Olympiad problems

1996 Mexico National Olympiad, 2

There are $64$ booths around a circular table and on each one there is a chip. The chips and the corresponding booths are numbered $1$ to $64$ in this order. At the center of the table there are $1996$ light bulbs which are all turned off. Every minute the chips move simultaneously in a circular way (following the numbering sense) as follows: chip $1$ moves one booth, chip $2$ moves two booths, etc., so that more than one chip can be in the same booth. At any minute, for each chip sharing a booth with chip $1$ a bulb is lit. Where is chip $1$ on the first minute in which all bulbs are lit?

2016 Tournament Of Towns, 6

Tags: algebra , polynomial , number theory , Game Theory , combinatorics , Combinatorial games

Petya and Vasya play the following game. Petya conceives a polynomial $P(x)$ having integer coefficients. On each move, Vasya pays him a ruble, and calls an integer $a$ of his choice, which has not yet been called by him. Petya has to reply with the number of distinct integer solutions of the equation $P(x)=a$. The game continues until Petya is forced to repeat an answer. What minimal amount of rubles must Vasya pay in order to win? [i](Anant Mudgal)[/i] (Translated from [url=http://sasja.shap.homedns.org/Turniry/TG/index.html]here.[/url])

2014 BAMO, 3

Tags: games , Game Theory , Combinatorial games , game , Olympiad , Proof , combinatorics

Amy and Bob play a game. They alternate turns, with Amy going first. At the start of the game, there are $20$ cookies on a red plate and $14$ on a blue plate. A legal move consists of eating two cookies taken from one plate, or moving one cookie from the red plate to the blue plate (but never from the blue plate to the red plate). The last player to make a legal move wins; in other words, if it is your turn and you cannot make a legal move, you lose, and the other player has won. Which player can guarantee that they win no matter what strategy their opponent chooses? Prove that your answer is correct.

2017 Spain Mathematical Olympiad, 4

Tags: Combinatorial games , combinatorics , national olympiad , Spain

You are given a row made by $2018$ squares, numbered consecutively from $0$ to $2017$. Initially, there is a coin in the square $0$. Two players $A$ and $B$ play alternatively, starting with $A$, on the following way: In his turn, each player can either make his coin advance $53$ squares or make the coin go back $2$ squares. On each move the coin can never go to a number less than $0$ or greater than $2017$. The player who puts the coin on the square $2017$ wins. ¿Who is the one with the wining strategy and how should he play to win?

2018 Belarusian National Olympiad, 10.8

Tags: combinatorics , Combinatorial games

The vertices of the regular $n$-gon and its center are marked. Two players play the following game: they, in turn, select a vertex and connect it by a segment to either the adjacent vertex or the center. The winner I a player if after his maveit is possible to get any marked point from any other moving along the segments. For each $n>2$ determine who has a winning strategy.

2020 Taiwan TST Round 1, 6

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]

2025 Bangladesh Mathematical Olympiad, P5

Tags: combinatorics , game , Combinatorial games

Mugdho and Dipto play a game on a numbered row of $n \geq 5$ squares. At the beginning, a pebble is put on the first square and then the players make consecutive moves; Mugdho starts. During a move a player is allowed to choose one of the following: [list] [*] move the pebble one square rightward [*] move the pebble four squares rightward [*] move the pebble two squares leftward [/list] All of the possible moves are only allowed if the pebble stays within the borders of the square row. The player who moves the pebble to the last square (a. k. a $n$-th) wins. Determine for which values of $n$ each of the players has a winning strategy.

1994 IMO Shortlist, 6

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

Two players play alternatively on an infinite square grid. The first player puts an $X$ in an empty cell and the second player puts an $O$ in an empty cell. The first player wins if he gets $11$ adjacent $X$'s in a line - horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Show that the second player can always prevent the first player from winning.

2021 Moldova Team Selection Test, 10

Tags: combinatorics , Combinatorial games , game , combinatorial game theory , winning strategy

On a board there are written the integers from $1$ to $119$. Two players, $A$ and $B$, make a move by turn. A $move$ consists in erasing $9$ numbers from the board. The player after whose move two numbers remain on the board wins and his score is equal with the positive difference of the two remaining numbers. The player $A$ makes the first move. Find the highest integer $k$, such that the player $A$ can be sure that his score is not smaller than $k$.

2006 Korea National Olympiad, 2

Tags: primes , Combinatorial games , combinatorics

Alice and Bob are playing "factoring game." On the paper, $270000(=2^43^35^4)$ is written and each person picks one number from the paper(call it $N$) and erase $N$ and writes integer $X,Y$ such that $N=XY$ and $\text{gcd}(X,Y)\ne1.$ Alice goes first and the person who can no longer make this factoring loses. If two people use optimal strategy, prove that Alice always win.

2021 Israel TST, 1

Tags: Combinatorial games , combinatorics

Ayala and Barvaz play a game: Ayala initially gives Barvaz two $100\times100$ tables of positive integers, such that the product of numbers in each table is the same. In one move, Barvaz may choose a row or column in one of the tables, and change the numbers in it (to some positive integers), as long as the total product remains the same. Barvaz wins if after $N$ such moves, he manages to make the two tables equal to each other, and otherwise Ayala wins. a. For which values of $N$ does Barvaz have a winning strategy? b. For which values of $N$ does Barvaz have a winning strategy, if all numbers in Ayalah’s tables must be powers of $2$?

2020 Bundeswettbewerb Mathematik, 1

Tags: combinatorics , combinatorics proposed , game , Combinatorial games

Leo and Smilla find $2020$ gold nuggets with masses $1,2,\dots,2020$ gram, which they distribute to a red and a blue treasure chest according to the following rule: First, Leo chooses one of the chests and tells its colour to Smilla. Then Smilla chooses one of the not yet distributed nuggets and puts it into this chest. This is repeated until all the nuggets are distributed. Finally, Smilla chooses one of the chests and wins all the nuggets from this chest. How many gram of gold can Smilla make sure to win?

2021 Israel TST, 1

Tags: Combinatorial games , combinatorics

Ayala and Barvaz play a game: Ayala initially gives Barvaz two $100\times100$ tables of positive integers, such that the product of numbers in each table is the same. In one move, Barvaz may choose a row or column in one of the tables, and change the numbers in it (to some positive integers), as long as the total product remains the same. Barvaz wins if after $N$ such moves, he manages to make the two tables equal to each other, and otherwise Ayala wins. a. For which values of $N$ does Barvaz have a winning strategy? b. For which values of $N$ does Barvaz have a winning strategy, if all numbers in Ayalah’s tables must be powers of $2$?

2019 All-Russian Olympiad, 2

Tags: Combinatorial games , game strategy , arithmetic , combinatorics

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?

2020 Centroamerican and Caribbean Math Olympiad, 2

Tags: combinatorics , Combinatorial games

Suppose you have identical coins distributed in several piles with one or more coins in each pile. An action consists of taking two piles, which have an even total of coins among them, and redistribute their coins in two piles so that they end up with the same number of coins. A distribution is [i]levelable[/i] if it is possible, by means of 0 or more operations, to end up with all the piles having the same number of coins. Determine all positive integers $n$ such that, for all positive integers $k$, any distribution of $nk$ coins in $n$ piles is levelable.

2017 Korea Winter Program Practice Test, 2

Tags: combinatorics , Combinatorial games , graph theory

There are $m \ge 2$ blue points and $n \ge 2$ red points in three-dimensional space, and no four points are coplanar. Geoff and Nazar take turns, picking one blue point and one red point and connecting the two with a straight-line segment. Assume that Geoff starts first and the one who first makes a cycle wins. Who has the winning strategy?

2020 China Northern MO, P4

Tags: combinatorics , Combinatorial games , Game Theory , board

Two students $A$ and $B$ play a game on a $20 \text{ x } 20$ chessboard. It is known that two squares are said to be [i]adjacent[/i] if the two squares have a common side. At the beginning, there is a chess piece in a certain square of the chessboard. Given that $A$ will be the first one to move the chess piece, $A$ and $B$ will alternately move this chess piece to an adjacent square. Also, the common side of any pair of adjacent squares can only be passed once. If the opponent cannot move anymore, then he will be declared the winner (to clarify since the wording wasn’t that good, you lose if you can’t move). Who among $A$ and $B$ has a winning strategy? Justify your claim.