An $8 \times 8$ board is divided into unit squares. Ten of these squares have their centers marked. Prove that either there exist two marked points on the distance at most $\sqrt2$, or there is a point on the distance $1/2$ from the edge of the board.

We number the columns of an $n\times n$-board from $1$ to $n$. In each cell, we place a number. This is done in such a way that each row precisely contains the numbers $1$ to $n$ (in some order), and also each column contains the numbers $1$ to $n$ (in some order). Next, each cell that contains a number greater than the cell's column number, is coloured grey. In the figure below you can see an example for the case $n = 3$. [asy] unitsize(0.6 cm); int i; fill((0,0)--(1,0)--(1,1)--(0,1)--cycle, gray(0.8)); fill(shift((1,0))*((0,0)--(1,0)--(1,1)--(0,1)--cycle), gray(0.8)); fill(shift((0,2))*((0,0)--(1,0)--(1,1)--(0,1)--cycle), gray(0.8)); for (i = 0; i <= 3; ++i) { draw((0,i)--(3,i)); draw((i,0)--(i,3)); } label("$1$", (0.5,3.5)); label("$2$", (1.5,3.5)); label("$3$", (2.5,3.5)); label("$3$", (0.5,2.5)); label("$1$", (1.5,2.5)); label("$2$", (2.5,2.5)); label("$1$", (0.5,1.5)); label("$2$", (1.5,1.5)); label("$3$", (2.5,1.5)); label("$2$", (0.5,0.5)); label("$3$", (1.5,0.5)); label("$1$", (2.5,0.5)); [/asy] (a) Suppose that $n = 5$. Can the numbers be placed in such a way that each row contains the same number of grey cells? (b) Suppose that $n = 10$. Can the numbers be placed in such a way that each row contains the same number of grey cells?

On the screen of a computer there is an $2^n\times 2^n$ board. On each cell of the main diagonal there is a file. At each step, we may select some files and move them to the left, on their respective rows, by the same distance. What is the minimum number of necessary moves in order to put all files on the first column? [i]Proposed by Vlad Spătaru[/i]

In each cell of $5 \times 5$ table there is one number from $1$ to $5$ such that every number occurs exactly once in every row and in every column. Number in one column is [i]good positioned[/i] if following holds: - In every row, every number which is left from [i]good positoned[/i] number is smaller than him, and every number which is right to him is greater than him, or vice versa. - In every column, every number which is above from [i]good positoned[/i] number is smaller than him, and every number which is below to him is greater than him, or vice versa. What is maximal number of good positioned numbers that can occur in this table?

In a $7\times7$ board, some squares are painted red. Let $a$ be the number of rows that have an odd number of red squares and let $b$ be the number of columns that have an odd number of red squares. Find all possible values of $a+b$. For each value found, give a example of how the board can be painted.

A knight is placed on each square of the first column of a $2017 \times 2017$ board. A [i]move[/i] consists in choosing two different knights and moving each of them to a square which is one knight-step away. Find all integers $k$ with $1 \leq k \leq 2017$ such that it is possible for each square in the $k$-th column to contain one knight after a finite number of moves. Note: Two squares are a knight-step away if they are opposite corners of a $2 \times 3$ or $3 \times 2$ board.

Let $m$ be a positive integer with $m \leq 2024$. Ana and Banana play a game alternately on a $1\times2024$ board, with squares initially painted white. Ana starts the game. Each move by Ana consists of choosing any $k \leq m$ white squares on the board and painting them all green. Each Banana play consists of choosing any sequence of consecutive green squares and painting them all white. What is the smallest value of $m$ for which Ana can guarantee that, after one of her moves, the entire board will be painted green?

Let $n$ be a positive integer. Ana and Beto play a game on a $2 \times n$ board (with 2 rows and $n$ columns). First, Ana writes a digit from 1 to 9 in each cell of the board such that in each column the two written digits are different. Then, Beto erases a digit from each column. Reading from left to right, a number with $n$ digits is formed. Beto wins if this number is a multiple of $n$; otherwise, Ana wins. Determine which of the two players has a winning strategy in the following cases: $\bullet$ (a) $n = 1001$. $\bullet$ (b) $n = 1003$.

In an $n\times n$ table, it is allowed to rearrange rows, as well as rearrange columns. Asterisks are placed in some $k{}$ cells of the table. What maximum $k{}$ for which it is always possible to ensure that all the asterisks are on the same side of the main diagonal (and that there are no asterisks on the main diagonal itself)? [i]Proposed by P. Kozhevnikov[/i]

Each cell of an $100\times 100$ board is divided into two triangles by drawing some diagonal. What is the smallest number of colors in which it is always possible to paint these triangles so that any two triangles having a common side or vertex have different colors?

Let $n \ge 3$ be an integer, and consider a $n \times n$-board, divided into $n^2$ unit squares. For all $m \ge 1$, arbitrarily many $1\times m$-rectangles (type I) and arbitrarily many $m\times 1$-rectangles (type II) are available. We cover the board with $N$ such rectangles, without overlaps, and such that every rectangle lies entirely inside the board. We require that the number of type I rectangles used is equal to the number of type II rectangles used.(Note that a $1 \times 1$-rectangle has both types.) What is the minimal value of $N$ for which this is possible?

There was a rook at some square of a $10 \times 10{}$ chessboard. At each turn it moved to a square adjacent by side. It visited each square exactly once. Prove that for each main diagonal (the diagonal between the corners of the board) the following statement is true: in the rook’s path there were two consecutive steps at which the rook first stepped away from the diagonal and then returned back to the diagonal. [i]Alexandr Gribalko[/i]

The unit cells of a 5 x 5 board are painted with 5 colors in a way that every cell is painted by exactly one color and each color is used in 5 cells. Show that exists at least one line or one column of the board in which at least 3 colors were used.

Let $n$ be a positive with $n\geq 3$. Consider a board of $n \times n$ boxes. In each step taken the colors of the $5$ boxes that make up the figure bellow change color (black boxes change to white and white boxes change to black) The figure can be rotated $90°, 180°$ or $270°$. Firstly, all the boxes are white.Determine for what values of $n$ it can be achieved, through a series of steps, that all the squares on the board are black.

A $8 \times 8$ board is given, with sides directed north-south and east-west. It is divided into $1 \times 1$ cells in the usual manner. In each cell, there is most one [i]house[/i]. A house occupies only one cell. A house is [i] in the shade[/i] if there is a house in each of the cells in the south, east and west sides of its cell. In particular, no house placed on the south, east or west side of the board is in the shade. Find the maximal number of houses that can be placed on the board such that no house is in the shade.

Let $n$ be a positive integer. We are given a $3n \times 3n$ board whose unit squares are colored in black and white in such way that starting with the top left square, every third diagonal is colored in black and the rest of the board is in white. In one move, one can take a $2 \times 2$ square and change the color of all its squares in such way that white squares become orange, orange ones become black and black ones become white. Find all $n$ for which, using a finite number of moves, we can make all the squares which were initially black white, and all squares which were initially white black. Proposed by [i]Boris Stanković and Marko Dimitrić, Bosnia and Herzegovina[/i]

Let $n$ be a positive with $n\geq 3$. Consider a board of $n \times n$ boxes. In each step taken the colors of the $5$ boxes that make up the figure bellow change color (black boxes change to white and white boxes change to black) The figure can be rotated $90°, 180°$ or $270°$. Firstly, all the boxes are white.Determine for what values of $n$ it can be achieved, through a series of steps, that all the squares on the board are black.

At each node of the checkboard $n\times n$ board, a beetle sat. At midnight, each beetle crawled into the center of a cell. It turned out that the distance between any two beetles sitting in the adjacent (along the side) nodes didn't increase. Prove that at least one beetle crawled into the center of a cell at the vertex of which it sat initially. [i](A. Voidelevich)[/i]

Given a board with size $25\times 25$. Some $1\times 1$ squares are marked, so that for each $13\times 13$ and $4\times 4$ sub-boards, there are atleast $\frac{1}{2}$ marked parts of the sub-board. Find the least possible amount of marked squares in the entire board.

Consider a checkered $3m\times 3m$ square, where $m$ is an integer greater than $1.$ A frog sits on the lower left corner cell $S$ and wants to get to the upper right corner cell $F.$ The frog can hop from any cell to either the next cell to the right or the next cell upwards. Some cells can be [i]sticky[/i], and the frog gets trapped once it hops on such a cell. A set $X$ of cells is called [i]blocking[/i] if the frog cannot reach $F$ from $S$ when all the cells of $X$ are sticky. A blocking set is [i] minimal[/i] if it does not contain a smaller blocking set.[list=a][*]Prove that there exists a minimal blocking set containing at least $3m^2-3m$ cells. [*]Prove that every minimal blocking set containing at most $3m^2$ cells.

There are several dominoes on a board such that each domino occupies two adjacent cells and none of the dominoes are adjacent by side or vertex. The bottom left and top right cells of the board are free. A token starts at the bottom left cell and can move to a cell adjacent by side: one step to the right or upwards at each turn. Is it always possible to move from the bottom left to the top right cell without passing through dominoes if the size of the board is a) $100 \times 101$ cells and b) $100 \times 100$ cells? [i]Nikolay Chernyatiev[/i]

In a checkered square of size $2021\times 2021$ all cells are initially white. Ivan selects two cells and paints them black. At each step, all the cells that have at least one black neighbor by side are painted black simultaneously. Ivan selects the starting two cells so that the entire square is painted black as fast as possible. How many steps will this take? [i]Ivan Yashchenko[/i]

We are given an $n \times n$ board. Rows are labeled with numbers $1$ to $n$ downwards and columns are labeled with numbers $1$ to $n$ from left to right. On each field we write the number $x^2 + y^2$ where $(x, y)$ are its coordinates. We are given a figure and can initially place it on any field. In every step we can move the figure from one field to another if the other field has not already been visited and if at least one of the following conditions is satisfied:[list] [*] the numbers in those $2$ fields give the same remainders when divided by $n$, [*] those fields are point reflected with respect to the center of the board.[/list]Can all the fields be visited in case: [list=a][*] $n = 4$, [*] $n = 5$?[/list] [i]Josip Pupić[/i]

All the cells of a $10\times10$ board are colored white initially. Two players are playing a game with alternating moves. A move consists of coloring any un-colored cell black. A player is considered to loose, if after his move no white domino is left. Which of the players has a winning strategy? [I]Proposed by A. Khrabrov[/i]

We have a 7x7 board. We want to color some 1x1 squares such that any 3x3 sub-board have more painted 1x1 than no painted 1x1. What is the smallest number of 1x1 that we need to color?