How many matches does “everyone plays everyone” require?
Five entrants in a single round-robin tournament each have four opponents. That looks like 20 matches until you notice that A against B and B against A describe the same meeting. Counting each pair once gives 10 matches, a different question from how many rounds or days the event needs.
Questions you could explore
- What changes if every pair plays twice instead?
Start reading
- NRICH, University of CambridgeRound-Robin Scheduling
NRICH’s round-robin problem separates unique pairings from the challenge of scheduling rounds.
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