A guide for referees and clubs
Mitchell or Danish?
These are the two ways of rotating tables between rounds. They do not change the rules of the game: they change who meets whom, and therefore how fair the final standings are.
1.Mitchell, in two lines
Pairs are split into two groups — stationary and moving — and each round the moving ones shift by one table. It is simple to explain and to supervise: at the change you say «movers up one» and the room sorts itself out. It works well when there are many tables.
2.Danish, in two lines
The next round is drawn from the standings: those who did well meet those who did well. Rounds get progressively more selective and the final result separates the top places better. It does require the standings to be ready and correct before tables can be formed.
3.When each one suits
With few tables Mitchell risks replaying the same pairs: Danish helps there. With many tables and a single evening, Mitchell is quicker to run and less exposed to mistakes. Many clubs mix them: a few Mitchell rounds to move the room, then Danish to decide the podium.
4.The thing to announce beforehand
The format is announced at the start, not halfway. Changing the criterion after the second round is the surest way to hear «then it does not count»: people accept almost anything, as long as they knew before sitting down.
The real cost of Danish
Danish is fairer, but it moves the work onto the referee: between rounds you need complete, correct standings before you can form the tables. By hand, with twenty pairs, that is ten or fifteen minutes with the room waiting — and it is also the moment when a sum is most easily got wrong.
And the bye table?
It applies to both: with an odd number of pairs one sits out each round and takes a fixed score. Only the way you choose it changes — and it is best not to let the same pair sit out twice.