Swiss team pairing system

The Swiss team pairing system determines which teams meet in each round. In a Swiss tournament, not every team plays every other team; pairings are recalculated round by round from the state of the competition. A team match contains several games on different boards, but the object being paired is the whole team. Two teams must not be paired against each other more than once.

The competition regulations must identify the primary score: match points, which value the overall match result, or game points, which add the results from individual boards. Unless stated otherwise, the rules of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) use match points as the primary score and game points for colour allocation. Teams with the same primary score form scoregroups.

Every team receives a unique Tournament Pairing Number. The system also considers colour difference and can use colour preferences, with team colour defined from the scheduled colour on board one. Because team-match colours are less restrictive than individual Swiss colours, these preferences have system-specific rules.

If an odd number of teams must be paired, one can receive a pairing-allocated bye. By default FIDE awards that team the match points and game points equivalent to a draw, unless the competition rules state otherwise.