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GATE CSE 2026 Session 1 Q3: Games needed in a 64-player knock-out tournament

Question

Consider a knock-out women's badminton singles tournament where there are no ties. The loser in each game is eliminated from the tournament. Every player plays until she is defeated or remains the last undefeated player. The last undefeated player is declared the winner of the tournament. If there are 64 players in the beginning of the tournament, how many games should be played in total to declare the winner of the tournament?

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Answer: C (official GATE 2026 final answer key)

Concept used: Each game eliminates exactly one player.

First step: All players except the winner must be eliminated, so count the eliminations: 64−164 - 1.

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Source: official GATE 2026 Session 1 CS question paper and final answer key, organised by IIT Guwahati. Question paper · Answer key

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