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2023 Irish Math Olympiad
P7
P7
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2023 Irish Math Olympiad
Problems
(1)
Who has a winning strategy?
Source: Irish Mathematical Olympiad 2023 Problem 7
5/14/2023
Aisling and Brendan take alternate moves in the following game. Before the game starts, the number
x
=
2023
x = 2023
x
=
2023
is written on a piece of paper. Aisling makes the first move. A move from a positive integer
x
x
x
consists of replacing
x
x
x
either with
x
+
1
x + 1
x
+
1
or with
x
/
p
x/p
x
/
p
where
p
p
p
is a prime factor of
x
x
x
.The winner is the first player to write
x
=
1
x = 1
x
=
1
.Determine whether Aisling or Brendan has a winning strategy for this game.
combinatorics