Problem 1
Let be a positive integer. Let be the set of points in the plane where and are non-negative integers with . Each point of is coloured red or blue, subject to the following condition: if a point is red, then all points of with first coordinate at most and second coordinate at most are also red. Let be the number of ways to choose blue points with distinct -coordinates, and let be the number of ways to choose blue points with distinct -coordinates. Prove that .
Step 1 of 3: Count blue points by coordinates
In plain words
Count blue points by coordinates
Detailed analysis
For each coordinate define the blue counts in its column and in its row.