• Back to Articles

Swiss Tournament Guidelines - FIDE Compliant

This online platform implements a FIDE-compliant Swiss tournament system for chess competitions. The Swiss system is widely used in chess tournaments worldwide and follows established international standards.

Tournament Structure

Rounds and Pairings

• Number of rounds: Automatically calculated based on number of participants
  • 2 players: 1 round
  • 3-4 players: 3 rounds
  • 5-8 players: 4 rounds
  • 9-16 players: 5 rounds
  • 17-32 players: 6 rounds
  • And so on (logarithmic scaling)

Player Levels as Ratings

Important: In this system, a player’s Level is treated as their rating for pairing purposes.

• Higher level = Higher rating
• Level determines initial seeding and pairing preferences
• Players with similar levels are more likely to be paired together

Scoring System

Basic Scoring

Each game result awards points as follows:

• Win: 1 point
• Draw: 0.5 points
• Loss: 0 points
• Bye: 1 point (automatic win when odd number of players)

Total Score

A player’s total score is the sum of points earned across all completed rounds.

FIDE Tie-Breaking System

When players have identical scores, the following tie-breaking methods are applied in order:

1. Buchholz-1 (Bc1) - Primary Tie-Breaker

• Definition: Sum of opponents’ scores, minus the lowest opponent score
• Purpose: Rewards playing against stronger opposition
• Example: If you played opponents who scored 4, 3, 2, 1 points, your Bc1 = 4+3+2 = 9 (excluding lowest score of 1)

2. Buchholz-2 (Bc2) - Secondary Tie-Breaker

• Definition: Sum of ALL opponents’ scores (including lowest)
• Also called: Solkoff system
• Purpose: Considers overall strength of opposition
• Example: Same opponents (4,3,2,1), your Bc2 = 4+3+2+1 = 10

3. Progressive Score - Tertiary Tie-Breaker

• Definition: Sum of cumulative scores after each round
• Purpose: Rewards consistent early performance
• Example:
  • Round 1: 1 point → cumulative = 1
  • Round 2: 0.5 points → cumulative = 1.5
  • Round 3: 1 point → cumulative = 2.5
  • Progressive = 1 + 1.5 + 2.5 = 5

4. Number of Wins - Quaternary Tie-Breaker

• Definition: Total number of games won (not draws)
• Purpose: Rewards decisive results over draws
• Example: 2 wins + 1 draw = 2 wins (draw doesn’t count)

5. Alphabetical Order - Final Tie-Breaker

• Used only when all other tie-breakers are identical
• Players ranked alphabetically by name

Pairing System

Round 1: Rating-Based Pairing

• Players sorted by Level (highest to lowest)
• Top half vs Bottom half: Highest rated player faces middle-ranked player
• Example with 8 players:
  • Rank 1 (Level 10) vs Rank 5 (Level 6)
  • Rank 2 (Level 9) vs Rank 6 (Level 5)
  • Rank 3 (Level 8) vs Rank 7 (Level 4)
  • Rank 4 (Level 7) vs Rank 8 (Level 3)

Subsequent Rounds: Score-Based Pairing

• Players grouped by current score
• Within each score group, paired by:
  1. Level (as rating)
  2. Color balance (alternating white/black)
  3. Opponent history (avoid repeats)

Color Assignment

• Round 1: Alternating colors to ensure balance
• Later rounds: Prioritize players who need specific colors
• Goal: Each player gets roughly equal white and black games

Bye Handling

• When: Odd number of players
• Who gets bye: Lowest-scoring player who hasn’t received a bye
• Points: Bye = 1 point (automatic win)
• Fairness: Each player can receive maximum one bye per tournament

Dynamic Column Display

The standings tables intelligently show only necessary information:

• Always shown: Rank, Name, Score
• Bc1 column: Only appears when players have tied scores
• Bc2 column: Only appears when scores AND Bc1 are tied
• Progressive column: Only appears when scores, Bc1, AND Bc2 are tied
• Wins column: Only appears when all previous tie-breakers are tied

This creates clean, uncluttered tables that expand complexity only when needed.

Tournament Progression

Round Completion Requirements

• All match results must be entered before advancing to next round
• No skipping rounds - ensures proper pairing calculations
• Automatic validation prevents incomplete round progression

Tournament Conclusion

• Tournament can be stopped at any round (flexibility for time constraints)
• Final standings use complete FIDE tie-breaking system
• Official results ready for record-keeping and rating calculations

Compliance Notes

This implementation follows FIDE Swiss System Tournament Rules as specified in the FIDE Handbook, ensuring:

• Professional tournament standards
• Fair and balanced competition
• Internationally recognized scoring system
• Proper handling of all edge cases (byes, color balance, etc.)

The system is suitable for official chess tournaments and maintains the integrity expected in competitive chess play.