Prizes - Reports Menu

Tell SwissSys which prizes a section offers, and it calculates who wins cash and non-cash prizes (trophies and other items that can’t be split).

Access: Reports > Prizes… opens Prize setup for this section. Click View winners to see the Prizes report.

Prize setups are saved with each section. Use Save setup and Load setup to reuse a setup in another section or tournament, and Clear all prizes to blank out every amount, description, and non-cash priority. It doesn’t reset the place/class prize counts, the class rating ranges, or the Other tab settings — set those up again separately if you also want to start over on the ranges.

Place Prizes Tab

Prizes by finishing place, with no rating restriction.

The Place prizes tab of Prize setup for this section, with three place prizes of 40,000, 9,999, and $1 and "Picasso" as the first-place non-cash prize

Place prizes to be awarded: how many places pay.
Cash prizes: the cash amount for each place.
Trophies and other non-divisible prizes: a short description for each non-cash place prize. A place can have both cash and a non-cash prize.
Treat cash values below as percentages of this total: check it and enter a total to enter prizes as percentages of that total.
Print prize setup: prints the setup for your records.

Class Prizes Tab

Prizes restricted to a rating range, or to an age or grade range.

The Class prizes tab with three classes, A (1800-1999), B (1600-1799), and Unr (0-0), two cash prizes per class, and non-cash prizes with their priority numbers in the Pri column beside each class, under the Highest class first and 1st prizes first buttons

Class categories: how many classes (for example A, B, C, or U2000, U1800).
Prizes for each class: how many places pay in each class.
Cash prizes and Trophies and other non-divisible prizes: one column per class. Each column’s header shows its range, Low-High.
Set class rating/age ranges…: name each class and set its range. See Prize class rating ranges.
Treat cash values as percentages of this total: works the same as on the Place prizes tab.

Non-Cash Priorities

In the non-cash grid, the narrow Pri column beside each prize holds its priority. When a player can win more than one non-cash class prize, SwissSys awards the one with the lowest number first. Place trophies are always awarded before class trophies, whatever the priorities say.

A blank counts as 0, so it is awarded ahead of every prize you number — including one you number 1. Give every non-cash prize you want SwissSys to choose between an explicit number.

This is how you vary the ranking US Chess rule 33D1a allows for prizes of equal value, such as a trophy in two overlapping Under classes. If you change it from the default, post your rankings at the tournament site in advance.

Under the Set default priorities label, two buttons fill in the numbers for you:

Highest class first: numbers every prize in Class 1, then every prize in Class 2, and so on. This is the US Chess recommendation. It treats Class 1, the leftmost column, as the top class, so enter your classes highest first.
1st prizes first: numbers every class’s 1st prize, then every class’s 2nd prize, and so on.

Class Ranges

Any class setup works: true Unders, overlapping classes, classes with gaps, Unders mixed with regular classes, any order, and an Unrated 0-0 class anywhere. A player whose rating falls in two classes is eligible for both and gets the best prize they can win (US Chess rule 32B1). Tied players divide prizes by rules 32B2 and 32B3. See Rating range restrictions for the details, including the few entries SwissSys refuses.

The order matters only for the Highest class first button, which treats Class 1 as the top class.

Other Prizes and Settings Tab

The Other prizes and settings tab, showing upset prizes, the clear winner bonus, the unrated limit, the based-on percentage, and the withdrawn, question mark, and round-up checkboxes

Setting	What it does
Percent awarded for cash “based-on” prizes	Scales cash prizes to a percentage of their advertised value, for prize funds based on attendance.
Number of guaranteed place prizes	The top places listed here always pay in full and aren’t scaled by the percentage.
Calculate “based-on” prizes only for class prizes, not place prizes	Applies the percentage to class prizes only. Place prizes pay in full.
Clear winner cash bonus	Extra cash for the first-place finisher. It’s paid only when nobody ties for first.
Number of upset prizes	How many upset prizes to award. Winners appear in the Non-cash prize column as Upset1, Upset2, and so on.
Limit awards for unrated players	Caps what an unrated player can win at Maximum cash prize for unrated. SwissSys pays the cash the cap keeps from an unrated winner to the players tied with them (up to their own limits), as US Chess rule 32C6 requires. The amount held back shows as WITHHELD in the report. Cash that no one in the tie may take is listed as UNAWARDED, and you decide where it goes.
Include withdrawn players	Lets withdrawn players win prizes. When it’s off, they’re skipped.
Mark skipped non-cash awards as ”?”	When a higher place has no non-cash prize but a lower place does (for example 1st = $100, 2nd = clock), a player awarded that higher place gets a ?. SwissSys checks first whether that player is tied with the winner of the next non-cash prize: if so, it moves that prize up to the ”?” spot automatically. A ? that remains in the final report means the players weren’t tied, so the original award stands — you can ignore it.
Round up awards to nearest whole value	Rounds each winner’s cash up to a whole dollar (or other currency unit). The total paid can then be slightly more than the prize fund.

To exclude a single player from all prizes (for example a house player), check Ineligible for prizes for that player in the Register window or in Tinker.

The Prizes Report

Click View winners to open the report.

The Prizes report for a finished section: place and class winners with cash, non-cash prizes, and the prize each award is credited to, with the tiebreak header line and the total cash awarded

The columns are:

Column	Shows
#	Pair number
Name	Player name, with score and rating (or age/grade) when Data to show > Score and rating (or age/grade) is checked
Place	This player’s rank among the winners listed in this report (1st, or 2T for a tie), not their overall finishing place. Players who didn’t win a prize aren’t counted, so a class winner who finished 6th overall can show as “4th” here if two of the players ahead of them didn’t win anything.
Cash	Cash won. A split prize shows how many players share it, such as “(3-way)”.
Non-cash prize	Trophy or other item won, and any upset prize
Prize credited to pool	Which prize the player’s cash counts against, such as “Place: 1 - $300" or "A/2 -$ 30”. WITHHELD: 50 follows it when the unrated limit held that much back from this winner. (UNSHARED) follows it when a tied winner’s share was held to the most they could have won outright (US Chess rule 32B3). SwissSys applies both for you and pays the difference to the other winners in the tie.
Section	Shown when Show all sections is checked

Use the Data to show menu to hide columns or add Contact information. The Chart menu prints or exports the report, and Edit > Copy all copies it to the clipboard. When the tournament has more than one section, check Show all sections to list every section’s winners together.

Messages in the Report

SwissSys shows a message only when it is accurate and you may need to act. Adjustments the US Chess rules require, such as the unrated limit and capped shares of a tied prize, are made for you and aren’t flagged. Trophies without tiebreaks and nested Under classes are normal setups and aren’t flagged either.

The line at the top of the Prizes window normally reads —Always confirm these results by hand. It appears on screen only. Check every award before you pay out.

Message	Where it appears	What it means	What you do
`PARTIAL RESULTS - Final round in progress - 1 clinched, 2 pending`	Everywhere prizes are shown	The final round is paired and every earlier round is finished, so only prizes that can no longer change are shown. The Prizes window adds `Only CLINCHED prizes are shown - see Reports > Pending prizes.`	Nothing. Open Reports > Pending prizes… to see what is undecided. The message goes away when all results are in.
`PARTIAL RESULTS - Final round in progress; 12 remaining games exceeds the limit for clinch detection (max 10). Prize column will fill in once enough results are entered.`	Everywhere prizes are shown	More than 10 games are still unfinished, so SwissSys shows no winners yet.	Nothing. Enter results.
`PARTIAL RESULTS - tournament in progress; prizes are NOT final`	Everywhere prizes are shown	Any other in-progress state: more than one round to play, the final round not yet paired, or a section type that has no clinch detection.	Nothing. Don’t pay from this report. The message goes away when the tournament is finished.
`CHECK CLASS SETUP - Class 3 (1600-1799) has its High below its Low, so no player can win it.` The Prizes window’s top line shows the short form `CHECK CLASS SETUP - a class range admits no players.`	Everywhere prizes are shown	A class range has its High below its Low. Only a tournament file saved in an older version can show this, because the ranges dialog now refuses the setup. Overlapping classes never cause it.	Correct the range: open Set class rating/age ranges… and put the higher number in High. See Rating range restrictions.
`UNAWARDED - Class 2 1st prize ($60.00): no eligible player is left to receive it.`	Everywhere prizes are shown, once results are final	A prize nobody could receive: a place or class cash prize (`UNAWARDED - 1st place prize ($200.00): no player is left to receive it.`) or a trophy (`UNAWARDED - Class 2 1st (Plaque): no eligible player is left to receive it.`).	Decide what to do with the prize, for example give it to the next player or hold it.
`UNAWARDED - $50.00 of the prizes won by Player 7: the unrated limit keeps them from taking it and no one else has that score. Award it per Rule 32C6.` A tie reads `... of the prizes shared by ...: the unrated limit and Rule 32B3 keep everyone in the tie from taking it. Award it per Rule 32C6.`	Everywhere prizes are shown, once results are final	The unrated limit and rule 32B3 kept every tied winner from taking this cash.	Decide where the cash goes. Rule 32C6 doesn’t say.
`NOTE: Plaque went to Player A rather than Player B, who is tied on score and tiebreaks, so pairing number decided it. Settle it by the method you announced (for example a playoff or coin toss).`	Prizes window only	A trophy went to one of several players equal on score and every tiebreak. The message names what decided it: `rating (no tiebreaks are set)`, `pairing number`, or `pairing number (no tiebreaks are set)`.	Settle the tie by the method you announced, such as a playoff or coin toss, and give the trophy to that player.
`NOTE: Trophy priority decided that Player A receives Plaque rather than Book, so Player B receives no trophy. Change the order in the Pri column if that is not what you announced.`	Prizes window only	A player could win more than one trophy, and your Pri order gave them one and left a lower-ranked player with none. This is the only ranking decision SwissSys makes for you (US Chess rule 33D1a).	If the result matches what you announced, do nothing. Otherwise change the Pri numbers. See Non-Cash Priorities.
`NOTE: No age/grade recorded for Player 4, so that player cannot win an age/grade class prize.`	Prizes window only, in age/grade mode	The player has no age or grade, so no class admits them. For more than 10 players, the message says “and N more”.	Enter the age or grade in the Register window.

The NOTE messages appear in the Prizes window only. They aren’t printed, exported, or sent to the web report. The other messages appear in these places:

The bottom panel of the Prizes window, and the printout of the Prizes report.
The warning strip above the standings, and on printed or PDF standings.
HTML, text, Excel, and clipboard exports.
The web report.

The standings show these messages only when they show prizes. When the standings hide prizes, no prize message appears. The Prizes window always shows them. When you check Show all sections, the window shows one round-state line, and each class setup or unawarded line starts with its section’s name.

The Prizes window for a finished section with an unwinnable class: the red short line "CHECK CLASS SETUP - a class range admits no players." above the total cash awarded and the prize list

Don’t confuse the two warnings. PARTIAL RESULTS, Clinched, and Pending mean the tournament isn’t finished yet, and they go away once all results are in. CHECK CLASS SETUP means a class range admits no players, and it stays until you fix the range, even after the tournament is over. Both can appear at the same time.

Total cash awarded: at the top of the report is the sum of all cash shown.

If You Saw This in an Older Version

These messages no longer appear. Each fired when there was nothing for you to decide, or on a setup SwissSys calculates correctly.

Probable Prize as the standings prize column header. Older versions used it when a class check flagged the ranges, and that check fired on correct setups, such as true Unders with a floor of 100. The header now always reads Prize.
Non-Cash Prizes Without Tiebreaks popup. Trophies without tiebreaks are normal. When a trophy tie is decided by rating or pairing number, the Prizes window tells you (the first NOTE in the table above).
NOTE: Some cash withheld due to player ineligibility as noted. You must decide how to award this cash. SwissSys now pays that cash to the players tied with the unrated winner, as rule 32C6 requires. Only cash nobody may take is listed, as UNAWARDED.
NOTE: Some players ineligible for a shared prize. Check these awards carefully by hand. SwissSys now divides tied prizes exactly under rules 32B2 and 32B3.
Rating distribution not recommended, with its Ignore and Cancel buttons. Every class setup it warned about is valid. See Rating range restrictions.
Every CHECK CLASS SETUP message about overlaps, bottoms of 0, or class order. Only a High below its Low is flagged now.

Round State: Complete vs. In Progress

The prize report is clinch-aware, but only for a plain individual Swiss section. It uses the same calculation as the standings, web, and print reports.

Tournament complete (all paired rounds finished): the report shows the full, final awards.
Final round paired and in progress, with every earlier round finished: the report shows only the prizes already clinched, meaning awards that can’t change no matter how the outstanding games finish. A red PARTIAL RESULTS line appears in the panel at the bottom of the window and on printouts, for example:

PARTIAL RESULTS - Final round in progress - 0 clinched, 3 pending. Only CLINCHED prizes are shown - see Reports > Pending prizes.

If more than 10 games are still unfinished, SwissSys does not run clinch detection for that section, and the report shows no winners for it. The PARTIAL RESULTS line says the limit is 10 and that the prize column will fill in once enough results are entered. When 10 or fewer games remain, SwissSys resumes clinch detection and shows any prizes that are then clinched.
Any other in-progress state — more than one round still to play, or the final round not yet paired — shows the generic line PARTIAL RESULTS - tournament in progress; prizes are NOT final instead. Round robin, ladder, team, and fixed-roster sections always get this generic line, even during their own final round, since clinch detection doesn’t apply to them. It appears wherever prizes are shown, including the Show prizes standings mode, but not when the standings hide prizes. The Prizes window always shows it.

A report generated mid-round can’t present non-final standings as final awards.

Sections without a set round count (for example a side or “booster” section whose number of rounds is left unspecified in Tournament Setup) use the latest paired round as the working final round. They don’t report a half-entered round as a finished tournament.

Pending Prizes

To see which awards are still undecided while the final round is in progress, open Reports > Pending prizes…. It recalculates the clinch result and explains that clinched prizes can’t change. The final report becomes available once all results are entered.

Tiebreaks on the Prize Report

The Tiebreaks: header line and the tiebreak value columns appear only when the section awards non-cash prizes. Cash splits among tied players by the US Chess rules, so tiebreaks don’t affect cash-only awards and are left out. A trophy tie that the tiebreaks don’t separate goes to the higher rating when the section has no tiebreaks, and then to the lower pair number. The Prizes window tells you when that decided a trophy. The tiebreak value columns also need tied winners, and they don’t appear when Show all sections is checked. When shown, the header uses the same short codes as the standings and web report, such as “Mod. Med/Solk/Cumul.”, so it fits the window.

Prizes for Other Categories

To find winners by sex, club, federation, or another registration field, sort the standings by that field. See Step 12 - Prizes.

Prize class rating ranges - Setting class ranges
Rating range restrictions - What class ranges SwissSys accepts and refuses
Standings Formatting - Showing prizes and tiebreaks in the standings
Tiebreak systems - How tiebreaks are calculated