Rules for Pairing - Setup Menu
From this multi-tab dialog you determine what rules SwissSys uses in assigning pairings.
Many options here will not apply when doing FIDE pairings. For that reason they are grayed out when the FIDE engine is active. If you purchased the FIDE-only version of SwissSys, these non-standard options will not even be visible.
Pairing Engine Selection
Active pairing engine: Choose either the SwissSys engine for USCF pairings, or the bbpPairings engine for FIDE (Dutch system). The engine cannot be changed after the tournament begins.
Make FIDE pairing system the default: FIDE requires this box to be checked when you set up SwissSys to run FIDE events. It turns on “FIDE default mode”, ensuring all FIDE settings are in force when you load the program, including the endorsed pairing engine, FIDE warnings, and restrictions on editing.
Pairing Restrictions
Pairing restrictions: Any fields you mark with a check will be examined before pairing two players. If those fields have the same value, the pairing is treated as illegal. This allows you to use any of the fields to act the same as a “team” field at any time.
Note that when pairing in FIDE mode, these options may not be turned on after the tournament has begun, although you are permitted to turn them off if you want. Furthermore, when running in FIDE mode, you will receive a suggestion to turn off the restriction after two rounds, which is the approach FIDE recommends.
Group vs. Group Restrictions
If you don’t want members of one group (in SwissSys both the team and the federation/club are used for this purpose) to be paired against another group, check this box and edit the “forbidden pairings” list. In the dialog that pops up, enter the codes for the two groups that should not meet.
Class Pairings
Class pairings are the opposite. Using class pairings, SwissSys will make every attempt to force players with the same class field value to be paired against each other, provided it doesn’t mean leaving the scoregroup. Note that turning on class pairings turns off all the other pairing restrictions.
Color Assignment Options
3 Consecutive colors OK: If turned off, assigning a third white or black in a row will be considered illegal under all circumstances.
Plus/minus color variation: This is taken from the USCF handbook. It involves alternating which player gets the color due: First the higher ranked, then the lower, then the higher, etc.
Old USCF color variation: When dealing with players of nearly identical color histories, this allocates color according to the old (fourth edition) USCF rulebook.
Coin toss for color in last round: This applies only to colors with identical color histories, and only to Swiss system events.
Advanced Pairing Options
In-depth searches: This lets the program search deeper for switches to USCF pairings that lead to improved colors. Leaving this option on is recommended, although note that you cannot combine in-depth searches with some other pairing options, such as accelerated pairings.
Rating difference limits: This sets how eager SwissSys should be to adjust pairings to improve color allocation when two players are due the same color. The default values of 200 and 80 points, respectively, are the USCF recommendations.
Bye Management
Pairing-allocated bye value: Normally a pairing-allocated bye (as opposed to an advance bye) is worth one full point. You can adjust this value here.
Bye strictness: Determines how to handle unrated players when it comes to byes:
- Strict: Give an unrated a bye only as a last resort
- Relaxed: Treat unrated like anybody else
- Medium (USCF recommendation): Give an unrated player a bye only after four rounds or if no rated player in the bottom score group is eligible for the bye
Byes for half-point bye recipients: This tells SwissSys whether or not to give full-point byes to players who have already been given, or who will later be receiving, a half-point bye.
Specialized Pairing Systems
Accelerated pairings: Check this option if you want the top half of your players to be given an imaginary extra point for pairing purposes. When run in FIDE mode, the Baku accelerated system will be implemented. Otherwise the USCF system of accelerated pairings will be used.
Random pairings: Random pairings assign pairings at random within each score group as a way of tweaking the Swiss tournament to make it more fair.
1 vs 2 pairings: In this style, the top player is paired against the next player below in the rankings, provided they have not already met, and provided the color consequences are acceptable.
Team Tournament Options
Team pairing restriction is active: Toggle this off if you want to allow SwissSys to pair team members against one another.
Plus 2 pairings: For individual/team style tournaments, any players on the same team who have a positive score at least as large as the cutoff value may be paired against each other.
Pair teams by game points: Check this if you prefer to use game points rather than match points in determining your team vs. team pairings.
Use weighted pairings: This fixed-roster option implements the Illinois High School Association pairing rules, in which results on higher boards carry more weight.