Solution

(related to Problem: A Tennis Tournament)

Call the men $A, B, D, E,$ and their wives $a, b, d, e.$ Then they may play as follows without any person ever playing twice with or against any other person:—

Day First Court Second Court
1st Day $A d$ against $B e$ $D a$ against $E b$
2nd Day $A e$ against $D b$ $E a$ against $B d$
3rd Day $A b$ against $E d$ $B a$ against $D e$

It will be seen that no man ever plays with or against his own wife — an ideal arrangement. If the reader wants a hard puzzle, let him try to arrange eight married couples (in four courts on seven days) under exactly similar conditions. It can be done, but I leave the reader, in this case, the pleasure of seeking the answer and the general solution.


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References

Project Gutenberg

  1. Dudeney, H. E.: "Amusements in Mathematics", The Authors' Club, 1917

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