Maths Olympiad Prep

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Combinatorics Difficulty 6.0 National olympiad Prove it Belarus

Peter and Andrey play the game on the n×1n \times 1 board, making moves alternate. Peter starts, and on his turn he places «+» to any empty cell. Andrey on his turn places «-» to any empty cell. The game is finished when all cells are filled. Peter's prize equals to the greatest number kk such that for each \ell from 1 to kk there are \ell successive cells, the amount of pluses on which is greater than the amount of minuses.
Find the maximal prize which Peter can guarantee for himself.

Solution

Answer: n+1+(1)n+12n + \frac{-1 + (-1)^{n+1}}{2}.

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