At the end of January 2026, the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice hosted the national round of the 62nd Chemistry Olympiad. The Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Agriculture and Technology put their full efforts into preparing the ideal background for the theoretical and practical parts. 65 talented high school students from the Czech Republic and Slovakia came - and we offered them not only challenges, but also an unforgettable accompanying programme!
Under the guidance of the organisers from the CHO Headquarters, the contestants faced challenging laboratory disciplines in organic synthesis and analytical chemistry. In the first round of category E for secondary vocational schools, the contestants tackled the spectrophotometric determination of a mixture of permanganate and dichromate and were tasked with the synthesis of tris(acetylacetonato)manganese complex, while in the second round, they tackled the synthesis of BINOL by oxidation of naphthalene-2-ol with ferric chloride. Subsequently, they performed reductometric titration with ascorbic acid and diphenylamine as indicators. For category A, intended for high school students, the organizers prepared the isolation of lidocaine by extraction, precipitation and identification by thin-layer chromatography with optimized mobile phase, followed by iodometric determination of the molar mass of the unknown amino acid by the Popa-Stevens method using copper phosphate complex and thiosulfate titration.
The competition was not just about chemistry! In the afternoon, the contestants went to the university microbrewery, the Knežinek microbrewery or Budvar, where they discovered the art of brewing. Some experienced an excursion to the Bosch company, the České Budějovice Transport Company or a tour of the historical centre. The highlights were an evening at the South Bohemian Theatre for a performance of the Manhattan Project and a concert by the band YOU&ME at the Kampa student club.
First place in category A went to Matěj Dvořák from Prague. Twenty-seven of the forty-nine contestants in this category were awarded the title of successful solver. In category E, Tomáš Prokeš from the South Moravian Region won, and four of the sixteen contestants were awarded the title of successful solver of the National ChO round.
The event would not have taken place without the support of the management of both faculties and generous sponsors.
Thank you to the sponsors, the organizing team, and everyone who participated in the organization!
