February 2024
Problem of the Month
Chess Tournament
Submitted by Mümtaz Keskin
from Turkey
Keloğlan visits a farm where 16 farmers live and organizes a chess tournament for all the farmers.
In the tournament, each pair of farmers plays exactly one match against each other.
Keloğlan gives 5 coconuts to each farmer for every match they win and 2 coconuts for every match that ends in a draw.
Farmers do not receive any coconuts for matches they lose.
After the tournament, Keloğlan realizes that he has distributed a total of exactly 550 coconuts to the farmers.
Based on this, what is the maximum number of farmers who did not have a draw in the tournament?
Note: Keloğlan is a well-known character in Turkish folklore.
He is a clever and lucky character. He represents the Anatolian people who can have big dreams, who are virtuous, prudent, a little bald,
a little romantic and very sporty.