A Swiss tournament lets a large field play a fair number of rounds without a full round robin and without knocking anyone out. Everyone plays every round; each round you pair people on similar scores who have not met. This page works through eight invented players, three rounds, and shows where the tiebreaks come in.
The usual rule is the next whole number above log2 of the number of players: 3 rounds for 8 players, 4 for 16, 5 for 32. After that many rounds at most one player can still be unbeaten, so the winner is clear. One extra round makes the ranking underneath more reliable.
With no scores yet, the field is split in half by rating and the top half is paired with the bottom half: first against fifth, second against sixth, and so on. The first name on each board has White (or home).
| Board | White | Black | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maya | Priya | 1-0 |
| 2 | Ben | Tom | 1-0 |
| 3 | Ana | Lena | 1-0 |
| 4 | Jonas | Sam | 1-0 |
Now the winners play winners and the losers play losers, with nobody meeting someone they have already played. Colours are handed out so each player is owed the colour they have had least.
| Board | White | Black | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maya | Ana | 1-0 |
| 2 | Ben | Jonas | 1-0 |
| 3 | Priya | Lena | 1-0 |
| 4 | Tom | Sam | 1/2-1/2 |
| Board | White | Black | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maya | Ben | 1-0 |
| 2 | Ana | Jonas | 1-0 |
| 3 | Sam | Priya | 0-1 |
| 4 | Lena | Tom | 0-1 |
In this run the higher-rated player won every game except one draw on board 4 in round 2. After three rounds the standings, with a win worth 1 point and a draw half, are below. Players level on points are separated by Buchholz, the sum of their opponents' scores: beating strong opposition counts for more than beating weak opposition.
| Rank | Player | Score | Buchholz |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maya | 3 | 6 |
| 2 | Ben | 2 | 5.5 |
| 3 | Ana | 2 | 4 |
| 4 | Priya | 2 | 3.5 |
| 5 | Tom | 1.5 | 2.5 |
| 6 | Jonas | 1 | 4.5 |
| 7 | Sam | 0.5 | 4.5 |
| 8 | Lena | 0 | 5.5 |
Everyone plays every round and nobody is knocked out. Each round the players are sorted by score and paired with someone on a similar score who they have not played yet, so the leaders meet each other and the table sorts itself out in about log2 of the number of players rounds. Eight players need three rounds, sixteen need four.
Enough rounds that only one player can finish unbeaten: the next whole number above log2 of the player count. That is 3 rounds for 8 players, 4 for 16 and 5 for 32. One extra round makes the final ranking more reliable. The page shows the recommended number for your field.
One player gets a bye each round and is scored as a win unless you change the bye points. The bye goes to the lowest-ranked player who has not had one yet, so nobody gets a second bye before everyone has had one.
In this order: Buchholz (the sum of your opponents' scores), Buchholz cut 1 (the same with the weakest opponent dropped), Sonneborn-Berger (points scored against each opponent weighted by that opponent's score), number of wins, and progressive score. Players still level share a rank, and the page marks them as tied so you can run a playoff or apply your own rule.