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Algebra Difficulty 8.3 Shortlist Find the answer

A A and B B play the following game with a polynomial of degree at least 4:
x2n\plus_x2n\minus1\plus_x2n\minus2\plus\plus_x\plus1\equal0 x^{2n} \plus{} \_x^{2n \minus{} 1} \plus{} \_x^{2n \minus{} 2} \plus{} \ldots \plus{} \_x \plus{} 1 \equal{} 0
A A and B B take turns to fill in one of the blanks with a real number until all the blanks are filled up. If the resulting polynomial has no real roots, A A wins. Otherwise, B B wins. If A A begins, which player has a winning strategy?

A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.

Solution

In this game, Player A A and Player B B take turns filling in the coefficients of the polynomial
P(x)=x2n+a2n1x2n1+a2n2x2n2++a1x+1. P(x) = x^{2n} + a_{2n-1} x^{2n-1} + a_{2n-2} x^{2n-2} + \ldots + a_1 x + 1.
Player A A wins if the resulting polynomial has no real roots, and Player B B wins if it has at least one real root. We need to determine which player has a winning strategy if A A starts the game.

### Analysis

1. **Player B B 's Strategy**:
- Player B B aims to ensure that the polynomial P(x) P(x) takes on a non-positive value at some point tR t \in \mathbb{R} . Given that the leading term x2n x^{2n} causes P(x) P(x) to tend to infinity as x x \to \infty , if P(x) P(x) takes a negative value at any point, it must cross the x-axis, implying a real root.

2. Last Move Consideration:
- Suppose the game reaches a point where only two coefficients, say ak a_k and al a_l , are left to be filled. At this stage, the polynomial can be written as:
P(x)=Q(x)+akxk+alxl, P(x) = Q(x) + a_k x^k + a_l x^l,
where Q(x) Q(x) is the part of the polynomial already filled.

3. Case Analysis:
- **Case 1: One of k k or l l is even and the other is odd**:
- Without loss of generality, assume k k is odd and l l is even. Consider:
P(1)=Q(1)+ak+al, P(1) = Q(1) + a_k + a_l,
P(1)=Q(1)ak+al. P(-1) = Q(-1) - a_k + a_l.
- By choosing al a_l such that P(1)+P(1)=0 P(1) + P(-1) = 0 , Player B B ensures that either P(1)0 P(1) \leq 0 or P(1)0 P(-1) \leq 0 , guaranteeing a real root.

- **Case 2: Both k k and l l are odd**:
- Consider:
P(2)=Q(2)+2kak+2lal, P(2) = Q(2) + 2^k a_k + 2^l a_l,
P(1)=Q(1)ak+al. P(-1) = Q(-1) - a_k + a_l.
- By choosing al a_l such that P(2)+2kP(1)=0 P(2) + 2^k P(-1) = 0 , Player B B ensures that either P(2)0 P(2) \leq 0 or P(1)0 P(-1) \leq 0 , guaranteeing a real root.

- **Case 3: Both k k and l l are even**:
- Player B B can ensure that at least one of the last two coefficients corresponds to an odd power of x x . Initially, there are n n odd coefficients and n1 n-1 even coefficients. Player B B can maintain this surplus by choosing coefficients strategically during the game.

### Conclusion

Player B B has a winning strategy by ensuring that the polynomial P(x) P(x) takes a non-positive value at some point, thus guaranteeing a real root. Therefore, Player B B wins the game.

The answer is: \boxed{B}.

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Source: Omni-MATH, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.