League Format

Double round-robin format where every player faces every opponent twice - once as white, once as black

How It Works

League tournaments use a double round-robin format where each player plays every other player exactly twice - once as white and once as black. This ensures complete fairness and balanced competition.

Player Range

League tournaments support 4-30 players. Perfect for medium-sized groups who want comprehensive competition.

Double Round-Robin

Each player faces every opponent twice - ensuring complete color balance and fair competition.

Tournament Structure

How league tournaments are organized

Single Round with Multiple Phases

League tournaments have exactly 1 round containing multiple sequential phases:

Tournament (League)

└─ Round 1 (only 1 round for leagues)

└─ Phase 1: First set of matches

└─ Phase 2: Next set of matches (starts after Phase 1 completes)

└─ Phase 3: Continues sequentially...

└─ Phase X: Final phase

Key Principles

One Round Only: Leagues have exactly 1 round

Sequential Phases: Phase N+1 cannot start until all matches in Phase N are complete

Color Balance: Cycle 1 (first half) = initial colors, Cycle 2 (second half) = reversed colors

Tournament Calculations

How many phases, matches, and games you'll play based on player count

For Even Number of Players

Example: 20 players

Metric	Formula	Example (20 players)
Total Phases	2(X - 1)	2(20-1) = 38 phases
Matches per Phase	X ÷ 2	20 ÷ 2 = 10 matches
Total Matches	X × (X - 1)	20 × 19 = 380 matches
Games per Player	2(X - 1)	2(19) = 38 games
Byes	0	No byes

For Odd Number of Players

Example: 5 players

Metric	Formula	Example (5 players)
Total Phases	2X	2(5) = 10 phases
Matches per Phase	(X - 1) ÷ 2	(5-1) ÷ 2 = 2 matches
Total Matches	X × (X - 1)	5 × 4 = 20 matches
Games per Player	2(X - 1)	2(4) = 8 games
Byes per Player	2	2 byes (one per cycle)

Example Schedule: 5 Players

How a 5-player league tournament progresses

Cycle 1 (Phases 1-5) - Initial Colors

Phase 1

A vs B, C vs D (E has bye)

Phase 2

A vs C, B vs E (D has bye)

Phase 3

A vs D, C vs E (B has bye)

Phase 4

A vs E, B vs D (C has bye)

Phase 5

B vs C, D vs E (A has bye)

Cycle 2 (Phases 6-10) - Colors Reversed

Phase 6

B vs A, D vs C (E has bye)

Phase 7

C vs A, E vs B (D has bye)

Phase 8

D vs A, E vs C (B has bye)

Phase 9

E vs A, D vs B (C has bye)

Phase 10

C vs B, E vs D (A has bye)

Note: Colors are reversed in Cycle 2, so if A was white vs B in Phase 1, A will be black vs B in Phase 6.

Points System

Win

points

Draw

point

Loss

points

Rationale: Incentivizes attacking play and going for wins. Draws are worth less than a win, encouraging decisive results.

Bye Handling (Odd-Player Tournaments)

How byes work when player count is odd

Important Bye Rules

Player with bye: 0 points, 0 games played

Bye does NOT increment games_played

Bye does NOT count as win/draw/loss

Players with byes will have different games_played mid-tournament

At tournament end, all players have equal games (2(X-1))

Standings & Tiebreakers

How final rankings are determined

Primary Ranking: Points

Players are ranked first by total points (3 per win, 1 per draw, 0 per loss).

Tiebreaker Order

Points - Total points from wins and draws

Wins - Total number of wins

Wins as Black - Total wins achieved while playing with black pieces

Rationale: Winning with black pieces is harder due to the first-move advantage, so players with more black wins deserve higher ranking. If players are still tied after all three criteria, prizes are split equally.

Summary

Format: Double round-robin (everyone plays everyone twice)
Player Range: 4-30 players
Structure: 1 round with multiple sequential phases
Color Balance: Cycle 1 = initial colors, Cycle 2 = reversed colors
Scoring: Win = 3 points, Draw = 1 point, Loss = 0 points
Byes: Only in odd-player tournaments (2 per player, one per cycle)
Tiebreakers: Points → Wins → Wins as Black (if still tied, prizes are split)