--- title: "What Is a Bye in a Xiangqi Tournament? ยท Xiangqi Master" description: "A bye is a round where a player has no opponent, usually because of an odd number of entrants, and is typically awarded a result without playing." url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/what-is-a-bye-in-a-xiangqi-tournament updated: 2026-09-22 source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com) license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) --- # What is a bye in a xiangqi tournament? These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws and is regression-tested against the official 110-diagram repetition casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it against the engine before publishing. > Direct answer > > A **bye** is a round in a Swiss-system event where a player has **no opponent** to face, most often because the number of entrants that round is odd. The player with the bye typically receives a set result, commonly treated as a win for pairing purposes, without playing a game, and continues into the following round as normal. ## How byes are usually assigned Pairing software or an arbiter gives the bye to a player, often the lowest-ranked player in the score group who has not already had one, so nobody receives multiple byes in the same event unless the field is genuinely small. See [how xiangqi tournaments work](https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/how-do-xiangqi-tournaments-work) for the pairing system this sits inside. ## Requesting a bye in advance Some events let players request a bye for a round they know they cannot attend, usually scored as a half point or a loss rather than a full win, which differs from an unavoidable pairing bye. Check the specific event's regulations, since conventions vary between organisers. ## Related questions Does a bye affect my rating? Byes are typically unrated, since no game was actually played. Can I decline a bye? Usually not once assigned for an odd field, though a requested bye for a known absence is a separate, voluntary case. ## Related xiangqi resources Xiangqi questions answered Every question on this site, in one index Play xiangqi Free, in the browser, nothing to install Perpetual check and chase Repetition is adjudicated, not automatically drawn ## Try it on a real board Reading an answer is one thing; playing it is another. Free, instant, and nothing to install.