Problem

Source: Serbia Additional IMO TST 2024, P2 (out of 4)

Tags: combinatorics



Let $n$ be a positive integer. Initially a few positive integers are written on the blackboard. On one move Igor chooses two numbers $a, b$ of the same parity on the blackboard and writes $\frac{a+b} {2}$. After a few moves the numbers on the blackboard were exactly $1, 2, \ldots, n$. Find the smallest possible number of positive integers that were initially written on the blackboard.