Imagine you have six chess players, Ann, Bud, Cal, Dee, Ely and Fay. Each player needs to play each of the other players once. To be efficient, you want to know who should play whom at any given time to avoid idle players.
1. Start by placing a dash in cell A1. Then list the teams or items below that in column A. Also list the teams or items in the same order across the first row. Repeat the sequence again, for example: Ann Bud Cal Dee Ely Fay Ann Bud Cal Dee Ely Fay.
2. In cell B2, place the following formula:
=IF(B$1=$A2,"-",CONCAT($A2," ",B$1))
Press Return or Enter to accept the formula.
3. Highlight from B2 through M7 (click and hold cell B2, drag to cell M7). In the Calculate menu, select Fill Down, and then in the Calculate menu, select Fill Right.
4. In cell A10, type 0, then number from 1 through 3 in the cells below and to the right of the zero.
5. In cell B11, place the following formula:
=INDEX($A$1..$M$7,$A11*2,$A11*2+(B$10*2-1))
6. Highlight from B11 through D13. In the Calculate menu, select Fill Down, and in the Calculate menu, select Fill Right.
Starting at cell B11, you will then see a list of Òmatch ups,Ó or games that should be played. They can be played in single games (only two players playing at a time) or multiple games (four players, or all six players can play at once.)
In a larger example, if twelve teams are playing, they could play up to six games at once (all twelve teams would be playing at once), or anywhere down to one game (two teams) at a time. By following the schedule, all the teams will play all the other teams in the most efficient way. (Work from top to bottom, from left to right, starting at B11.)