Draft:Baltic Chemistry Olympiad



The Baltic Chemistry Olympiad (BChO) is an annual in-person competition that gathers selected chemistry students from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. This event allows students to meet and solve challenging chemistry problems.

20 students participate in every BChO – 6 from each country and 2 more from the host country. Usually, there are 6 theoretical tasks (2 tasks are prepared by each country) worth 60–70 points and 2 practical tasks worth 30–40 points (prepared by the host country) for a total of 100 points. The jury includes representatives from each country, so mentors from all three countries work together to prepare the theoretical problems.

Students are chosen through a system that involves school teachers, university lecturers, and former participants. This competition is crucial for preparing and selecting the national teams for the International Chemistry Olympiad. The BChO is covered by the educational media in Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian languages. For example, in Estonian magazines Horisont. and Postimees. Herewith, the BChO has a marked impact beyond the Baltic countries. In particular, through its online spin-offs.

Spin-offs: Baltic Chemistry Competition & Challenge
The Baltic Chemistry Competition (BChC) is an online contest organised by Estonian and Latvian IChO mentors in 2019–2019. Former BChO and IChO participants prepared the problems. The first four competitions were organised as a distant olympiad, meaning problems were distributed online, answers were gathered by email, and results were announced digitally after the manual grading of solutions. Problems of the I–IV BChC are available on an unofficial webpage. 20–40 school students participated in the BChC yearly. After a break from 2014 to 2016, the BChC moved to Moodle platform, meaning problems were formatted as Moodle tests with answer fields, automatic grading, and instant feedback. Over 100 school students participated in the Moodle-based BChC yearly. The competition stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023 the BChC was restarted and renamed to the Baltic Chemistry Challenge to level out the competitive and highlight challenging aspects of chemistry olympiads. 200–400 international students participated in the four BChO rounds in the 2023–2024 academic year; the 4th round was based on the BChO problems.

In all variations, the BChC consists of several rounds. One of which is a USNCO-like test. Others contain IChO-like problems.

History
The format of the Baltic Chemistry Olympiad was first proposed by Gunārs Rumba (1927–2001), who was the organiser of the Latvian Chemistry Olympiad. The first BChO happened in Riga, Latvia, from May 3 to May 5, 1993. BChO is among a few international chemistry olympiads with a significant history: International (since 1968), Mendeleev (since 1992), Ibero-American (since 1996). Each year, a different one of the three countries hosts the event. The problems of all BChO theoretical exams are available in English. Unlike UNSCO, problems of the BChO are similar to the IChO ones and, in recent years, align with the IChO Preparatory Problems topics. Thus, not only is BChO a regionally important event, but it is also a significant source of training problems for the chemistry community.

Since 1998, the order of organising countries is Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia. Two videos from 2008 and 2010 convey the atmosphere of the BChO. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, BChO was postponed from 2020 and 2021 to 2022. Ten Ukrainian students participated in the BChO as guests in 2024 – due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, making a national selection competition for the IChO became problematic, and the Ukrainian team accepted an invitation to the Baltic Chemistry Olympiad.

Problems
The Baltic Chemistry Olympiad emphasizes aspects of chemistry typical for leading universities in the Baltic countries. For example, the University of Tartu focuses on chemical devices, including different types of batteries, internal combustion engines, and fuel cells. Likewise, scientists from the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis have prepared problems on the synthesis of organic compounds.

The Olympiad covers many topics, including:
 * Analytical Chemistry: Determining unknown compounds in puzzle-like questions.
 * Applied Chemistry: Overviewing real-life chemistry, such as batteries and industrial processes.
 * Biochemistry: Dealing with biological molecules like peptides and enzymes.
 * Calculations related to chemistry, like titrations.
 * Electrochemistry: Working with reactions that involve applied potentials.
 * Equilibrium: Dealing with equilibrium in chemical reactions.
 * Inorganic Chemistry: Various topics in inorganic chemistry.
 * Kinetics: Working with various aspects of kinetics.
 * Mechanisms: Looking at the steps of chemical reactions.
 * Radiochemistry: Focusing on radioactive substances and nuclear chemistry.
 * Solid state chemistry: Examining crystal structures and related theories.
 * Spectroscopy: Anything related to spectroscopy.
 * Stereochemistry: Understanding how molecules are arranged in space.
 * Structural Chemistry: Looking at how atoms are connected in molecules.
 * Synthesis: Building organic compounds from simpler ones.
 * Thermodynamics: Balancing energy and heat in chemical reactions.

BChO Problems and Solutions are available on the unofficial webpage. Part of the solutions are in Russian, which used to be an international language in the Baltic countries in 1990th. All problems were refined and, if needed, translated by Andreas Päkk, Artemi Smõšljajev, and Vladislav B. Ivaništšev while editing a collection of BChO problems

Mentors and Sponsors
Over the years, many mentors have contributed to editing the problems: Agris Bērziņš, Algirdas Neniškis, Anneli Kruve, Edvinas Orentas, Eduards Baķis, Eugenijus Butkus, Gintautas Bagdžiūnas, Gustavs Mežciems, Ida Rahu, Igors Kļimenkovs, Ināra Akmene, Jānis Briška, Jānis Ăībietis, Juris Fotins, Jörgen Metsik, Kaspars Veldre, Kristi Koitla, Laurynas Riauba, Liis Siigur, Lona-Liisa Pruks, Lukas Šteinys, Marius Jurgelénas, Natalia Nekrassova, Nauris Narvaišs, Olavs Rāciņš, Olga Tšubrik, Ott Kekišev, Raimondas Galvelis, | Rein Pullerits, Ritums Cepītis, Rimantas Raudonis, Simonas Balkaitis, Siim Kaukver, Skaidrīte Pakule, Toms Rēķis, Uno Mäeorg, Vaidotas Navickas, Vidmantas Bieliūnas, Vladislav Ivaništšev, Vytautas Kavaliauskas, Vytautas Pečiukėnas and others.

BChO was supported by: Alexela, Atbalsts izcilībai, Baltika, Bapeks, Bauskas alus, Biosan, Dobeles novads, Enamine, Estiko, Grindex, JSC OlainFarm, Linesa, Lithuanian agency of non-formal education, Ministries of Education and Research of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, Ontic Minerals, Orange, Riga Technical University, Sangar, TBD pharmatech, The association of Lithuanian science Olympiads, The J. Molner Company, Universities of Daugavpils, Kaunas, Latvia, Tartu, and Vilnius, Tartu City, Xema, Yoga, Youth Academy and others.