Free tool
Tournament time planner
How it works
Enter the time control, the move count you assume a game reaches, the number of rounds and a buffer per round. The planner takes the full clock allowance each player has at that move count, adds the two players’ allowances because only one clock runs at a time, adds your buffer and multiplies by the rounds. Every figure is an estimate at the move count you chose, not a promise about the last board.
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- 4 cited sources
An estimate at the move count you chose, not a guarantee. Fast games finish early, long games with an increment finish late, and the next Swiss round cannot be paired until every result is in, so plan for the slowest board plus a contingency before the hall closes. Use your own past scoresheets for the move count and your own timings for the buffer.
ResultUpdates as you type
Laws speed category
Standard
Per round at 40 moves
3h 55m
Both players' full clock allowance plus your buffer
Total at 40 moves
19h 35m
Across 5 rounds, an estimate
If games ran 20 moves longer (60), each round would be 4h 15m and the event 21h 15m. With an increment, a game can run longer than either figure.
How it works
The method behind the numbers
Formula
Total event time = rounds x (2 x (base minutes + increment seconds x moves / 60) + round buffer)
Only one clock runs at a time (Laws of Chess, Article 6.1), so the minutes the two players use add up to the real time a game takes. That is why the formula doubles one player’s allowance: it is a single game with two clock times laid end to end. It counts the full allowance at the move count you choose. A game where a player moves quickly finishes early, and an increment game that runs past your move count finishes late.
The move count and the buffer are your inputs, and no standard figure exists for either. Count the moves on your own past scoresheets, starting with the longest games, because the slowest board sets when the round ends and the next Swiss pairing cannot be made until every result is in. For the buffer, time the gap between the last result and the next round starting at your previous event. If you have no past event, use a guess and treat it as a guess.
If a section is submitted for FIDE rating, two limits can shape the day. Rated play is capped at 12 hours a day, counted as if games lasted 60 moves (B.02, effective 1 March 2024). For titles and norms, FIDE’s 12 October 2026 explanation says no more than two games a day are permitted, which is stricter. This planner’s total is not a compliance check. Use the time control converter for classification and the time control guide for choosing a control.
| Time | Block | Minutes |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 to 09:30 | Briefing and board check | 30 |
| 09:30 to 10:25 | Round 1 | 55 |
| 10:25 to 11:20 | Round 2 | 55 |
| 11:20 to 11:40 | Break | 20 |
| 11:40 to 12:35 | Round 3 | 55 |
| 12:35 to 13:20 | Lunch | 45 |
| 13:20 to 14:15 | Round 4 | 55 |
| 14:15 to 15:10 | Round 5 | 55 |
| 15:10 to 15:40 | Results and prize giving | 30 |
| 15:40 to 17:00 | Contingency before the hall closes | 80 |
Hypothetical. Each round is 2 x (15 + 30 x 10 / 60) + 15 = 55 minutes at 30 assumed moves. The scheduled blocks sum to 400 minutes (6h 40m) and the contingency adds 80, which fills 09:00 to 17:00. If every round ran to 60 moves, each would take 2 x 25 + 15 = 65 minutes. The last round would end at 16:00 and prize giving at 16:30, still 30 minutes before the hall closes.
Corrected 16 October 2026: an earlier version explained the doubling as two separate games and quoted typical move counts and buffers without a source. The explanation now follows the Laws on the chess clock, and the move count and buffer are left to your own scoresheets and timings.
Worked example
The steps with real numbers
Illustrative figures, worked the way the tool works them. Put the same numbers into the tool above to check.
Back to the toolIncrement decides how far the estimate can move. With no increment, 15+0 cannot use more than 30 minutes of clock time per game at any move count. With 15+10, every extra move adds 10 seconds to each clock, so 60 moves instead of 30 adds 5 minutes per player and 10 minutes per round, which is 50 minutes over five rounds.
The same job inside ChessCore
Chess batch scheduling
Chess batch scheduling is setting up recurring classes: the same group, same slot, week after week, and managing the exceptions: make-up classes, substitutions, and clashes. ChessCore runs the recurring timetable and rolls attendance up per student and per coach, so the schedule and the record stay one thing.
See scheduling
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What should I use for average moves per game?
Use your own past scoresheets. Count the moves on finished games from the same section, and give the longest ones the most weight, because the slowest board decides when the round ends. The 40 in the planner is a placeholder, not a measured average.
Why does the estimate double the per-player time?
Only one clock runs at a time, so the time each player uses adds up to the time the game takes. The planner adds the two players’ full allowances for one game. It does not count two separate games.
How much buffer should I add per round?
Measure it. At your last event, note the time between the last result of a round and the first move of the next. Use that gap, then add a margin for larger fields and first-time players. Without a past event, pick a number, say 15 minutes, and treat it as a guess until a real round replaces it.
What if one board overruns the planned round?
In a Swiss the next round cannot be paired until every result is in, so one long game delays all boards. That is why the worked timetable keeps a contingency block before the hall closes. Size the contingency to cover the gap between your estimate and a longer move count.
Can I use this total to check a rating or norm schedule?
No. A rated event has its own limits on hours of play, and a title or norm event has a limit on games a day. This total is an organiser’s estimate at one move count. Check the current FIDE regulations for the event you run.
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