Statement

The preparations for the big final competition of this year's Olympiads have already begun! A big rectangular cake will be served at the end of the meal, to celebrate the end of the 2018 edition. Many guests are expected to take part in the festivities and, obviously, everyone wants to taste at least a bit of the special cake. The baker wants to please as many people as possible, but time is running out: he can only do at most N cuts. Each cut is made either vertically or horizontally, for the whole length of the cake. How many pieces of cake can the baker obtain at most?