olymmath

ISL 2019 C7

  • Answer

There are 60 empty boxes B1,…,B60B_{1}, \ldots, B_{60} in a row on a table and an unlimited supply of pebbles. Given a positive integer nn, Alice and Bob play the following game. In the first round, Alice takes nn pebbles and distributes them into the 60 boxes as she wishes. Each subsequent round consists of two steps: (a) Bob chooses an integer kk with 1⩽k⩽591 \leqslant k \leqslant 59 and splits the boxes into the two groups B1,…,BkB_{1}, \ldots, B_{k} and Bk+1,…,B60B_{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 nn such that Alice can prevent Bob from winning. (Czech Republic)

Official text Transcription from NuminaMath olympiads, checked word for word against the official paper. Quoted with source.

Official text: IMO 2019 Shortlist booklet, page 9.

Show the answer

n=\left\lfloor\frac{N}{2}+1\right\rfloor\left\lceil\frac{N}{2}+1\right\rceil-1

Solutions

Official solution Solution 1 by the IMO Problem Selection Committee

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