Problem

Source: Polish MO Finals P6 2023

Tags: algebra, combinatorics, interval



For any real numbers $a$ and $b>0$, define an extension of an interval $[a-b,a+b] \subseteq \mathbb{R}$ be $[a-2b, a+2b]$. We say that $P_1, P_2, \ldots, P_k$ covers the set $X$ if $X \subseteq P_1 \cup P_2 \cup \ldots \cup P_k$. Prove that there exists an integer $M$ with the following property: for every finite subset $A \subseteq \mathbb{R}$, there exists a subset $B \subseteq A$ with at most $M$ numbers, so that for every $100$ closed intervals that covers $B$, their extensions covers $A$.