Answers.Body: <p>The FIDE's software <a href="http://swiss-manager.at/download.aspx" rel="nofollow">Swiss manager</a> has a free demo version. It contains many options for different types of "tournaments". But you will need a bit of time to learn how to use it. I have already used this program with success.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-10-19T18:15:18.800Z
Answers.Text: But it's a *DEMO*
Answers.UserDisplayName: cascading-style
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-10-19T21:11:38.727Z
Answers.Text: Yes, it formally is, but I haven't seen any obvious drawbacks. There is no advertisement, or limitation on the duration or on the number of uses. It's good software, according to my personal experience.
     The choise of the software is often made by the  organisers of the tournament. Only if you organise a tournament by your own, you are (of course) free to use whatever software you like.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Alexandre Aksenov
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-10-22T15:35:26.827Z
Answers.Text: Why is it called a demo then?
Answers.UserDisplayName: cascading-style
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-10-23T16:00:58.940Z
Answers.Text: Being only a national arbiter myself, I have never used Swiss Manager for pairing an official tournament, and I don't know all the differences with the full version. I will try and ask a FIDE arbiter when I have an opportunity.  I am discovering one (important) difference at https://kidschessworld.com/swiss-manager/  : the Demo version is limited to tournaments with no more, than 60 players.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Alexandre Aksenov
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2018-11-06T13:30:11.400Z
Answers.Text: Try out [challonge.com](https://www.challonge.com).
Answers.UserDisplayName: Wais Kamal
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-10-19T12:44:17.747Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2016-10-19T12:44:17.747Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Alexandre Aksenov
Answers.Body: <p>The one I like is Vega - <a href="http://www.vegachess.com/tl/index.php" rel="nofollow">http://www.vegachess.com/tl/index.php</a>. This is free on Linux. The guy who wrote it is an open source supporter who welcomes feedback and is willing to make changes. He is also an active FIDE arbiter. It is also free on Windows for up to 30 players and 50 euros for unlimited use.</p>
  
  <p>There is a review by an English arbiter here - <a href="http://chessarbitersassociation.co.uk/Vega.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://chessarbitersassociation.co.uk/Vega.pdf</a>.</p>
  
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Answers.CreationDate: 2016-10-19T19:11:02.903Z
Answers.Text: @cascading-style If you read my answer all the way to the end you will see that I already answered that. There is a free Linux version. There is a Windows version which is free for up to 30 players.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Brian Towers
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-10-26T09:04:40.453Z
Answers.Text: The guy who wrote Vega may be an open source supporter, but I don't see any source code for Vega. Freeware is not synonymous with open source.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Tsundoku
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Answers.CreationDate: 2016-10-19T09:48:37.770Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2016-10-19T09:48:37.770Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Brian Towers
Answers.Body: <p>Our chess club, <a href="https://www.uschess.org/assets/msa_joomla/AffDtlMain.php?A8572189" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Media Chess Club</a>, uses <a href="https://chessnut.club" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Chess Nut</a> for club management and pairing. It is free and user friendly. The automatic Swiss pairing works as well as SwissSys (which is what we were using before Chess Nut). It also comes with a bunch of additional features that SwissSys does not, like member management and public joinable events (with landing pages and public urls). Its relatively new and they are rapidly enhancing it. They are responsive and take our club's feedback which is nice. Definitely check them out in your search</p>
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/BTkUC.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/BTkUC.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a>
  <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/kCXUY.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/kCXUY.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a>
  <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/lBfod.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/lBfod.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
  
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Answers.CreationDate: 2023-12-31T14:57:12.957Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2023-12-31T14:57:12.957Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Lamp
Answers.Body: <p>The answer to this question depends at least in part on what rating system you want to use when running an event, as well as what your definition of "good" is.  It's worth noting that pairing programs require a lot of time, testing and maintenance.  So, if you see "good" as synonymous with "cheap" or "free", there probably isn't anything available that will work.  </p>
  
  <p>If you're planning a FIDE rated tournament, you can find a list of the approved pairing programs here:  <a href="https://www.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/C04Annex3_FEP18.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/C04Annex3_FEP18.pdf</a>.  Of these, Swiss Manager is, IMO, the best bet, not least in part because it offers one-button Web publishing of results and pairings.</p>
  
  <p>if you're planning a US Chess rated tournament (as opposed to the FIDE rating system), your best options for pairings are as follows:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li><a href="https://www.swisssys.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">SwissSys</a>.</li>
  <li><a href="https://estima.com/chess/index.shtml" rel="nofollow noreferrer">WinTD</a>.</li>
  <li>Manual pairing.</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>You won't be able to generate the files required for electronic submission of US Chess rating reports without either SwissSys or WinTD.  Either pairing program would work well for you.</p>
  
  <p>There is a reasonable argument that arbiters should learn how to pair by hand before jumping in to using a pairing program.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2018-11-05T06:08:42.433Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2018-11-05T06:08:42.433Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: eastside
Answers.Body: <p>You can try my program VinczeSwiss. Freeware! Now (25.12.2022) in 7 languages! ... Websites: <a href="http://vincze.euweb.cz" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://vincze.euweb.cz</a> OR <a href="https://sachy-hb.cz/vinczeswiss_eng/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://sachy-hb.cz/vinczeswiss_eng/</a></p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2022-12-25T11:19:06.487Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2022-12-25T11:20:30.213Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2022-12-25T11:20:30.213Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Roman Vincze
Answers.Body: <p>French Chess Federation has developed a nice software named <a href="http://echecs.asso.fr/Papi.aspx" rel="nofollow noreferrer">PAPI</a>. </p>
  
  <p>It is free for anybody who has a licence with the French Federation. If you don't, you can ask for a copy via un email to Mr. Erick Mouret (erick.mouret@free.fr).</p>
  
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Answers.CreationDate: 2018-11-06T08:28:00.637Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2018-11-06T09:19:01.350Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2018-11-06T09:19:01.350Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Evargalo
Body: <p>I was going to do a tournament recently, and then, I found out just <em>how much</em> <strong><em>$$</em></strong> <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=swisssys&amp;ie=utf-8&amp;oe=utf-8" rel="noreferrer">SwissSys</a> Tournament software costs...  </p>
  
  <p>My question is: </p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>What good alternatives to this expensive mainstream software are there, if any?</p>
  </blockquote>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-10-19T06:49:40.260Z
Comments.Text: Before there were computers, people used to run Swiss System tournaments with 3 x 5 index cards.
Comments.UserDisplayName: bof
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-10-19T18:14:49.163Z
Comments.Text: @bof **Funny...**
Comments.UserDisplayName: cascading-style
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-10-22T10:58:24.003Z
Comments.Text: If you are desperate for one, it shouldn't be too difficult to make one. Other than that refer to the answer(s) below$\vee$
Comments.UserDisplayName: Ariana
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-10-27T21:13:59.893Z
Comments.Text: @ArianaGrande Too much work... Ugh.
Comments.UserDisplayName: cascading-style
Tags: <software><tournament><tournament-directors>
Title: free alternatives to SwissSys?
ThreadText: # free alternatives to SwissSys?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2016-10-19)
  
  I was going to do a tournament recently, and then, I found out just *how much* ***$$*** [SwissSys](https://www.google.com/search?q=swisssys&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) Tournament software costs...
  
  My question is:
  
  > What good alternatives to this expensive mainstream software are there, if any?
  
  **Tags:** software, tournament, tournament-directors
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: Before there were computers, people used to run Swiss System tournaments with 3 x 5 index cards.  
  > **username_0**: @username_1 **Funny...**  
  > **username_2**: If you are desperate for one, it shouldn't be too difficult to make one. Other than that refer to the answer(s) below$\vee$  
  > **username_0**: @username_2Grande Too much work... Ugh.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 6 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2016-10-19. Score: 2 | Accepted answer
  
  The FIDE's software [Swiss manager](http://swiss-manager.at/download.aspx) has a free demo version. It contains many options for different types of "tournaments". But you will need a bit of time to learn how to use it. I have already used this program with success.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: But it's a *DEMO*  
  > **username_3**: Yes, it formally is, but I haven't seen any obvious drawbacks. There is no advertisement, or limitation on the duration or on the number of uses. It's good software, according to my personal experience.    The choise of the software is often made by the  organisers of the tournament. Only if you organise a tournament by your own, you are (of course) free to use whatever software you like.  
  > **username_0**: Why is it called a demo then?  
  > **username_3**: Being only a national arbiter myself, I have never used Swiss Manager for pairing an official tournament, and I don't know all the differences with the full version. I will try and ask a FIDE arbiter when I have an opportunity.  I am discovering one (important) difference at https://kidschessworld.com/swiss-manager/  : the Demo version is limited to tournaments with no more, than 60 players.  
  > **username_4**: Try out [challonge.com](https://www.challonge.com).  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_5 on 2016-10-19. Score: 3
  
  The one I like is Vega - <http://www.vegachess.com/tl/index.php>. This is free on Linux. The guy who wrote it is an open source supporter who welcomes feedback and is willing to make changes. He is also an active FIDE arbiter. It is also free on Windows for up to 30 players and 50 euros for unlimited use.
  
  There is a review by an English arbiter here - <http://chessarbitersassociation.co.uk/Vega.pdf>.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_5**: @username_0 If you read my answer all the way to the end you will see that I already answered that. There is a free Linux version. There is a Windows version which is free for up to 30 players.  
  > **username_6**: The guy who wrote Vega may be an open source supporter, but I don't see any source code for Vega. Freeware is not synonymous with open source.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_7 on 2023-12-31. Score: 2
  
  Our chess club, [Media Chess Club](https://www.uschess.org/assets/msa_joomla/AffDtlMain.php?A8572189), uses [Chess Nut](https://chessnut.club) for club management and pairing. It is free and user friendly. The automatic Swiss pairing works as well as SwissSys (which is what we were using before Chess Nut). It also comes with a bunch of additional features that SwissSys does not, like member management and public joinable events (with landing pages and public urls). Its relatively new and they are rapidly enhancing it. They are responsive and take our club's feedback which is nice. Definitely check them out in your search
  
  [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/BTkUC.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/BTkUC.png)
  [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/kCXUY.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/kCXUY.png)
  [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/lBfod.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/lBfod.png)
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_8 on 2018-11-05. Score: 2
  
  The answer to this question depends at least in part on what rating system you want to use when running an event, as well as what your definition of "good" is. It's worth noting that pairing programs require a lot of time, testing and maintenance. So, if you see "good" as synonymous with "cheap" or "free", there probably isn't anything available that will work.
  
  If you're planning a FIDE rated tournament, you can find a list of the approved pairing programs here: <https://www.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/C04Annex3_FEP18.pdf>. Of these, Swiss Manager is, IMO, the best bet, not least in part because it offers one-button Web publishing of results and pairings.
  
  if you're planning a US Chess rated tournament (as opposed to the FIDE rating system), your best options for pairings are as follows:
  
  * [SwissSys](https://www.swisssys.com).
  * [WinTD](https://estima.com/chess/index.shtml).
  * Manual pairing.
  
  You won't be able to generate the files required for electronic submission of US Chess rating reports without either SwissSys or WinTD. Either pairing program would work well for you.
  
  There is a reasonable argument that arbiters should learn how to pair by hand before jumping in to using a pairing program.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_9 on 2022-12-25. Score: 1
  
  You can try my program VinczeSwiss. Freeware! Now (25.12.2022) in 7 languages! ... Websites: <http://vincze.euweb.cz> OR <https://sachy-hb.cz/vinczeswiss_eng/>
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_10 on 2018-11-06. Score: 0
  
  French Chess Federation has developed a nice software named [PAPI](http://echecs.asso.fr/Papi.aspx).
  
  It is free for anybody who has a licence with the French Federation. If you don't, you can ask for a copy via un email to Mr. Erick Mouret (erick.mouret@free.fr).
  
  
  ---
  
  