How Swiss pairing works
Score groups, colour balance, Buchholz and the number of rounds to run.
Pairing rules
Each round pairs participants with the same (or closest) score who have not met before. The FIDE Dutch mode also balances home/away (colour) assignments. Rounds are generated one at a time after the previous round completes.
How many rounds?
A good rule is ⌈log₂ n⌉ rounds to find a clear winner — 4 rounds for 9–16 participants, 5 for 17–32, 6 for 33–64. You can set any number from 2 to 12.
Tiebreakers
Buchholz (sum of opponents’ scores), Median Buchholz and Sonneborn-Berger are available as ranking criteria and shown as standings columns.
Related articles
Was this helpful? Tell us what is missing.
Send feedback