ZA-SAMO 2017 Problem 4
Andile and Zandre play a game on a board. At the beginning, Andile declares some of the squares forbidden, 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.)
Dataset text AI-MO AoPS. Quoted with source.
Solutions
No solution is on olymmath yet. Official and human solutions come first when they arrive. AI solutions come after them, with a label.
Similar problems
These problems have the most words in common with this statement.