International chemistry olympiad and its role in chemical education

International Chemistry Olympiad (IChQ) is the annual world competition for high school students - the winner of national olympiads. The level of this competition is very high, and its results reflected to some extent the efficiency of national systems of chemical education. We briefly present the history of IChQ and its regulations, raise some methodical issues and show the role of Russia in the world system of chemistry olympiads. The influence of IChQ on chemical education in Russia is discussed.