Everything you need to know about organizing and running chess tournaments. 10 chapters covering formats, pairings, tiebreaks, venues, arbiters, ratings and more.
Whether you're organizing your first club event or preparing a FIDE-rated open, this free 10-chapter guide walks you through every aspect of chess tournament management. Written in plain language with practical examples, it covers the Swiss pairing system and its five variants, round-robin scheduling with Berger tables, all 28 FIDE tiebreak formulas, venue setup, arbiter duties, official FIDE rating procedures, team formats and anti-cheating protocols. Each chapter is based on the official FIDE Handbook — rules C.04, C.05, C.07, C.10 and E.01 — but explained so that beginners and experienced organizers alike can put them into practice immediately.
Step-by-step guide to organizing your first chess event.
How the Swiss pairing system works and its 5 variants.
Complete round-robin format with Berger pairing tables.
All 28 tiebreak systems explained with formulas.
Inside the Dutch and Burstein pairing algorithms.
Equipment checklist, hall layout, and FIDE playing conditions.
Before, during and after: duties, rulings, FIDE titles.
How to get your tournament officially FIDE-rated.
Scheveningen, team Swiss, board points, match scoring.
Prevention, detection, sanctions, fair play protocols.
FIDE 2026 compliant Swiss pairing, 28 tiebreak systems, completely free.
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