UPSC Prelims 2022 · CSAT
Question 17: Basic Numeracy
In a tournament of Chess having 150 entrants, a player is eliminated whenever he loses a match. It is given that no match results in a tie/draw. How many matches are played in the entire tournament?
AnswerUPSC’s answer is (c).
Every match eliminates exactly one player, there are no draws, and the tournament ends with one winner. So 150 − 1 = 149 players must be eliminated, which takes 149 matches. Counting rounds is unnecessary: in any knockout tournament the number of matches equals the number of entrants minus one.
How you could have got this
No shortcut here: in a “how many” question, ruling out options doesn’t help. Every statement has to be judged.
Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) 151 exceeds the number of eliminations needed.
- (b) 150 would eliminate every entrant, leaving no winner.
- (c) Correct: 149 eliminations need 149 matches.
- (d) 148 would leave two players unbeaten.
Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2022, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.