For this reason, when we announce results on e.g. the IMO, we formalize the statements by hand and inspect the proofs carefully to ensure they capture the full spirit of the problem.
However, there are some good heuristics. If you expect a problem to be hard and the proof is very short, you've probably missed something!
However, there are some good heuristics. If you expect a problem to be hard and the proof is very short, you've probably missed something!