Maths Olympiad Prep

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, 2022

Combinatorics Difficulty 7.0 National Olympiad, round 2 Find the answer Hungary

Let n>1n>1 be a given integer. In a deck of cards the cards are of nn different suites and nn different values, and for each pair of a suite and a value there is exactly one such card. We shuffle the deck and distribute the cards among nn players giving each player nn cards. The players' goal is to choose a way to sit down around a round table so that they will be able to do the following: the first player puts down an arbitrary card, and then each consecutive player puts down a card that has a different suite and different value compared to the previous card that was put down on the table. For which nn is it possible that the cards were distributed in such a way that the players cannot achieve their goal? (The players work together, and they can see each other's cards.)

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