Players may report that results were entered incorrectly at various points during the tournament. Depending on the kind of error, and how far the tournament has progressed since the error, will guide the potential fixes.
- Match result doesn’t change, but game result changes
In this situation, a player may inform you that they reported a result of 2-0, but the correct result was actually 2-1. This means that the overall result of the match didn’t change, but calculations for tiebreakers may change. This can be fixed by editing the match result directly – it doesn’t make any impact how long ago this error was made.
- Match result changes
In this situation, a player may inform you that they won, but they input the result as a loss. This means that the overall result of a match changes. Check the most applicable solution below:
- Current Match
If the error is involving the current match, and new matches have not yet been created, you can make the advised change immediately. In some tournaments and systems, it may be best practice to identify and call the opponent to confirm a match result change.
- Last round’s match, play has not yet begun, decisive result change (win to loss)
If the error is involving the previous match, i.e. new matches have been created but not started, it is possible to change the result. The question to answer is whether or not, if you change the result now, have players have already played the prospective opponents?
Example
Annie played against Bernard, Annie won, but they entered a loss.
Annie (12 points, showing as 9 points) is paired against Charlie (9 points) in the next round, and Bernard (9 points, showing as 12 points) is paired against Danielle (12 points).
If A-D and B-C have not already been pairings in this tournament, they are appropriate Swiss pairings for the next round, and you should change the result, and then the pairings, to match that.
If A-D or B-C have already been pairings in this tournament, they are not appropriate Swiss pairings for the next round, and you will need to find an alternative solution (see below section on Cascading Repairs).
Note that the further progressed the tournament is, the likelihood of a pairing having been repeated is higher. Note also that in the Swiss pairing system, players may play each other in different formats more than once, although it is rare.
- Last round’s match, play has not yet begun, indecisive result change (win to draw)
In the event that a decisive result (win or loss) was reported as a draw (or vice-versa), it is harder to find a simple swap that is fully compliant with the Swiss pairing system. While you should fix the result, it may be more appropriate to leave the pairing as-is. If there are other players available on the same match record, it may be possible to re-pair as above.
- Last round’s (or earlier) match, play has begun
Sometimes result errors are found very late, and either the next round has begun (with a flawed set of pairings) or an error from many rounds ago is noticed. In these situations, the result should be fixed, but it is likely that the pairing(s) should remain the same.
In a situation where play is either about to begin, or a very small amount of time has elapsed, tournament officials may prefer to pause the involved matches and perform a repair instead of proceeding with flawed pairings. Consult with the tournament officials to agree on a solution.
In some tournaments and systems, it may be best practice to identify and call the opponent to confirm a match result change.
- Cascading Repairs
In situations (b) and (c) above, it may be better to try anything possible to fix the error instead of accepting the error. In these situations, it is important to communicate with tournament officials to avoid unnecessary delays to the tournament. A cascading repair is a technically involved, time-consuming activity, and proper consideration should be given to alternatives before beginning.
The goal is to (1) minimize the number of Swiss-inappropriate pairings that occur, and (2) if any Swiss-inappropriate pairings do occur, have them occur as low down the standings as possible.
In practice, you should consult a copy of the pairings by table for the relevant round, and identify a set of tables that over time, moves the erroneous pairing lower in the standings. Natural pair-downs (players on unequal points playing each other) will help with this.
When you either reach a player for whom a bye is appropriate, you can issue a bye and finish the process. It may be that there is a cut to a second day of play, or a top bracket. When you reach players who are no longer eligible for these, you may also finish the process there.