Team Match Tournaments (Scheveningen System)

What is a Team Match Tournament?

Team Match tournaments in SwissSys use the Scheveningen system, a specialized format where exactly two teams of equal size compete against each other.

A Team Match is the ideal format when two clubs, schools, or groups want every player on one side to face every player on the other.

Unlike Swiss or round-robin formats, Team Match guarantees complete inter-team competition with optimal color balance across all rounds.

Tournament Format Overview

The Scheveningen system has specific structural requirements:

• Exactly Two Teams: Only two teams can participate in a Team Match tournament.
• Equal Team Size: Both teams must have the same number of players.
• Supported Board Counts: Teams must have exactly 4, 6, 8, or 9 players each.
• Complete Round-Robin Between Teams: Each player plays every opponent on the other team exactly once.
• Automatic Round Count: Number of rounds equals number of boards per team.

How It Works

Setting Up Team Match Tournaments

Configure Tournament Type

Go to Setup -> Tournament setup and tools… and the “Tournament setup tools” window will open. Select the tournament section you want from the box on the left, and then click on View/Edit section.

A new window will open titled “Section setup”. On the left hand side you will see “Event type”: click on the box below it and you will see a number of options drop down. Select Team Match as the event type for your section.

Registering Players To Each Team

Assigning Team Codes and Expanded Team Names

To put a player on one team or the other, you assign a team code to a player. You can select the team code using the drop down feature of the “Teams” box in the player’s registration window. If the team code is not listed yet, type the team code you wish to use in the box (up to 25 characters)

Each team code has an expanded name associated with it. If you have entered a new team code, SwissSys will show you a window where you can type in an expanded name to go with that team code. You can always modify this expanded name later by going to the menu and choosing Team -> Expanded team names

You can update the team that a player is on by opening up their registration page again and changing their team code to the other team code.

If you want to rename a team code to something new, open up the registration page of one of the players on that team and enter the new team code you want. When you go to exit their registration page, SwissSys will open up a window called “Information” asking you if you want to start a new team and if you want to change the team code for all of that player’s teammates. Click “OK” to only change that single player’s team code, or “Rename” to change the team code of all that player’s teammates at once.

Requirements for registration

• Team Codes: When registering each player, assign them the team code for the team they are on.
• Team Names: Use Team -> Expanded team names to assign a full team name to each of those two codes.
• Equal Sizes: Make sure both teams have identical player counts.
• Valid Size: That player count per team must be 4, 6, 8, or 9.

Pairing Process

All Rounds Paired Simultaneously

Unlike Swiss tournaments, Team Match tournaments pair all rounds at once when you first generate pairings:

• All rounds are created using official Scheveningen pairing tables
• The pairing tables ensure each player faces every opponent exactly once
• Color balance is automatically maintained across all rounds
• No additional pairing steps are needed after initial generation

Initial Pairing Setup

When you generate pairings for a Team Match tournament, SwissSys will present you with two configuration windows, one after the other:

1. Pairing Number Assignment

First, you choose how players are ordered within their teams:

• Assign by rating: Players are ordered by rating (highest rated = Board 1)
• Assign by lots (random): Players are randomly assigned board positions
• Leave unchanged: Use current player order as-is

2. Team Order Selection

Then SwissSys will randomly assign which team gets the lower pairing numbers (Team A) and which gets the higher numbers (Team B). You can accept this random assignment or swap the teams.

The team order affects color distribution in the first round and throughout the tournament.

Scoring and Results

Game Point Scoring

In Team Match tournaments:

• Individual Games: Each game scores normally (1 for win, 0.5 for draw, 0 for loss)
• Team Score: Sum of all individual game points for the team
• Match Result: Determined by comparing total team scores

Result Entry

You can enter results through the main pairing chart interface, or you can enter results across multiple rounds in a single grid interface using Pairings -> All Rounds Results Entry

Reporting

Available Reports

• Team Standings: Overall team scores and match results
• Individual Performance: Each player’s record against opposing team
• Round-by-Round Results: Detailed results for each round
• Wall Charts: Visual display of all pairings and results

Statistics Tracked

• Team Level: Total game points, match result (win/loss/draw)
• Individual Level: Personal score, board performance, color balance
• Board Analysis: Results organized by board position

Troubleshooting

Common Setup Errors

“Team Match requires exactly two teams of equal size”

This error appears when:

• More than 2 teams are registered
• Fewer than 2 teams are registered
• Teams have different numbers of players

Solution: Verify exactly 2 teams exist with identical player counts.

“Unsupported board count for Team Match. Use 4, 6, 8, or 9”

This error appears when team size is not one of the supported values.

Solution: Adjust team rosters to have exactly 4, 6, 8, or 9 players per team.

Pairing Issues

Cannot modify pairings after generation

Team Match pairings use fixed Scheveningen tables and cannot be manually adjusted like Swiss pairings.

Solution: If pairings are incorrect, you may need to clear all rounds and regenerate after fixing team rosters.

Result Entry Issues

Round appears but no games are paired

All players must be properly assigned to teams before pairing generation.

Solution: Verify all players have team codes assigned, then regenerate pairings.

Technical Information

Scheveningen Pairing Tables

SwissSys uses official Scheveningen pairing tables sourced from:

• English Chess Federation Round Robin Pairings document
• USCF Official Rules of Chess, Chapter 12

These tables guarantee:

• Each player faces every opponent exactly once
• Optimal color balance across all rounds
• Consistent pairing patterns used in official competitions

Comparison to Other Team Formats

Related Topics

• All Rounds Results Entry - Bulk result entry for Team Match tournaments
• Team Menu Commands - Team management interface
• Tournament Setup and Tools - Tournament configuration guide
• Fixed-Roster Team Tournaments - Alternative team format

Scheveningen Team Match tournament support was introduced in SwissSys v11.76