Initially numbers are arranged on a circle. Petya and Vasya play the following game, taking turns; each boy performs moves; Petya starts. By his move, Petya chooses consecutive numbers and decreases each of them by . By his move, Vasya chooses consecutive numbers and increases each of them by . Prove that Vasya can play so that after each his move among the numbers on the circle there will be at least positive numbers (regardless of Petya's moves).
Solution
Let the numbers written in a circle be denoted as . Vasya will track only ten numbers, which he will pair as follows: , , , . In one move, Petya can decrease at most one of these numbers. If Petya decreases one number in a pair , Vasya will respond by adding to each of . If Petya doesn't decrease any of these numbers, Vasya will make any allowed move.
Thus, after each pair of moves (Petya's and Vasya's), the sum of numbers in each of Vasya's five pairs will not decrease. Since initially all five pair sums are positive, after each of Vasya's moves the sum in each pair will remain positive, meaning each pair will contain at least one positive number. Therefore, after any of Vasya's moves there will be at least positive numbers, as required.