A chess tournament is taking place on knock-out terms (the one who loses the match is out of the game).
(a) If 10 matches are played in total, how many players participated?
(b) If 20 players took part in the tournament, how many matches were played?

The captain of a ship was telling this interesting story: "We travelled the sea far and wide. At one time, two of my sailors were standing on opposite sides of the ship. One was looking west and the other one east. And at the same time, they could see each other clearly." How can that be possible?

John gave half of the apples he had plus one more to Jacob. He gave half of the remaining ones plus one more to James. Now, John was left with just one apple.

Can you find out how many did he have in the beginning?

A cat, a dog and a monkey were stolen. 3 suspects got caught: Harish, Manoj and Tarun. All we know is each person stole one animal, but we do not know who stole which. Here are the investigation statements. Harish said: Tarun stole the cat. Manoj said: Tarun stole the dog. Tarun said: They both were lying. I did not steal the cat or the dog. Later on, the police found out the man who stole the monkey told a lie. The man who stole the cat told the truth. Can you find out who stole which?

A few friends are enjoying their sea voyage in a boat full of apples. On the way, they felt hungry and thus decided to eat the apples. Together, they ate two dozen of apples. When they have eaten the apples, will there be any change in the water level?

Some friends went on a vacation to a resort. It was raining heavily and it kept raining for thirteen days.

When it rained in the morning, the afternoon was beautiful and when it rained in the afternoon, the day was blessed with a clear morning.

Overall, the friends experienced eleven nice mornings and twelve nice afternoons. Can you find out the number of days they spent on vacation?

If you remove one from eleven, it becomes ten. If you remove one from nine, it becomes ten.

How is this possible?

The owner of a popular clothing store comes up with his own method of pricing items. A vest costs $8, socks cost $10, a tie costs $6, and a blouse costs $12. Using the owner’s method, how much would a pair of underwear cost?

In particular commonwealth games, a female participant won silver and gold medals for a single event.

How can this be possible?

A Japanese ship was en route to a mission on foreign seas. The captain of the ship felt tired and thought of taking a bath. He went for taking the shower and removed his diamond ring and Rolex and kept them on the table. When he returned after taking the bath, he found that the ring and watch were stolen.

He called the five members of the crew whom he suspected and asked them what they were doing for the last 15 minutes.

The Italian cook (with a butcher knife in hand): I was in the fridge room getting meat for cooking.

The British Engineer (with a high beam torch in hand): I was working on a generator engine.

The Pakistani seaman: I was on the mast correcting the flag which was upside down by mistake.

The Indian Radio officer: I was trying to make a contact with the company to inform them about our position.

The American navigation officer: I am on night watch, so I was sleeping in my cabin.

Upon listening to them, the captain caught the lying member. Who do you think stole the valuables?