contests: *Adding ten 10-digit numbers, 7 minutes **Winner: Lee Jeonghee (South Korea) *Multiplying two 8-digit numbers, 10 minutes **Winner: Tomohiro Iseda (Japan) *Calendar Calculations, one minute, random dates from the years 1600–2100 **Winner: (Spain), 71 correct results, world cup record *Square Roots from 6-digit numbers, 10 minutes **Winner: Tomohiro Iseda (Japan) *Most Versatile Calculator (the best score for solving another 5 unknown "surprise tasks") **Winner: Wenzel Grüß (Germany) Tomohiro Iseda (Japan) won the title in the overall competition (combination of all 10 categories). Hiroto Ihara (Japan) finished second and Wenzel Grüß (Germany) third.

Mental Calculation World Cup 2020/22

The Mental Calculation World Cup 2020 was planned to take place on 21–23 August 2020. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, it had to be postponed. It was held on 15-17 July 2022 at Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum (world's largest computer museum) in

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...

, Germany. 66 calculators applied for the qualification; 35 calculators from 17 countries were qualified and took part at the contest in Paderborn. Aaryan Nitin Shukla (India) won the title in the overall competition (combination of all 10 categories). Tetsuya Ono (Japan) finished second and Mohammad El-Mir (Lebanon) third. The World Cup involved the following 5 main contests: *Adding ten 10-digit numbers, 7 minutes **Winner: Tetsuya Ono (Japan), 32 points (34 correct, 2 incorrect results) *Multiplying two 8-digit numbers, 10 minutes **Winner: Aaryan Nitin Shukla (India), 21 points (23 correct, 2 incorrect results), world cup record *Calendar Calculations, one minute, random dates from the years 1600–2100 **Winner: Akshita Shah (India), 80 correct results, world cup record *Square Roots from 6-digit numbers, 10 minutes **Winner: Aaryan Nitin Shukla (India), 74 points (79 correct, 5 incorrect results), world cup record *Most Versatile Calculator (the best score for solving another 5 unknown "surprise tasks") **Winner: Tetsuya Ono (Japan)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Mental Calculation World Cup Index pageTasks in the World Cup 2022Tasks in the World Cup 2018Tasks in the World Cup 2016Tasks in the World Cup 2014Tasks in the World Cup 2012Tasks in the World Cup 2010Memoriad report on MCWC 2012Japanese abacus teacher wins Mental Calculation World Cup - article in Guardian.co.uk
Mathematics competitions Mental-skill competitions