How Tournaments Work: The Swiss System vs. Round Robin
The Swiss System is the most common tournament format in chess, allowing large numbers of players to compete in a limited number of rounds without eliminating anyone. This guide explains how pairings are generated, how scoring works, and the specific tiebreak rules used to determine final standings.
If 100 people enter a chess tournament, they cannot all play each other (that would take months). Instead, chess uses specific pairing systems to determine a winner in just 5 to 9 rounds.
1. The Swiss System (The Standard)
Most Open tournaments use the Swiss System. It is non-elimination. Even if you lose every game, you play every round.
- Round 1: The top half of the rating list plays the bottom half. (e.g., Rank 1 plays Rank 51).
- Round 2 onwards: Winners play Winners. Losers play Losers.
- The Logic: By Round 4, you are playing someone with the exact same score as you. This naturally sorts players by strength.
2. Round Robin (All-Play-All)
Used for elite events (like the Candidates Tournament) or small club championships. Every player plays every other player exactly once (or twice for Double Round Robin). This is the fairest method but is impractical for large groups.
3. Understanding Tie-Breaks
If two players finish with 4.0/5 points, who wins the trophy? We use mathematical tie-breaks:
- Buchholz (Solkoff)
- The sum of your opponents' scores. If the people you beat went on to win their other games, your wins are worth "more" than someone who beat weak players.
- Sonneborn-Berger (SB)
- A more precise calculation: Sum of the scores of opponents you beat + half the scores of opponents you drew.
- Head-to-Head
- If the tied players played each other, who won that game?
4. Knockout (The Cup Format)
Used in the Chess World Cup. Players play a "Mini-Match" (e.g., 2 Classical games). If the score is 1-1, they play rapid tie-breaks. If still tied, Blitz. The loser goes home immediately.