The bridge tournament problem and calibration designs for comparing pairs of objects

The c lassical tournam e nt problem caiJ s for arranging v individuals int o tea ms o f /) p layers so that a pla yer is teamed th e sa m e number of times with each of th e other pla ye rs and a lso that eac h player is pitted eq ually often aga in st each of th e other players. The play of th e tuurn a m en t resu lt s in th e determination of difference in p e rformance of th e various pairings of th e g roups. In th e s pecial case when p = 2 each team co n s ist s of two players and th e d es igri s are call e d brid ge tourn a me nt designs .