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PROJECT EULER · #0787

Bézout's Game

Statement only · UnsolvedOriginal problem ↗

Two players play a game with two piles of stones. They take alternating turns. If there are currently a stones in the first pile and b stones in the second, a turn consists of removing c0 stones from the first pile and d0 from the second in such a way that adbc=±1. The winner is the player who first empties one of the piles.

Note that the game is only playable if the sizes of the two piles are coprime.

A game state (a,b) is a winning position if the next player can guarantee a win with optimal play. Define H(N) to be the number of winning positions (a,b) with gcd(a,b)=1, a>0, b>0 and a+bN. Note the order matters, so for example (2,1) and (1,2) are distinct positions.

You are given H(4)=5 and H(100)=2043.

Find H(109).

Write-up coming later

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