Swiss-Manager: the standard tournament software

A desktop application for Windows, in development since the 1990s, used by arbiters at official events worldwide. It is the de facto standard for anything that has to be reported to a federation.

• Windows only. On macOS and Linux it runs through a compatibility layer or a virtual machine, which arbiters do routinely but which is an obstacle for a casual organizer.
• Built around official requirements. Its output formats are the ones federations and rating administrators accept.
• Not a website. The tournament file lives on your machine; publishing results online is a separate step.

The pairing engine inside it is a certified implementation of the FIDE Swiss rules - the same class of tool as JaVaFo.

The last two items are what really separate it from simpler tools: an amateur organizer never needs them, and an arbiter at a rated event cannot work without them.

There is a free version and a paid one. The distinction that matters is not the price but what the free version withholds.

• The free version handles small events. It is limited in the number of players and in some of the export and publication features.
• The paid licence removes the limits. Full export, publication and the reporting an official event requires.
• Licences are per user and renewed. Arbiters treat it as a working expense, roughly comparable to other professional software.
• Prices change. Check the current terms on the developer's site rather than trusting any figure quoted in an article.

For a single small club event the free version is usually enough - the constraint you hit first is Windows, not the licence.

The honest summary: if your event has to be rated and reported, learn Swiss-Manager. If it does not, the effort buys you nothing that matters on the night.

At an amateur evening the requirements are different: pairings that are correct, standings visible to players, and no laptop to babysit between rounds.

• A phone app. The organizer starts the round, players see their table and opponent, results go in from their own phones - and the standings update themselves - how that works.
• Online platforms. If the event itself is played online - Swiss tournaments on Lichess.
• Vega. A cross-platform alternative if you want a desktop program without the Windows requirement - about Vega.
• Paper. Genuinely fine for eight players and three rounds - though the tie-break arithmetic is where hand-run events go wrong.

The one thing not to do at any size is invent the pairings by hand from round two onwards: that is exactly where amateur events produce rematches and colour imbalances that players notice - organizing a tournament.