IYPT 1990

IYPT 1990 – Moscow, Soviet Union

(7th – 14th June 1990)

Overview

The 3rd International Young Physicists’ Tournament was held at the Olympiets Youth Center, outside Moscow, with the Finals possibly hosted at the Department of Physics, Moscow State University. This edition marked a significant step forward: it was the first IYPT held fully independently from the Soviet national pre-selection rounds.

Initially planned for Kladno, Czechoslovakia (February–March 1990), the tournament was relocated to Moscow following its cancellation. An international preparatory meeting held in Odessa (September 1989) laid the groundwork for improved contest structure and shared rules.

Participation

• Dates: 7th – 14th June 1990
• Venue: Olympiets Youth Center, near Moscow
• Number of Teams: 6
• Number of Countries: 5 (or 6, depending on recognition of Rīga and Moscow as de facto independent by June 1990)

Participating Teams

• Czech and Slovak Federal Republic 🇨🇿🇸🇰
• Republic of Hungary 🇭🇺
• Netherlands 🇳🇱
• Republic of Poland 🇵🇱
• Rīga (Latvia, USSR) 🇱🇻
• Moscow School 542 (Russia, USSR) 🇷🇺

A pre-announced combined Soviet team was reportedly cancelled last-minute.

Format and Regulations

• Structure:
  • 4 Selective Physics Fights (PFs)
  • 1 Final PF on June 12
• Ranking Criteria:
  1. Minimum sum of places across PFs
  2. Maximum number of 1st-place PF finishes
  3. Maximum total score across PFs
• Fight Format (as per Kvant and Gifted Talented International):
  • Max points per PF: 33
  • Max cumulative points after 4 PFs: 132
• Working Languages:
  • Primarily Russian
  • English interpretation provided by the LOC
  • Problem sets translated into English

Finals – 12th June 1990

Place	Team	Problem (accepted?)	Score	Award
1st	Moscow School 542	Unknown	26.7	🥇 Gold (Т)
2nd	Rīga	Unknown	25.8	🥈 Silver (Ю)
3rd	Netherlands	Unknown	22.4	🥈 Silver (Ю)

A special set of six Problems for the Finals was known, but it’s unconfirmed whether it was used in full.

Overall Results After 4 Selective PFs

Rank	Team	SP1	pl1	SP2	pl2	SP3	pl3	SP4	pl4	TSP4	tpl4	Medal
1	Moscow Sch. 542	27.6	1	27.8	1	25.7	3	28.6	2	109.7	7	🥇 Gold (Т)
2	Rīga	28.1	1	27.2	2	29.4	1	29.7	1	114.4	5	🥈 Silver (Ю)
3	Netherlands	27.1	3	27.5	1	26.7	1	26.3	1	107.6	6	🥈 Silver (Ю)
4	Hungary	27.3	2	25.2	2	27.6	2	27.2	3	107.3	9	🥉 Bronze (Ф)
5	Czechoslovakia	26.9	2	25.5	3	26.4	2	25.3	2	104.1	9	🥉 Bronze (Ф)
6	Poland	24.4	3	24.9	3	26.5	3	24.7	3	100.5	12	🥉 Bronze (Ф)

Ranking Dynamics Across the Tournament

Team	R1	R2	Δr12	R3	Δr23	R4	Δr34	RF	Δr4f	Final Rank	Δr1F
Moscow Sch. 542	2	1	-1	3	+2	3	0	1	-2	1	-1
Rīga	1	2	+1	1	-1	1	0	2	+1	2	+1
Netherlands	5	3	-2	2	-1	2	0	3	+1	3	-2
Hungary	3	4	+1	4	0	4	0	—	—	4	+1
Czechoslovakia	4	5	+1	5	0	5	0	—	—	5	+1
Poland	6	6	0	6	0	6	0	—	—	6	0

σ(Δr): Average positional variance = 1.15

Organizers

• Head of Organizing Committee: Evgeny Yunosov
• Chair of the Jury: Sergei Varlamov
• IOC President (likely): Georgiy Zatsepin
• Vice-President: Evgeny Yunosov

Miscellaneous

• First IYPT announced in an English-language international journal (Gifted Talented International)
• All teams were awarded medals, based on placement and performance
• Diploma letters:
  • Т = Gold (1st place)
  • Ю = Silver (2nd place)
  • Ф = Bronze (3rd place)

Historical Context

• The Soviet Union was in turmoil:
  • Latvia declared a transition toward independence on May 4, 1990
  • Russia proclaimed state sovereignty on June 12, 1990 — the day of the Finals
• Eastern Europe was transforming rapidly, with Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland adopting democratic systems and dropping socialist identities