Problem

Source: JBMO 2023 Problem 3

Tags: combinatorics, grid, game



Alice and Bob play the following game on a $100\times 100$ grid, taking turns, with Alice starting first. Initially the grid is empty. At their turn, they choose an integer from $1$ to $100^2$ that is not written yet in any of the cells and choose an empty cell, and place it in the chosen cell. When there is no empty cell left, Alice computes the sum of the numbers in each row, and her score is the maximum of these $100$ numbers. Bob computes the sum of the numbers in each column, and his score is the maximum of these $100$ numbers. Alice wins if her score is greater than Bob's score, Bob wins if his score is greater than Alice's score, otherwise no one wins. Find if one of the players has a winning strategy, and if so which player has a winning strategy. Théo Lenoir, France