Round-robin generator
This round-robin generator makes the schedule for an all-play-all tournament. Type 3 to 24 names, one per line, and it pairs every round from FIDE's Berger tables, so everyone meets everyone once. An odd field gets a bye each round, a double round robin repeats the cycle with the pairings turned round, and "Draw lots" shuffles the starting numbers.
Type the players' names to see the pairings.
How to use it
- Each player gets a number: the order you typed them in, or the order after "Draw lots".
- The pairings for each number come from the Berger tables in the FIDE Handbook. With an odd number of players the highest number in the table is the bye, so one player sits out each round.
- By the usual convention the first-named player in a pairing has White. The annex with the tables does not say so itself, so settle it in your tournament rules.
- In a double round robin the second cycle repeats the first with the pairings turned round. As FIDE recommends, the last two rounds of the first cycle are swapped, to avoid three games in a row with the same colour.
Source: FIDE Handbook C.05, Annex 1: Details of Berger Table, read on 2026-11-11. Chesspedition is not affiliated with FIDE.
Questions
- How many rounds does a round robin have?
- One fewer than the number of players when that number is even, and as many rounds as players when it is odd (each player has one bye). A double round robin has twice as many.
- What are Berger tables?
- The standard pairing tables for round-robin tournaments. FIDE's competition rules say round-robin pairings should follow them. They give each player a balanced run of colours.
- Why draw lots?
- The table decides who has White in which round from the player's number, so the numbers should be given out by chance. "Draw lots" does that with a fair shuffle in your browser.
- What about more than 16 players?
- FIDE prints tables up to 16 players. For 17 to 24 this tool builds the pairings the same way the printed tables are built. For larger fields a Swiss tournament is the usual format.