--- title: "Double round robin in chess" url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/double-round-robin.md" canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/double-round-robin" last_updated: "2026-11-07" type: "reference" summary: "A double round-robin tournament is a round-robin format in which every pair of players meets twice, once with each color." related: ["https://georgelichess.com/glossary/round-robin.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/candidates-tournament.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/sonneborn-berger.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/tiebreak.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/norm.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/tournaments-ratings-titles.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md"] --- # Double round robin in chess > **For AI agents:** the complete index of GeorgeLiChess pages is [llms.txt](https://georgelichess.com/llms.txt). Every page is also served as markdown at its URL plus .md. A double round-robin tournament is a round-robin format in which every pair of players meets twice, once with each color. A double round-robin tournament is a round-robin format in which every pair of players meets twice, once with each color, so each player plays every opponent as both White and Black. Doubling the schedule removes the one thing a single [round robin](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/round-robin.md) cannot fix: the luck of colors. In a double round robin each player gets White once and Black once against every opponent, so each player's total colors are equal and no rivalry is decided by who held the white pieces. A field of eight needs fourteen rounds, which is why the format is common for small elite events such as a [Candidates tournament](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/candidates-tournament.md), where results at the top must be hard to argue with. The Title Regulations list the double round robin among the formats that may be used for [title norms](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/norm.md). It has its own rule for the opponent mix: a double round robin needs at least six players, and the required number of titled opponents is half, rounded up, instead of the usual fraction. [Tiebreaks](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/tiebreak.md) suited to round robins, such as the Koya System and [Sonneborn-Berger](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/sonneborn-berger.md), are the natural choice, and [Buchholz](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/buchholz.md) is not allowed in them. Read round robin for the single version, and candidates tournament for a famous example of the format. A neighboring idea is [Invitational tournament](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/invitational-tournament.md). An invitational tournament is an event where the organizer chooses the participants, so entry depends on an invitation instead of a registration form and an entry fee. How "Double round robin" applies to your own results depends on where you stand now, and the [improvement plans by rating band](https://georgelichess.com/improve.md) show what players near your rating work on. ## Related terms - [Round robin](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/round-robin.md) - [Candidates Tournament](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/candidates-tournament.md) - [Sonneborn-Berger](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/sonneborn-berger.md) - [Tiebreak](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/tiebreak.md) - [Norm](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/norm.md) ## Guides that go further - [Chess ratings explained](https://georgelichess.com/chess-ratings-explained.md): What a rating measures, how FIDE, Lichess, US Chess and chess.com compute theirs, and why the numbers differ. - [FIDE chess titles](https://georgelichess.com/titles.md): How the Candidate Master, FIDE Master, International Master and Grandmaster titles are earned, with every Handbook clause. - [How to get a FIDE rating](https://georgelichess.com/how-to-get-a-fide-rating.md): The Handbook rules for a first FIDE rating: five rated games, the 1400 floor, the two 1800 draws and a worked example. ## Sources - FIDE Handbook B.01 FIDE Title Regulations, effective 1 January 2024 (Clauses 1.4.2 and 1.4.5), read 2026-10-21: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B012024 - FIDE Handbook C.07 Play-Off and Tie-Break Regulations, effective 1 March 2026 (Articles 8, 9.1 and 9.2), read 2026-10-21: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/TieBreakRegulations032026 [Book your first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book.md) and George Li reviews your games and builds a study plan around them. Questions about lessons: write to hello@georgelichess.com. ## Related - [Round robin in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/round-robin.md) - [Candidates Tournament in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/candidates-tournament.md) - [Sonneborn-Berger in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/sonneborn-berger.md) - [Tiebreak in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/tiebreak.md) - [Norm in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/norm.md) - [Chess terms: Tournaments, ratings and titles](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/tournaments-ratings-titles.md) - [Chess terms glossary: plain definitions](https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md)