The Swiss is the most common tournament format in the United States. This type of tournament can accommodate a large number of players. No one is eliminated. Normally, as you continue to win games, you face progressively stronger opposition, leaving those not so successful to play against each other. Toward the end of the event, you will probably find yourself matched against players around your own level.
Many tournaments have special prizes for new players and novices.
A player is not paired with any other more than once. Players with the same score are paired whenever possible. Colors are assigned by the director as fairly as possible. Alternating the colors is the ideal. For the first round, the players are ranked according to their last-published USCF rating.