Find the Move: A Smarter Way to Solve Math Competition Problems

Math competition success is not about memorizing tricks. It is about seeing structure, choosing an effective first move, and checking your work with confidence. Find the Move is a practical problem-solving guide for middle and high school students who want to become faster, more accurate, and more flexible mathematical thinkers. The book organizes 75 focused topics across arithmetic, algebra, number theory, geometry, counting, and probability, then trains students to recognize when each idea is useful. The core framework is simple: > Find -> Recognize -> Move -> Check Students learn through First-Move Cards, deeper explanations, recognition labs, fluency sprints, transfer sets, multi-step fusion challenges, diagnostic error codes, a mastery tracker, and both 14-day and 60-day study plans. The goal is not to memorize isolated tricks. It is to build a connected library of mathematical structures and reliable first moves that transfer to unfamiliar competition problems.