IMO Shortlist 2005 C5

For discussing Olympiad Level Combinatorics problems
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Phlembac Adib Hasan
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IMO Shortlist 2005 C5

Unread post by Phlembac Adib Hasan » Thu Sep 04, 2014 7:31 pm

There are $ n$ markers, each with one side white and the other side black. In the beginning, these $ n$ markers are aligned in a row so that their white sides are all up. In each step, if possible, we choose a marker whose white side is up (but not one of the outermost markers), remove it, and reverse the closest marker to the left of it and also reverse the closest marker to the right of it. Prove that, by a finite sequence of such steps, one can achieve a state with only two markers remaining if and only if $ n - 1$ is not divisible by $ 3$.

Proposed by Dusan Djukic, Serbia

Comment: Another great problem by this great man. :D
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