1 Coloring proofs Typos may be reported to jpsaha@iiserb.ac.in.

Suggested readings
• Evan Chen’s
– advice On reading solutions, available at https://blog.evanchen.
cc/2017/03/06/on-reading-solutions/.
– Advice for writing proofs/Remarks on English, available at https:
//web.evanchen.cc/handouts/english/english.pdf.

• Evan Chen discusses why math olympiads are a valuable experience for
high schoolers in the post on Lessons from math olympiads, available at
https://blog.evanchen.cc/2018/01/05/lessons-from-math-olympiads/.

List of problems and examples

1.1 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.3 Example (Bay Area MO 2007) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
1.4 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
1.5 Example (India RMO 2017) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

§1 Coloring proofs
See [Sob13, §3.2], [Eng98, Chapter 2].

§1.1 Two coloring

Example 1.1. If each point of the plane is colored red or blue, then there are
two points of the same color at distance 1 from each other.

Summary — Consider a “bigger” or an “auxiliary” structure such that its

size puts some constraint on it (for instance, by the pigeonhole principle), which
would lead to the result. See Fig. 1.

Solution 1. Consider an equilateral triangle with side-length 1. Then at least

two of its vertices are of the same color, which proves the result. ■

Example 1.2. Suppose that to every point of the plane a colour, either red or
blue, is associated.

1. Show that if there is no equilateral triangle with all vertices of the same
colour then there must exist three points A, B and C of the same colour
such that B is the mid-point of AC.

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(a) (b) (c)

(d) (e) (f)

Figure 1: Two monochromatic points are one unit apart, Example 1.1

2. Use the above to conclude that there must be an equilateral triangle with
all vertices of the same colour.

Summary — Consider a “bigger” or an “auxiliary” structure such that its

size puts some constraint on it (for instance, by the pigeonhole principle), which
would lead to the result. See Fig. 2.

Solution 2. Let us prove the first part. Suppose there is no equilateral triangle
with all vertices of the same color. So any equilateral triangle has two vertices
of the same color. Let P QR be an equilateral triangle such that P, R are of
the same color. Without loss of generality1 , assume that P, R are red. Note
that Q is blue. Consider the equilateral triangle P RS as in Fig. 2a. Then S
is blue. Let T denote the mid-point of P R. If T is red (resp. blue), then we
could take (A, B, C) equal to (P, T, R) (resp. (Q, T, S)).
Suppose there is no equilateral triangle with all vertices of the same color.
By the first part, there exist three points A, B, C such that B is the mid-point
of AC (as in Fig. 2b). Let F be a point on the plane such that ACF is an
equilateral triangle. Let D (resp. E) denote the mid-point of AF (resp. CF ).
Since ABD is equilateral, D is blue (as in Fig. 2c). Similarly, E is also blue
(as in Fig. 2c). Hence F is red (as in Fig. 2d). So the triangle ACF has the
required properties. Therefore, assuming that there is no equilateral triangle
with all vertices of the same color, we proved that there is an equilateral triangle
with all vertices of the same color. This shows that there is an equilateral
triangle with all vertices of the same color. ■
1 Is it clear that there is no loss of generality?

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P S
D E
T

Q R A B C
(a) (b)
F F

D E D E

A B C A B C
(c) (d)

Figure 2: Example 1.2

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Example 1.3 (Bay Area MO 2007). The points of the plane are colored in
red and blue so that whenever three vertices of a parallelogram are the same
color, the fourth vertex is that color, too. Prove that all the points of the plane
are the same color.

Solution 3. If not, then choose two points A, B from the plane which are of
different color as in Fig. 3. Let C denote the mid-point of AB. Without loss of
generality, we assume that B, C are of the same color, say red. Then A is blue.
Draw a parallelogram BCDE. Note that if E were red, then considering the
parallelogram BCDE, it would follow that D is red, and then considering the
parallelogram ACED, we would obtain that A is red. Hence, E is blue. Since
BC, DE are parallel and have the same length, so are AC and DE, and hence
ACDE is a parallelogram. Considering the parallelogram ACDE once again,
it follows that D is blue. Since A, D, E are blue, C cannot be red. Hence all
points of the plane are of the same color. ■

§1.2 Three coloring

Example 1.4. Suppose that each point in the plane is colored red, green or
blue. Prove that either there are two points of the same√color a distance 1 unit
apart, or there is an equilateral triangle of side length 3 all of whose vertices
are of the same color.

Summary — Consider a “bigger” or an “auxiliary” structure such that its

size puts some constraint on it (for instance, by the pigeonhole principle), which
would lead to the result. See Figs. 4 and 5.

Solution 4. Note that it suffices to prove the claim below.

Claim — Suppose that each point in the plane is colored red, green or
blue. If no two points, which are one unit apart,√are of the same color,
then there is an equilateral triangle of side length 3 all of whose vertices
are of the same color.

Proof of the Claim. Assume that no two points which are one unit apart are of
the same color. Choose a point O from the plane and without loss of generality
assume that O is green. Then draw a unit circle with centre at O, and a regular
hexagon circumscribed in this unitcircle as shown in Fig. 4. By the assumption,
none of its vertices are green, and hence a vertex is red or blue. Since the
edges of the hexagon are of length one, it follows that the colors of its vertices
are red and green alternatively.
√ Then the triangle A2 A4 A6 is an equilateral
triangle of side length 3 and all of its vertices are of the same color. This
proves the claim.

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D E D E

A C B A C B
(a) (b)
D E D E

A C B A C B
(c) (d)
D E D E

?
A C B A C B
(e) (f)
D E D E

?
A C B A C B
(g) (h)
D ?E

A C B
(i)

Figure 3: Bay Area MO 2007 P2, Example 1.3

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A6

A5 A1

A4 A2

A3

Figure 4: Example 1.4

√
3 R R
P
P Q P Q
S S

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 5: Remark 1

110 The material posted here and at this blog by Evan Chen are quite useful.
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Remark 1. In fact, one can show that when the points of the plane are
three colored, then there are two monochromatic points that are one unit
apart.

Claim — Suppose that each point in the plane is colored red, green or
blue. Then there are two monochromatic points that are one unit apart.

Proof of the Claim. On the contrary, let us assume that no two points, which
are one unit apart, are monochromatic. Let us consider
√ a point P on the plane.
Suppose it is red, and consider the circle of radius 3 with centre at P .
In fact, assuming each point in the plane is colored red, green or blue, one
can show that there are two monochromatic points that are one unit apart.
√ we choose a point P , suppose it is red, and consider the circle C of
Otherwise,
radius 3 with centre at P (as in Fig. 5a).

SubClaim — All points on the circumference of C are red.

Proof of the SubClaim. On the contrary, let us suppose that there is a point
on the circumference of C which is red. Consider one such point Q. Suppose it
is blue. Consider the points R, S (as in Fig. 5b), which lie on the opposite sides
of P Q such that RS is perpendicular to P Q and P RS is an equilateral triangle.
Note that the point R has to be green. Indeed, if R is red (resp. green), then
the points P, R (resp. Q, R) are monochromatic and one unit apart, which
contradicts our assumption. Similarly, the point S also has to be green (as in
Fig. 5c). Note that R, S are one unit apart. Since they are monochromatic, we
obtain a contradiction to our assumption. This proves the subclaim.

Consider any chord of C of length one unit. The end-points of the chord are
red by the SubClaim. The claim follows.

§1.3 Further coloring problems

Example 1.5 (India RMO 2017). Consider n2 unit squares in the xy-plane
centred at the point (i, j) with integer coordinates for 1 ≤ i ≤ n, 1 ≤ j ≤ n. It
is required to colour each unit square in such a way that whenever 1 ≤ i < j ≤ n
and 1 ≤ k < ℓ ≤ n, the three squares with centres at (i, k), (j, k), (j, ℓ) have
distinct colours. What is the least possible number of colours needed?

Remark. For such problems, it is often useful to first work out a special case.

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Walkthrough —
(a) First, work out a simple case in order to gain insight for the general case.
(b) One may consider the squares below a suitable diagonal.
(c) Extend to the general case!

First, let’s work on it. Let us begin with the case n = 8. First, let us try to
color the unit squares with as few colors as we can. This may provide some
insight for the least number of colors required (for the case n = 8 and also
possibly for the general case).
Note that any two unit squares at the bottom row of Fig. 6a have pairwise
distinct colors. Let’s apply the colors 1, . . . , 8 to these squares as in Fig. 6b.
Note that in the second last row, all the unit squares except the first one, have
colors different from those of the unit squares of the bottom row. Moreover,
these seven unit squares have distinct colors. Let’s apply the colors 3, . . . , 9 to
these squares as in Fig. 6c. Similarly, in the third last row, the 8 − 3 + 1 unit
squares lying to the right, have colors different from those of the unit squares
have been colored so far. Moreover, these 8 − 3 + 1 unit squares have distinct
colors. Let’s apply another set of 8 − 3 + 1 new colors (for example, 5, . . . , 10)
to these squares as in Fig. 6d. One may continue this process to yield the
coloring as in Fig. 6e.
In the remaining square in the second last row, we may use a color which
has been used in that row, for instance, the color 2, as in Fig. 7a. In the third
last row, the colors 3, 4 may be used as in Fig. 7b. In the fourth last row, the
colors smaller than 7 may be used as in Fig. 7c. One may continue this process
to yield the coloring as in Fig. 7d. Note that the coloring as in Fig. 7d does
satisfy the required condition. ♣

Remark. The preceding argument alone does not guarantee that the least
possible number of colors have been used in Fig. 7d.

Skip this part for the first reading —

Remark. The preceding argument alone does not guarantee that the
least possible number of colors have been used in Fig. 7d. It could have
been the case that in our very first attempt of working out a special case,
we might have proceeded in way which would have used more colors than
what is required. For instance, consider the following approach.
In fact, that is what I (the author) did in a prior attempt, and then I
could not prove that the number of colors that one may require to color
the squares satisfying the required condition is at least as large as the
number of colors used in the approach below. This led to think again,
which yield the argument above, in which case,

1000 The material posted here and at this blog by Evan Chen are quite useful.
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(a) (b)

5 6 7 8 9 10
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(c) (d)
15
13 14
11 12 13
9 10 11 12
7 8 9 10 11
5 6 7 8 9 10
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(e)

Figure 6: India RMO 2017, Example 1.5

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15 15
13 14 13 14
11 12 13 11 12 13
9 10 11 12 9 10 11 12
7 8 9 10 11 7 8 9 10 11
5 6 7 8 9 10 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(a) (b)
15 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
13 14 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
11 12 13 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
9 10 11 12 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(c) (d)

Figure 7: India RMO 2017, Example 1.5

1010 The material posted here and at this blog by Evan Chen are quite useful.
1 Coloring proofs Typos may be reported to jpsaha@iiserb.ac.in.

¶ A prior attempt that used more colors than the minimum number
of colors required. Let us begin with the case n = 8. First, let us try to color
the unit squares with as few colors as we can. This may provide some insight
for the least number of colors required (for the case n = 8 and also possibly for
the general case).
Note that any two unit squares at the bottom row of Fig. 8a have pairwise
distinct colors. Let us apply the colors 1, . . . , 8 to these squares as in Fig. 8b.
Note that in the second last row, all the unit squares except the first one, have
colors different from those of the unit squares of the bottom row. Moreover,
these seven unit squares have distinct colors. Let us apply the colors 9, . . . , 15
to these squares as in Fig. 8c. Similarly, in the third last row, the 8 − 3 + 1 unit
squares lying to the right, have colors different from those of the unit squares
have been colored so far. Moreover, these 8 − 3 + 1 unit squares have distinct
colors. Let us apply another set of 8 − 3 + 1 new colors (for example, 16, . . . , 21)
to these squares as in Fig. 8d. One may continue this process to yield the
coloring as in Fig. 8e.
In the remaining square in the second last row, we may use a color which
has been used in that row, for instance, the color 8, as in Fig. 9a. In the third
last row, the colors 14, 15 may be used as in Fig. 9b. In the fourth last row,
the colors smaller than 22 may be used as in Fig. 9c. One may continue this
process to yield the coloring as in Fig. 9d. Note that the coloring as in Fig. 9d
does satisfy the required condition. ♣
Now that we have gained some experience, we may proceed to the general
case as follows.

Bogus Solution. Suppose we have colored the n2 unit squares using r colors
so that the required condition is met. Consider the diagonal joining the
upper right corner with the lower left corner. Note that the unit squares
of the bottom row have distinct colors. Moreover, the unit squares lying to
the right of the above-mentioned diagonal and contained in a row except
the bottom one, have colors different from the unit squares contained in
the rows below and lying to the right of that diagonal. Hence, we require
at least
1
n + (n − 1) + (n − 2) + · · · + 2 + 1 = n(n + 1)
2
colors.
Moreover, similar to the coloring as in Fig. 9, we may color the n2 unit
squares using 12 n(n + 1) colors so that required condition is satisfied.
This proves that the least number of colors required is 12 n(n + 1).

Question. Where does the above go wrong?

Now that we have gained some idea, we may proceed to the general case as
follows.
Solution 5. If n = 1, then using one color works. Let us assume2 that n ≥ 2.
2 Thereason for considering the case n = 1 separately will become clear from the rest of the
argument. Is it clear what would go wrong with the rest of the argument if n = 1?

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(a) (b)

16 17 18 19 20 21
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(c) (d)
36
34 35
31 32 33
27 28 29 30
22 23 24 25 26
16 17 18 19 20 21
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(e)

Figure 8: India RMO 2017, Example 1.5

1100 The material posted here and at this blog by Evan Chen are quite useful.
1 Coloring proofs Typos may be reported to jpsaha@iiserb.ac.in.

36 36
34 35 34 35
31 32 33 31 32 33
27 28 29 30 27 28 29 30
22 23 24 25 26 22 23 24 25 26
16 17 18 19 20 21 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(a) (b)
36 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
34 35 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
31 32 33 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33
27 28 29 30 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(c) (d)

Figure 9: India RMO 2017, Example 1.5

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Suppose we have colored the n2 unit squares using r colors so that the
required condition is met. Consider the diagonal joining the upper right corner
with the lower left corner. Note that the unit squares of the bottom row have
distinct colors. Moreover, the unit squares lying on the rightmost column
except the bottom square, have colors different from those of the squares lying
on the bottom row. Hence, we require at least

n + (n − 1) = 2n − 1

colors.
Next, we show that there is a coloring of the n2 unit squares using 2n − 1
colors satisfying the required condition. Indeed, if the colors i, i +1, . . . , i + n − 1
are applied to the squares lying in the i-th last row in an increasing order
from the left to the right for all 1 ≤ i ≤ n, then the squares in any row have
distinct colors and so are the squares in any column, and hence, it is a coloring
satisfying the required condition.
This shows that the least number of colors required is 2n − 1. ■

References
[Eng98] Arthur Engel. Problem-solving strategies. Problem Books in Math-
ematics. Springer-Verlag, New York, 1998, pp. x+403. isbn: 0-387-
98219-1 (cited p. 1)
[Sob13] Pablo Soberón. Problem-solving methods in combinatorics. An
approach to olympiad problems. Birkhäuser/Springer Basel AG,
Basel, 2013, pp. x+174. isbn: 978-3-0348-0596-4; 978-3-0348-0597-1.
doi: 10.1007/978-3-0348-0597-1. url: http://dx.doi.org/10.
1007/978-3-0348-0597-1 (cited p. 1)

1110 The material posted here and at this blog by Evan Chen are quite useful.