Top Tips For Chess Organisers/All-play-all Tournaments and the Berger Tables

Berger Tables

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3-4 teams
Round 1 Round 2 Round 3
H A H A H A
1 (4) 1 2 3 1
2 3 (4) 3 2 (4)
5-6 teams
Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5
H A H A H A H A H A
1 (6) 1 2 3 1 1 4 5 1
2 5 5 3 4 5 2 3 4 2
3 4 (6) 4 2 (6) (6) 5 3 (6)
7-8 teams
Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7
H A H A H A H A H A H A H A
1 (8) 1 2 3 1 1 4 5 1 1 6 7 1
2 7 7 3 4 7 2 3 4 2 2 5 6 2
3 6 6 4 5 6 7 5 6 7 3 4 5 3
4 5 (8) 5 2 (8) (8) 6 3 (8) (8) 7 4 (8)

Each team plays each other team in ascending numerical order, alternating colours/venues. When a team would be scheduled to play itself, it instead plays the highest-numbered team. This formula gives you two ways to generate each pairing - once from the point of view of each team.