Color preference

Color preference is not a personal choice. It is a pairing requirement used to keep the distribution of White and Black reasonably balanced. It is determined mainly from color difference and the colors in the player's recent games.

How it works in the FIDE Dutch system

• Absolute preference: it occurs when the color difference is above +1 or below -1, or when the player had the same color in the last two games played.
• Strong preference: a difference of +1 means a preference for Black; -1 means a preference for White.
• Mild preference: with a difference of 0, the system tries to alternate from the last game played.
• With no games played, the Dutch system gives the player no color preference.

The pairing process tries to satisfy these preferences, but they have different priorities and cannot always all be granted. Other FIDE systems can also handle an edge case differently. In the Dubov system, for example, a player with no games played is treated as having a mild preference for Black. Color preference therefore has to be read within the specific pairing system being used.