Problem

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Tags: combinatorics proposed, combinatorics, combinatorics solved, symmetry, Subsets, Bounding



A finite set of integers is called bad if its elements add up to $2010$. A finite set of integers is a Benelux-set if none of its subsets is bad. Determine the smallest positive integer $n$ such that the set $\{502, 503, 504, . . . , 2009\}$ can be partitioned into $n$ Benelux-sets. (A partition of a set $S$ into $n$ subsets is a collection of $n$ pairwise disjoint subsets of $S$, the union of which equals $S$.) (2nd Benelux Mathematical Olympiad 2010, Problem 1)