Experimental FIDE Dutch Pairing System

2026 rules · strict reference search · not FIDE-endorsed
Register players and review the initial color allocation and TPN list. Settings are saved automatically.

Tournament settings

Settings are saved automatically. Registration closes when the first round is successfully generated. Scoring, initial color, and round-count settings then lock.

Final ranking: points, BH-1, BH, then SB. Players still equal share a rank; TPN controls only their display order. Nonstandard bye awards must be authorized by the tournament regulations.

Players (0 / 60)

Review the initial rating/title/name order. Stored TPNs, not standings tie-breaks, drive pairing. Importing a TRF here imports registration fields only, not its tournament history. The participant list is limited to 60 players.

TPN Name Rating Title Status Next round Actions

Round pairings

Board White Result Black
Engine trace 
No trace.

Score list

Completed rounds

Imported or previously generated pairings are not retrospectively certified by this application. The archive is the source of scores, played colors, opponents, float history, and tie-break calculations.

Paste registration list

CSV, tab-separated, or semicolon-separated: Name, Rating, Title. Quote a comma-containing name, or use Surname, First name, Rating, Title. TRF06 registration fields are also recognized.

About this implementation

Experimental reference implementation of the FIDE Dutch rules effective February 1, 2026. It is not FIDE-endorsed and must not be treated as a certified pairing checker.

Search is bracket-local, with the specified C8 look-ahead. Interrupted calculations never publish a provisional best pairing. Pairing searches use a fixed 20-second time limit.

Fixed homogeneous S1/S2 partitions with zero or one resident downfloater use exact minimum-cost assignment. Other partitions and MDP anchor assignments retain the reference search.

Registration closes automatically when the first round is successfully generated. Existing players can subsequently be withdrawn or reinstated between rounds. New players cannot be added after registration closes.

Final results are ranked by points, Buchholz Cut 1 (BH-1), Buchholz (BH), and Sonneborn-Berger (SB). Players still equal share a rank. TPN is used only to order tied rows.

Tie-break calculations implement the individual Swiss provisions in the FIDE Play-Off and Tie-Break Regulations effective March 1, 2026, including adjusted opponent scores, dummy-score caps for unplayed rounds, and the voluntary-unplayed-round exception for BH-1.

With 3 / 1 / 0 scoring, SB uses the actual points scored against each opponent. Missing historical records are treated as requested zero-point byes. Requested draw-value and zero-point absences are treated as voluntary unplayed rounds.

Unpaired MDPs use a refloat-gap marker greater than every actual score gap, following the convention explained in the TEC annotations.

Note: The maximum number of participants is 60.

Once a round is confirmed, an incorrectly recorded result can be corrected through the GUI, provided that a tournament backup was previously created using the "Save Tournament" function.

Not implemented: acceleration, arbitrary additional pairing restrictions, adjournments, or an administrative workflow for altering published pairings and correcting archived results. The built-in tests are developer regression tests, not the official FIDE endorsement suite.