The points
Under FIDE's Laws of Chess, the winner scores one point, a player who draws scores half a point, and the loser scores nothing, unless the event's own rules say otherwise.
Some tournaments have tried other ways. The big tournament in Bilbao gave three points for a win and one for a draw from 2008, as in soccer. The yearly elite event Norway Chess gives three points for a win. After a draw, the same two play a quick game for an extra half point, where White has more time but Black wins if it's drawn again.
The Swiss system
The most common format in open tournaments, where many people play. Nobody is knocked out, and everyone plays every round. FIDE's pairing rules say, among other things:
| Opponents | Two players never meet more than once. |
|---|---|
| Scores | As a rule, players with the same score are paired against each other. |
| Colors | Nobody gets the same color three times in a row, and as a rule you get the color you've had less. |
| Odd numbers | The player left over gets a round off and as many points as for a win, unless the tournament's rules say otherwise. |
The system is counted as born in Zurich in 1895, where Julius Müller paired a tournament this way. Hence the name.
Round robin
In a smaller tournament, everyone can play everyone. The order is often taken from the Berger tables, named after the Austrian chess master Johann Berger. In a double round robin, everyone meets twice, once with each color, as in the Candidates Tournament.
Knockout
In a knockout, players play matches and the loser goes out. FIDE's 2025 World Cup had 206 players and eight rounds of two-game matches. If a match was tied, it was decided in faster games.
When scores are tied
When several players finish on the same score, a tiebreak separates them. The event's rules say which one is used. Three common ones, under FIDE's tiebreak regulations:
| Direct encounter | The points from the games between the tied players. |
|---|---|
| Buchholz | The sum of your opponents' scores. Whoever faced stronger opposition comes out ahead. |
| Sonneborn-Berger | For each opponent, the points you scored against them times that opponent's final score, added up. A win against someone who finished high counts most. |
If you'd like to try it, you can play in tournaments on this site, and a club can run its own under For chess clubs.
Sources
- FIDE: Laws of Chess, effective from January 1, 2023 (article 10.1)
- FIDE: Basic rules for Swiss Systems (C.04.1, effective from February 1, 2026); Berger Tables for Round-Robin Tournaments (C.05, annex 1)
- FIDE: Tie-Break Regulations, applied from March 1, 2026 (articles 6.1, 8.1, 9.1)
- FIDE: Regulations for the FIDE World Cup 2025 (articles 2.1, 4.1)
- Norway Chess: Regulations 2026
- Chess.com, September 1, 2008, and ChessBase, September 2, 2008: on the scoring in Bilbao
- Wikipedia: Swiss-system tournament; Round-robin tournament; ChessBase, June 17, 2020: 125 years of the Swiss system
The facts on this page come from the sources above and, where possible, were checked across several sources. Where the sources disagree, we say less or say what each one says. A number that is an estimate says whose it is, and a counted number comes with its date.
Updated November 14, 2026