Pairing bracket

Also known as: Bracket

A temporary group of players that a Swiss system processes together while forming pairings for a round.

Explanation

In FIDE Swiss rules, a pairing bracket is the actual set of players that the pairing procedure is processing at one stage. It does not always match a exactly.

A bracket starts with resident players from a scoregroup and may include players arriving from another group because they could not be paired there. The system tests combinations within this set, applies its legality and quality criteria and, if players still remain, may pass them onward as floaters.

A bracket is therefore a working unit of the pairing algorithm. It may exist only while a round is being calculated and can change as floaters enter or leave.

Common confusions

Pairing bracket versus knockout bracket

Here bracket is a technical group inside a Swiss pairing system. It does not necessarily mean the visual elimination tree used in a knockout event.

Related terms

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