Chess tournament guides
Written for the person running the event, not the person playing in it. Rules checked against the current FIDE and US Chess texts.
Ten guides covering the decisions a club organiser actually has to make — which format to run, how many rounds, how the pairings work, what to do when somebody does not turn up, and how to settle a tie without an argument — plus Chess 960, if you fancy a night with no opening theory in it. Every rules claim is linked to the primary source at the bottom of each page.
How to run a Swiss chess tournament
The full director’s guide: pairings, colours, byes, forfeits, the announcement, and the running order for the night.
How many rounds should a tournament have?
Why it is log₂ of your field size, a table up to 200 players, and a calculator that also tells you whether it fits in the hours you have.
Buchholz tiebreak explained
Buchholz, Cut-1, Median-1 and Sonneborn-Berger with worked examples — plus how FIDE’s 2026 rules handle byes, and where US Chess does the opposite.
Round robin chess tournaments
The circle method, Berger tables, quads, how long it really takes, and what to do when somebody withdraws halfway through.
Chess knockout brackets
Bracket size, byes and seeding — and the question nobody else answers: what to do when a knockout game is drawn.
Free chess tournament software compared
An honest comparison, published by the people who make one of the tools. Verified prices, and where to go when we are the wrong answer.
Chess 960 generator and setup guide
Roll a legal Fischer Random position, then the parts that cause arguments: how castling works when the rook did not start on a1, and how to run the night.
How to run a bughouse chess tournament
Four players, two boards, two clocks and no world governing body.
How to run a school chess club tournament
You do not need to be an arbiter.
How a club chess ladder works
Ratings that carry from one club night to the next: the Elo maths, provisional players, and the privacy decisions to make before you publish one.
Not sure where to start?
- First time running anything? Read how to run a Swiss — it is the format almost every club uses, and the guide covers the decisions in the order you have to make them.
- Ten players or fewer? A round robin is usually the better event.
- Got a room booked and need to know what fits? Use the rounds calculator.
- Just got a tie at the top? Tiebreaks explained.
- Bored of the same openings? Run a Chess 960 night — same pairings, same tiebreaks, no theory.
- Quick answers? The FAQ covers 43 of the questions organisers ask most.
Chess Caddy runs all of these
Swiss, round robin, knockout and Bughouse, with a Chess 960 position generator built in. Free, no account, works offline in the browser, and prints pairing sheets and standings.
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