Olympiad problems

Kvant 2019, M2563

Pasha and Vova play the following game, making moves in turn; Pasha moves first. Initially, they have a large piece of plasticine. By a move, Pasha cuts one of the existing pieces into three(of arbitrary sizes), and Vova merges two existing pieces into one. Pasha wins if at some point there appear to be $100$ pieces of equal weights. Can Vova prevent Pasha's win?

2015 Baltic Way, 6

Tags: winning positions , Combinatorial games , combinatorics

Two players play the following game. At the outset there are two piles, containing $10,000$ and $20,000$ tokens,respectively . A move consists of removing any positive number of tokens from a single pile $or$ removing $x>0$ tokens from one pile and $y>0$ tokens from the other , where $x+y$ is divisible by $2015$. The player who can not make a move loses. Which player has a winning strategy

2017 Baltic Way, 10

Tags: combinatorics , combinatorics proposed , game , Combinatorial games

Maker and Breaker are building a wall. Maker has a supply of green cubical building blocks, and Breaker has a supply of red ones, all of the same size. On the ground, a row of $m$ squares has been marked in chalk as place-holders. Maker and Breaker now take turns in placing a block either directly on one of these squares, or on top of another block already in place, in such a way that the height of each column never exceeds $n$. Maker places the first block. Maker bets that he can form a green row, i.e. all $m$ blocks at a certain height are green. Breaker bets that he can prevent Maker from achieving this. Determine all pairs $(m,n)$ of positive integers for which Maker can make sure he wins the bet.

2016 Tuymaada Olympiad, 1

Tags: combinatorics , Combinatorial games

Tanya and Serezha have a heap of $2016$ candies. They make moves in turn, Tanya moves first. At each move a player can eat either one candy or (if the number of candies is even at the moment) exactly half of all candies. The player that cannot move loses. Which of the players has a winning strategy?

2019 ELMO Shortlist, C2

Tags: combinatorics , graph theory , Combinatorial games , game

Adithya and Bill are playing a game on a connected graph with $n > 2$ vertices, two of which are labeled $A$ and $B$, so that $A$ and $B$ are distinct and non-adjacent and known to both players. Adithya starts on vertex $A$ and Bill starts on $B$. Each turn, both players move simultaneously: Bill moves to an adjacent vertex, while Adithya may either move to an adjacent vertex or stay at his current vertex. Adithya loses if he is on the same vertex as Bill, and wins if he reaches $B$ alone. Adithya cannot see where Bill is, but Bill can see where Adithya is. Given that Adithya has a winning strategy, what is the maximum possible number of edges the graph may have? (Your answer may be in terms of $n$.) [i]Proposed by Steven Liu[/i]

2019 ELMO Shortlist, C4

Tags: Elmo , combinatorics , Combinatorial games

Let $n \ge 3$ be a fixed integer. A game is played by $n$ players sitting in a circle. Initially, each player draws three cards from a shuffled deck of $3n$ cards numbered $1, 2, \dots, 3n$. Then, on each turn, every player simultaneously passes the smallest-numbered card in their hand one place clockwise and the largest-numbered card in their hand one place counterclockwise, while keeping the middle card. Let $T_r$ denote the configuration after $r$ turns (so $T_0$ is the initial configuration). Show that $T_r$ is eventually periodic with period $n$, and find the smallest integer $m$ for which, regardless of the initial configuration, $T_m=T_{m+n}$. [i]Proposed by Carl Schildkraut and Colin Tang[/i]

JOM 2015, 5

Tags: combinatorics , Combinatorial games

Navi and Ozna are playing a game where Ozna starts first and the two take turn making moves. A positive integer is written on the waord. A move is to (i) subtract any positive integer at most 2015 from it or (ii) given that the integer on the board is divisible by $2014$, divide by $2014$. The first person to make the integer $0$ wins. To make Navi's condition worse, Ozna gets to pick integers $a$ and $b$, $a\ge 2015$ such that all numbers of the form $an+b$ will not be the starting integer, where $n$ is any positive integer. Find the minimum number of starting integer where Navi wins.

2021 Olympic Revenge, 4

Tags: combinatorics , Combinatorial games , games , grids

On a chessboard, Po controls a white queen and plays, in alternate turns, against an invisible black king (there are only those two pieces on the board). The king cannot move to a square where he would be in check, neither capture the queen. Every time the king makes a move, Po receives a message from beyond that tells which direction the king has moved (up, right, up-right, etc). His goal is to make the king unable to make a movement. Can Po reach his goal with at most $150$ moves, regardless the starting position of the pieces?

2024 Tuymaada Olympiad, 2

Tags: combinatorics , game , Game Theory , Combinatorial games , Tuymaada

Chip and Dale play on a $100 \times 100$ table. In the beginning, a chess king stands in the upper left corner of the table. At each move the king is moved one square right, down or right-down diagonally. A player cannot move in the direction used by his opponent in the previous move. The players move in turn, Chip begins. The player that cannot move loses. Which player has a winning strategy?

2019 Singapore MO Open, 3

Tags: combinatorics , game , ilostthegame , Combinatorial games

A robot is placed at point $P$ on the $x$-axis but different from $(0,0)$ and $(1,0)$ and can only move along the axis either to the left or to the right. Two players play the following game. Player $A$ gives a distance and $B$ gives a direction and the robot will move the indicated distance along the indicated direction. Player $A$ aims to move the robot to either $(0,0)$ or $(1,0)$. Player $B$'s aim is to stop $A$ from achieving his aim. For which $P$ can $A$ win?

2016 Iran MO (3rd Round), 2

Tags: Iran , Game Theory , combinatorics , Combinatorial games , table , modular arithmetic

A $100 \times 100$ table is given. At the beginning, every unit square has number $"0"$ written in them. Two players playing a game and the game stops after $200$ steps (each player plays $100$ steps). In every step, one can choose a row or a column and add $1$ to the written number in all of it's squares $\pmod 3.$ First player is the winner if more than half of the squares ($5000$ squares) have the number $"1"$ written in them, Second player is the winner if more than half of the squares ($5000$ squares) have the number $"0"$ written in them. Otherwise, the game is draw. Assume that both players play at their best. What will be the result of the game ? [i]Proposed by Mahyar Sefidgaran[/i]

2020 Caucasus Mathematical Olympiad, 3

Tags: Combinatorial games , combinatorics

Peter and Basil play the following game on a horizontal table $1\times{2019}$. Initially Peter chooses $n$ positive integers and writes them on a board. After that Basil puts a coin in one of the cells. Then at each move, Peter announces a number s among the numbers written on the board, and Basil needs to shift the coin by $s$ cells, if it is possible: either to the left, or to the right, by his decision. In case it is not possible to shift the coin by $s$ cells neither to the left, nor to the right, the coin stays in the current cell. Find the least $n$ such that Peter can play so that the coin will visit all the cells, regardless of the way Basil plays.

2016 Stars of Mathematics, 2

Tags: rectangle , discrete maths , Combinatorial games

Let $ m,n\ge 2 $ and consider a rectangle formed by $ m\times n $ unit squares that are colored, either white, or either black. A [i]step[/i] is the action of selecting from it a rectangle of dimensions $ 1\times k, $ where $ k $ is an odd number smaller or equal to $ n, $ or a rectangle of dimensions $ l\times 1, $ where $ l $ is and odd number smaller than $ m, $ and coloring all the unit squares of this chosen rectangle with the color that appears the least in it. [b]a)[/b] Show that, for any $ m,n\ge 5, $ there exists a succession of [i]steps[/i] that make the rectagle to be single-colored. [b]b)[/b] What about $ m=n+1=5? $

2017 Korea Winter Program Practice Test, 2

Tags: combinatorics , Combinatorial games

Alice and Bob play a game. There are $100$ gold coins, $100$ silver coins, and $100$ bronze coins. Players take turns to take at least one coin, but they cannot take two or more coins of same kind at once. Alice goes first. The player who cannot take any coin loses. Who has a winning strategy?

2019 Belarusian National Olympiad, 9.8

Tags: combinatorics , Combinatorial games

Andrey and Sasha play the game, making moves alternate. On his turn, Andrey marks on the plane an arbitrary point that has not yet been marked. After that, Sasha colors this point in one of two colors: white and black. Sasha wins if after his move it is impossible to draw a line such that all white points lie in one half-plane, while all black points lie in another half-plane with respect to this line. [b]a)[/b] Prove that Andrey can make moves in such a way that Sasha will never win. [b]b)[/b] Suppose that Andrey can mark only integer points on the Cartesian plane. Can Sasha guarantee himself a win regardless of Andrey's moves? [i](N. Naradzetski)[/i]

2019 IMO Shortlist, C7

Tags: combinatorics , IMO Shortlist , IMO Shortlist 2019 , game , Combinatorial games

There are 60 empty boxes $B_1,\ldots,B_{60}$ in a row on a table and an unlimited supply of pebbles. Given a positive integer $n$, Alice and Bob play the following game. In the first round, Alice takes $n$ pebbles and distributes them into the 60 boxes as she wishes. Each subsequent round consists of two steps: (a) Bob chooses an integer $k$ with $1\leq k\leq 59$ and splits the boxes into the two groups $B_1,\ldots,B_k$ and $B_{k+1},\ldots,B_{60}$. (b) Alice picks one of these two groups, adds one pebble to each box in that group, and removes one pebble from each box in the other group. Bob wins if, at the end of any round, some box contains no pebbles. Find the smallest $n$ such that Alice can prevent Bob from winning. [i]Czech Republic[/i]

2024 Bangladesh Mathematical Olympiad, P10

Tags: Combinatorial games , combinatorics , graph theory

Juty and Azgor plays the following game on a $(2n+1) \times (2n+1)$ board with Juty moving first. Initially all cells are colored white. On Juty's turn, she colors a white cell green and on Azgor's turn, he colors a white cell red. The game ends after they color all the cells of the board. Juty wins if all the green cells are connected, i.e. given any two green cells, there is at least one chain of neighbouring green cells connecting them (we call two cells [i]neighboring[/i] if they share at least one corner), otherwise Azgor wins. Determine which player has a winning strategy. [i]Proposed by Atonu Roy Chowdhury[/i]

2020 Caucasus Mathematical Olympiad, 8

Tags: combinatorics , Combinatorial games

Peter wrote $100$ distinct integers on a board. Basil needs to fill the cells of a table $100\times{100}$ with integers so that the sum in each rectangle $1\times{3}$ (either vertical, or horizontal) is equal to one of the numbers written on the board. Find the greatest $n$ such that, regardless of numbers written by Peter, Basil can fill the table so that it would contain each of numbers $(1,2,...,n)$ at least once (and possibly some other integers).

2021 JHMT HS, 7

Tags: Combinatorial games , combinatorics , 2021 , Game Theory

A number line with the integers $1$ through $20,$ from left to right, is drawn. Ten coins are placed along this number line, with one coin at each odd number on the line. A legal move consists of moving one coin from its current position to a position of strictly greater value on the number line that is not already occupied by another coin. How many ways can we perform two legal moves in sequence, starting from the initial position of the coins (different two-move sequences that result in the same position are considered distinct)?

2017 South Africa National Olympiad, 4

Tags: combinatorics , Combinatorial games

Andile and Zandre play a game on a $2017 \times 2017$ board. At the beginning, Andile declares some of the squares [i]forbidden[/i], meaning the nothing may be placed on such a square. After that, they take turns to place coins on the board, with Zandre placing the first coin. It is not allowed to place a coin on a forbidden square or in the same row or column where another coin has already been placed. The player who places the last coin wins the game. What is the least number of squares Andile needs to declare as forbidden at the beginning to ensure a win? (Assume that both players use an optimal strategy.)

2017 Balkan MO Shortlist, C1

Tags: combinatorics , Combinatorial games , game strategy , IMO Shortlist

A grasshopper is sitting at an integer point in the Euclidean plane. Each second it jumps to another integer point in such a way that the jump vector is constant. A hunter that knows neither the starting point of the grasshopper nor the jump vector (but knows that the jump vector for each second is constant) wants to catch the grasshopper. Each second the hunter can choose one integer point in the plane and, if the grasshopper is there, he catches it. Can the hunter always catch the grasshopper in a finite amount of time?

2021 Canadian Mathematical Olympiad Qualification, 5

Tags: Canada , repechage , combinatorics , Combinatorial games

Alphonse and Beryl are playing a game. The game starts with two rectangles with integer side lengths. The players alternate turns, with Alphonse going first. On their turn, a player chooses one rectangle, and makes a cut parallel to a side, cutting the rectangle into two pieces, each of which has integer side lengths. The player then discards one of the three rectangles (either the one they did not cut, or one of the two pieces they cut) leaving two rectangles for the other player. A player loses if they cannot cut a rectangle. Determine who wins each of the following games: (a) The starting rectangles are $1 \times 2020$ and $2 \times 4040$. (b) The starting rectangles are $100 \times 100$ and $100 \times 500$.

2019 ELMO Problems, 3

Tags: Elmo , combinatorics , Combinatorial games

Let $n \ge 3$ be a fixed integer. A game is played by $n$ players sitting in a circle. Initially, each player draws three cards from a shuffled deck of $3n$ cards numbered $1, 2, \dots, 3n$. Then, on each turn, every player simultaneously passes the smallest-numbered card in their hand one place clockwise and the largest-numbered card in their hand one place counterclockwise, while keeping the middle card. Let $T_r$ denote the configuration after $r$ turns (so $T_0$ is the initial configuration). Show that $T_r$ is eventually periodic with period $n$, and find the smallest integer $m$ for which, regardless of the initial configuration, $T_m=T_{m+n}$. [i]Proposed by Carl Schildkraut and Colin Tang[/i]

2025 Bangladesh Mathematical Olympiad, P7

Tags: combinatorics , set , game , Combinatorial games , induction

Yamin and Tamim are playing a game with subsets of $\{1, 2, \ldots, n\}$ where $n \geq 3$. [list] [*] Tamim starts the game with the empty set. [*] On Yamin's turn, he adds a proper non-empty subset of $\{1, 2, \ldots, n\}$ to his collection $F$ of blocked sets. [*] On Tamim's turn, he adds or removes a positive integer less than or equal to $n$ to or from their set but Tamim can never add or remove an element so that his set becomes one of the blocked sets in $F$. [/list] Tamim wins if he can make his set to be $\{1, 2, \ldots, n\}$. Yamin wins if he can stop Tamim from doing so. Yamin goes first and they alternate making their moves. Does Tamim have a winning strategy? [i]Proposed by Ahmed Ittihad Hasib[/i]

2019 ELMO Shortlist, C2

Tags: combinatorics , graph theory , Combinatorial games , game

Adithya and Bill are playing a game on a connected graph with $n > 2$ vertices, two of which are labeled $A$ and $B$, so that $A$ and $B$ are distinct and non-adjacent and known to both players. Adithya starts on vertex $A$ and Bill starts on $B$. Each turn, both players move simultaneously: Bill moves to an adjacent vertex, while Adithya may either move to an adjacent vertex or stay at his current vertex. Adithya loses if he is on the same vertex as Bill, and wins if he reaches $B$ alone. Adithya cannot see where Bill is, but Bill can see where Adithya is. Given that Adithya has a winning strategy, what is the maximum possible number of edges the graph may have? (Your answer may be in terms of $n$.) [i]Proposed by Steven Liu[/i]