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Home FIDE Handbook Swiss System Regulations

Swiss System Regulations

Complete FIDE guidelines for organizing and playing in Swiss system chess tournaments

Introduction to Swiss System

The Swiss system is the most common tournament format for chess competitions with large numbers of participants. Key characteristics:

  • Players are paired against others with similar scores
  • No player faces the same opponent twice
  • Color alternation is maintained as much as possible
  • Allows many players to compete in relatively few rounds
Ideal Swiss System Features
  • Minimum 5 rounds recommended for meaningful results
  • Accelerated pairings sometimes used in early rounds
  • Computer pairing programs ensure fair matchups
  • Players should have approximately equal colors (+1/-1 max difference)

Basic Pairing Rules

Primary Pairing Criteria

  • Score Group: Players are first grouped by their current score
  • Color Sequence: Players receive alternating colors as much as possible
  • Previous Opponents: No repeat pairings in the tournament
  • Float: Players may be moved up or down score groups to satisfy color requirements

Pairing Process Steps

  1. Divide players into score groups
  2. Sort each group by rating (or other secondary criteria)
  3. Attempt to pair top half vs bottom half within score group
  4. Adjust for color balance and previous opponents
  5. Resolve any impossible pairings by floating players between groups
Example Pairing

After 3 rounds in a 20-player tournament:

Score Group Players Possible Pairings
3.0 points Player A, Player B A vs B (if colors allow)
2.0 points Players C-F C vs F, D vs E
1.0 points Players G-J G vs J, H vs I

Tiebreak Systems

When players finish with equal scores, these tiebreak methods determine final standings:

Buchholz

Sum of opponents' scores (minus worst if specified)

Σ(Opponents' Points)

Rewards players who faced stronger opposition

Sonneborn-Berger

Sum of defeated opponents' scores plus half of drawn opponents' scores

Σ(Wins × Opp.Pts) + ½Σ(Draws × Opp.Pts)

Commonly used in round-robin tournaments

Direct Encounter

Result between tied players

Head-to-head score

Only applicable if all tied players faced each other

Median Buchholz

Buchholz minus highest and lowest opponents' scores

Σ(Opp.Pts) - Highest - Lowest

Reduces impact of extreme opponents

Koya System

Number of points against opponents who achieved 50% or more

Pts vs players ≥50% score

Used in some European tournaments

Average Rating

Average rating of opponents

Σ(Opp.Rating)/#Games

Sometimes used as last tiebreak

Special Swiss System Cases

Accelerated Pairings

Used in early rounds to separate the field faster:

  • Top players paired against each other initially
  • Prevents too many players ending with perfect scores
  • Typically used for first 2-3 rounds in large tournaments
Odd Number of Players

When there's an odd number of participants:

  • One player receives a bye (automatic 1 point)
  • Byes should be distributed as evenly as possible
  • Players shouldn't receive multiple byes unless unavoidable
  • Byes are typically given to lowest-rated available player
Title Norm Tournaments

Special considerations for norm events:

  • Minimum number of titled players required
  • Specific rating average requirements
  • Players must face certain percentage of opponents from different federations
  • More restrictive pairing rules to ensure norm chances

FIDE Swiss System Resources

Official Documents
  • FIDE Swiss Rules
  • Pairing Guidelines
  • Tiebreak Regulations
Download PDFs
Pairing Software
  • Swiss Manager
  • Chess-Results
  • Vega Tournament
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Training Videos
  • Swiss Pairing Tutorials
  • Tiebreak Calculations
  • Tournament Examples
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