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Combinatorics Difficulty 8.1 Shortlist Prove it Netherlands

Johan and Quintijn play the following game.
Before the start of the game, the integers 11, 22, \ldots, 20242024 are written on a board. The players then each take turns, starting with Johan. On their turn a player must wipe out two integers aa and bb from the board and write their (possibly negative) difference aba - b on the board. The game ends when only one integer is left on the board. If this integer is divisible by 33, Johan wins, otherwise Quintijn wins.
Determine which of the two players has a winning strategy.

Solution

We show that Quintijn has a winning strategy.
Observe that each move reduces the number of integers by exactly one, so at the start of Johan's turn the number is always even and at the start of Quintijn's turn the number is always odd. Moreover, the number must be at least 22, otherwise the game would have already ended. In particular, at the start of Quintijn's turn, the number of integers is always at least 33.

Note Johan cannot reach a position in which x1=x2=0x_1 = x_2 = 0 unless at the start of his turn either x1=2x_1 = 2 and x2=0x_2 = 0, or x1=0x_1 = 0 and x2=2x_2 = 2 (or x1=0x_1 = 0 and x2=0x_2 = 0) hold. In particular, if at the start of his turn at least one of x1x_1 and x2x_2 is odd, then he cannot reach a position in which x1=x2=0x_1 = x_2 = 0.

First suppose that x1x_1 and x2x_2 are both even. Then at least one of x1x_1 and x2x_2 must be at least 22, say x12x_1 \ge 2. Since Quintijn always has an odd number of integers left at the start of his turn, there must also be an integer on the board that is divisible by 33. With (0,1)2(0, 1) \to 2, Quintijn ensures that x1x_1 decreases by 11 and x2x_2 increases by 11, so x1x_1 and x2x_2 both become odd.
Now suppose that at least one of x1x_1 and x2x_2 are odd. If there exists an ii with xi2x_i \ge 2, then performing any move (i,i)0(i, i) \to 0 will not change the parity of x1x_1 and x2x_2, so at least one of them remains odd. Otherwise all xi1x_i \le 1 so there are at most 33 integers left, and in fact we must have equality here as there are always at least 33 integers left at the start of Quintijn's turn. So x0=x1=x2=1x_0 = x_1 = x_2 = 1, hence Quintijn can perform the move (1,0)1(1, 0) \to 1.

Therefore Quintijn can always make a move that causes at least one of x1x_1 and x2x_2 to be odd. Now the strategy of making such a move is winning for Quintijn, as by following this strategy, Quintijn will never create a position in which x1x_1 and x2x_2 are both 00, and Johan can never create such a position from any position that Quintijn may leave behind; the same must hold for the final position in which one integer remains, so this remaining integer must not be divisible by 33, meaning that Quintijn wins. \square

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