--- title: "Round robin in chess" url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/round-robin.md" canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/round-robin" last_updated: "2026-11-07" type: "reference" summary: "A round-robin tournament schedules each participant against every other participant exactly once from a fixed table." related: ["https://georgelichess.com/glossary/double-round-robin.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/swiss-system.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/tiebreak.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/sonneborn-berger.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/knockout-tournament.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/tournaments-ratings-titles.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md"] --- # 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 round-robin tournament schedules each participant against every other participant exactly once from a fixed table. A round-robin tournament schedules each participant against every other participant exactly once from a fixed table, so the standings involve no pairing choices and an even field of n players needs n minus 1 rounds. In a round robin a field of eight plays seven rounds and a field of ten plays nine, with each player facing every opponent exactly once. The schedule comes from a fixed table, and FIDE's General Regulations for Competitions publish the details of the Berger table used for it. Colors are balanced as evenly as the schedule allows. Because nobody is paired by results, no one is lucky or unlucky in the draw of opponents, which is why round robins are used for elite events and for qualifiers where fairness between a few players matters most. The cost is length: the number of rounds grows with the field, so the format suits small groups. For ties, FIDE's [tie-break](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/tiebreak.md) regulations list the Koya System, a tiebreak made for round robins, next to [Sonneborn-Berger](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/sonneborn-berger.md), and say that [Buchholz](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/buchholz.md) and the tiebreaks related to it must not be used in them. Round-robin events are also an accepted format for [title norms](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/norm.md), with their own rules for the number of titled opponents. See [double round robin](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/double-round-robin.md), [swiss system](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/swiss-system.md) and tiebreak. Also called: all-play-all. Compare it with [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. Compare it with [Match play](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/match-play.md). Match play is a format in which two players, or two teams, play a fixed set of games against each other and the side with the better total result wins the match. How "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 - [Double round robin](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/double-round-robin.md) - [Swiss system](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/swiss-system.md) - [Tiebreak](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/tiebreak.md) - [Sonneborn-Berger](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/sonneborn-berger.md) - [Knockout tournament](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/knockout-tournament.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 C.07 Play-Off and Tie-Break Regulations, effective 1 March 2026 (Articles 8 and 9.2), read 2026-10-21: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/TieBreakRegulations032026 - FIDE Handbook B.01 FIDE Title Regulations, effective 1 January 2024 (Clause 1.4.2), read 2026-10-21: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B012024 - FIDE Handbook C.05 General Regulations for Competitions, Annex 1 "Details of Berger Table" (Annex 1), read 2026-10-21: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/C05Annex1 [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 - [Double round robin in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/double-round-robin.md) - [Swiss system in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/swiss-system.md) - [Tiebreak in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/tiebreak.md) - [Sonneborn-Berger in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/sonneborn-berger.md) - [Knockout tournament in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/knockout-tournament.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)