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Tournament score planner

Halfway through an event and doing the math in your head? Enter where you stand and where you want to finish, and see exactly what you need from the rounds that are left.

Total rounds
Rounds played
Score so far

1 per win, ½ per draw.

Target score

The total you're aiming for — a norm, a prize, or a personal goal.

Rounds left
5
Points to go
3.5
Required score rate
70%
over the remaining games
i.e. from here
3.5 / 5
Projected scorenext 5 rounds

You need 3.5 from 5, about 70% per game. Knowing the exact target changes how you play the last rounds — when to press and when a draw is enough.

The maths behind the plan

Two subtractions and a division do all the work: points still needed is your target minus your current score, rounds left is the event length minus rounds played, and the required rate is simply the first divided by the second. That rate is the number that actually tells you how to play — a rate near 1.0 means you need to win almost everything left, while a rate near 0.5 means solid, safe chess (mostly draws with the odd win) gets you there comfortably.

A worked example

Say you're on 4/6 after six rounds of a nine-round event, chasing a norm that needs 7/9. Points needed: 7 − 4 = 3. Rounds left: 9 − 6 = 3. Required rate: 3 ÷ 3 = 1.0 — every remaining game has to be a win, no draws survive that target. Aim for a gentler 6.5/9 instead and the picture changes completely: needed drops to 2.5, rounds left stays 3, so the rate is 2.5 ÷ 3 ≈ 0.83 — two wins and a draw (2 + 0.5 = 2.5) gets there exactly, which is a very different last three rounds to actually sit down and play.

Straight answers

How should I use the required rate?

It reframes your last rounds. Knowing you need, say, 2 from 3 tells you when a draw is fine and when you must play for a win — which is often the difference between reaching a target and just missing it.

What if the target is out of reach?

The planner flags it when the points needed exceed the rounds left. Reset to the best score still reachable; a realistic goal you can chase beats a number that's already gone.

Educational chess content. Rating math uses the standard Elo model; results are estimates and vary by federation, pool and time control.