Swiss-system tournament

A Swiss-system tournament is a tournament which uses a non-elimination format. There are several rounds of competition, but considerably fewer rounds than in a round-robin tournament, so each competitor (team or individual) does not play every other competitor. Competitors meet one-to-one in each round and are paired using a predetermined set of rules designed to ensure that as far as possible a competitor plays competitors with the same current score, subject to not playing the same opponent more than once. The winner is the competitor with the highest aggregate points earned in all rounds.

A Swiss system may be used when it is not feasible to play as many rounds as required in a round-robin, but it is not desired to eliminate any competitors before the end of the tournament. This is the case for many tournaments of amateurs where the tournament's purpose is to provide playing experiences, and if continuing full use of facilities is not too expensive. On the other hand, if facilities are constrained or costly, if players are professionals who must be paid for their games played, and if the tournament's purpose is to present exciting matches of top contenders to a viewing audience, then single elimination would serve better. In a Swiss system there are a predetermined number of rounds and a predetermined scoring system. All competitors play in each round unless there is an odd number of competitors.