If k is even, using the lemma proved in the solution of the 7th problem of the Third Round, we can say that there exist an integer a and some polynomial Q(x)∈Z[x] such that
(Q(x))2≤a2(x+1)(x+2)⋯(x+k)<(Q(x)+1)2,for large values of x.
Since Q(x) is a perfect square for infinitely many values of x, we get
(Q(x))2=a2(x+1)(x+2)⋯(x+k).
This is a contradiction since a2(x+1)(x+2)⋯(x+k) does not have any multiple roots.
For odd values of k, we claim that if ∏i=1k(a+i) is a perfect square, there is some nonempty proper subset A of {1,2,…,k} such that ∏i∈A(a+i) is a perfect square. To prove the claim, consider all of the subsets of S={a+1,a+2,…,a+k}.
For any subset A of S, let F(A) be the product of elements of A (F(∅)=1) and let g(A) be the square free part of F(A).
Note that all of the prime divisors of g({a+1}),g({a+2}),…,g({a+k}) are less than k, because if some prime number p≥k divides two of the numbers g({a+1}),g({a+2}),…,g({a+k}), for example p∣a+i and p∣a+j, we obtain p∣j−i and hence p<k. If for some i,1≤i≤k,p divides only g({a+i}), this leads to a contradiction because g(S)=1 is a perfect square, and the power of p in the factorization of ∏i=1ka+i should be even.
For any A⊆S, g(A)∣g({a+1})g({a+2})⋯g({a+k}) and so the prime divisors of all g(A)'s are less than k. This implies that for each A⊆S, g(A) is a divisor of 2×3×⋯×pπ(k−1). So we have 2π(k−1) cases for g(A).
Since k−1>π(k−1), 2k>2×2π(k−1). This implies that there are two subsets A,B⊆S such that A=B,S−B and g(A)=g(B) (note that g(A)=g(S−A) because g(S)=1). Now, g(A)=g(B), therefore F(A)F(B) is a perfect square. We have
F(A)F(B)=F(A∩B)2F(AΔB).
Hence F(AΔB) is a perfect square. But AΔB=∅,S since A=B,S−B, and this is the desired subset.
By replacing AΔB with S−AΔB if necessary, we will get a nonempty proper subset X of {1,2,…,k} with an even number of elements such that ∏i∈X(x+i) is a perfect square. Using the lemma in the solution of the 7th problem of the Third Round again, this product can be a perfect square for at most a finite number of values of x. Thus if k is odd, then (x+1)(x+2)⋯(x+k) is a perfect square for at most a finite number of values of x.