The first Swiss team championship was organised by the Schweizerischer Schachverein as an experimental competition. The announcement published on 23 February 1951 proposed an April start. Each affiliated club could enter one team of six players. Players belonging to two clubs could represent only one.

The initial proposal envisaged six teams in the top category and regional groups of six below it. Clubs with more than 100 members could apply for the first category, clubs with 50 to 100 for the second, and smaller clubs for the third. The central board retained the final allocation decision. A single round robin was proposed. Match wins counted two points, draws one and losses zero, followed by individual game points as the tie-break. The top-category winner became Swiss champion. Promotion of lower-category winners and relegation of bottom teams were announced, with qualifying matches where necessary.

Actual entries led to a revised format: 24 clubs were divided into groups of three and four according to geography and strength. Three-team groups played double round robins and four-team groups single round robins. The first category comprised Basler SG, CE Lausanne, SG Luzern and SK Bern: three rounds on six boards. The second category also had four teams; the third had five groups. Implementation of the announced relegation rule has not been confirmed.

Final standings (match points / game points): Basler SG 4 / 11; CE Lausanne 3 / 9; SG Luzern 3 / 6.5; SK Bern 2 / 9.5. Round 1: Basel-Bern 4.5-1.5 (derived independently from both final totals), Lausanne-Luzern 3-3. Round 2, 1 July 1951: Luzern-Basel 3.5-2.5, Bern-Lausanne 2-4. Round 3: Basel-Lausanne 4-2, Bern-Luzern 6-0. The latter match completed the championship, after the other third-round match.

Twenty-four individual results are documented in the supplied clippings. Individual results and complete line-ups for Basel-Bern and Bern-Luzern are missing. The 6-0 result alone does not establish a forfeit. The PGN contains 24 result-only game records with no moves. Twelve board results remain unavailable, so it does not reproduce the full championship standings. Names have been partly expanded from historical sources. Rosters remain incomplete and their order is not a fixed board order. Basel's published champion line-up omits Ganz, who played in round 2. In the notation Hess W.-Ganz, the initial W. belongs to Hess, not Ganz.