 In Swiss system tournaments , the tournament director tries to ensure that each player receives , as nearly as possible , the same number of games as White and Black , and that the player 's color alternates from round to round . After the first round , the director may deviate from the otherwise prescribed <unk> in order to give as many players as possible their <unk> or due colors . More substantial deviations are permissible to avoid giving a player two more blacks than whites ( for example , three blacks in four games ) than vice versa , since extra whites " cause far less player distress " than extra blacks , which impose " a significant handicap " on the affected player . <unk> with an even number of rounds cause the most problems , since if there is a <unk> , it is greater ( e.g. , a player receiving two whites and four blacks ) . 
