Problem

Source: 2015 Saudi Arabia IMO TST II p2

Tags: combinatorics, game, game strategy



Hamza and Majid play a game on a horizontal $3 \times 2015$ white board. They alternate turns, with Hamza going first. A legal move for Hamza consists of painting three unit squares forming a horizontal $1 \times 3$ rectangle. A legal move for Majid consists of painting three unit squares forming a vertical $3\times 1$ rectangle. No one of the two players is allowed to repaint already painted squares. The last player to make a legal move wins. Which of the two players, Hamza or Majid, can guarantee a win no matter what strategy his opponent chooses and what is his strategy to guarantee a win? LĂȘ Anh Vinh