CAT 2026 Slot 1 DILR Q1: Games & Tournaments

The set

PairUp, a dating app, divides six users — Anaya, Raghav, Mehul, Tara, Ishaan and Zoya — into two groups of three: Priority Matches, managed by Cupid, and Discovery Matches, managed by Matchmaker.

At the end of each month, each user receives a compatibility rating. Within each group, the three users receive distinct ratings of 1, 2 and 3.

A user's score at the end of a month is the cumulative sum of their ratings from the beginning of the year. At the end of each month, the Discovery Matches user with the highest score is promoted to Priority Matches, while the Priority Matches user with the lowest score moves to Discovery Matches. In case of a tie, the user with the higher rating in the latest month ranks higher.

The following information is known:

Anaya, Raghav and Mehul were in Priority Matches at the beginning of Month 1. All three were in Discovery Matches at the beginning of Month 4.
Tara and Zoya were the only users who received the same rating in all four months.
Raghav received a rating of 1 in Month 2.
Anaya and Tara received ratings of 1 and 2, respectively, in Month 3.

TITA (type the answer) · +3 / 0

What was Ishaan's cumulative score at the end of Month 2?

Your answer

Answer and solution

Correct answer: 4

Solution

Tara got 2 in Month 3 and her rating never changed, so Tara = 2 every month. Anaya, Raghav and Mehul all left Priority within 3 month-ends, so every month one of them is demoted and one of Tara/Ishaan/Zoya promoted — nobody moves twice.
If Zoya were 1 every month she could never top Discovery (Tara always scores more), so Zoya = 3 every month and Ishaan got 1 in Month 1; Zoya is promoted after Month 1.
After Month 2 one of Tara/Ishaan must be promoted, not a demoted Priority user. Ishaan must get 3 in Month 2 (score 4, ties Tara's 4 and wins on latest rating). Tara is promoted after Month 3.
Ishaan at end of Month 2 $= 1 + 3 = 4$.

An expected paper by Cetking, not the actual CAT paper. CAT is conducted by the IIMs.