| The situation | What happens next | Points for the round |
|---|---|---|
| A bye | the player stays in the tournament | 1 |
| A half-point bye | the player stays in the tournament | 0,5 |
| A no-show in a round | the player can return in the next round | 0 |
| Removal from the tournament | the player no longer enters the pairing | 0, and no more games |
The key difference: a no-show is a one-off event, a removal is leaving the tournament. Mixing them up is not an option: if you do not remove the player, the software will keep pairing them and their opponents will turn up to empty tables.
They still stand. Results shown before the withdrawal count in the table and in the rating - the games were played by the rules, after all.
This matters to everyone who played them: their wins and draws are not annulled. Any other decision would look unfair - an opponent is not to blame for the other player leaving later.
There is an exception at official events: if a player has played too few games or left in breach of the regulations, their results may be excluded from the standings. Such a rule has to be written into the regulations in advance.
A removed player is excluded from the pairing for the remaining rounds. Technically that is one action in the software, and it has to be done before the pairing is calculated, not after.
If the withdrawal happens between rounds, the field may become odd - then somebody gets a bye with a point under the usual rules. That is normal and needs no separate decision.
It is worse when the withdrawal comes to light after the pairings are announced. The options:
What you must not do is quietly leave the removed player in a pair. They will turn up, wait fifteen minutes and leave with their evening ruined.
This is where a withdrawal hits the opponents hardest. The Buchholz score is the sum of your opponents' points. A player who leaves after round three scores nothing further, so their total stays low. That means everyone who played them ends up with a worse score - through no fault of their own.
This is exactly what the cut Buchholzis for: it discards an opponent's worst result, which most often means the result of the player who left. At tournaments where withdrawals are likely it is worth making it the first tie-break - there is more in tie-break scores.
The second option used in regulations is to credit the departed player with notional results for the unplayed rounds when calculating their opponents' scores. The rules here are not trivial, so it is not worth doing by hand.
Three sentences that settle almost every question:
A player who misses a round without notifying the organiser is removed from the tournament. The results of the games they have played still stand.
A player wishing to leave the tournament must inform the organiser before the next round begins.
Ties are broken by the cut Buchholz score.
The first sentence protects you from silent departures, the second tells players what to do, and the third reduces the damage to their opponents. The full template is in the tournament regulations.
In the Vibe Chess app a withdrawal is handled by clearing a checkbox in the player list: the player stops entering the pairing, while the games they have played stay in the table and in the history.
The games played still stand and count in the table and in the rating. Annulling them would be unfair: the opponents are not to blame for someone leaving later. An exception is possible at official tournaments if it is stated in the regulations in advance.
A no-show is missing a single round, after which the player can return. Removal is leaving the tournament: the player is excluded from the pairing for every remaining round. If you do not take a removed player off the list, their opponents will turn up to empty tables.
The standard solution is to award their opponent a win by default, marked «+». Redoing the pairing is only acceptable if the round has not started and everyone has been told. Sometimes the organiser or a spectator sits down to play the round by agreement.
It makes them worse: the player who left scores no more points, and their total feeds into the Buchholz score of everyone who played them. That is why, at tournaments where withdrawals are likely, the first tie-break is the cut Buchholz - it discards an opponent's worst result.
Announce the finishing time in advance, allow a half-point bye instead of a full withdrawal, do not drag out the breaks between rounds, give prizes for taking part, and do not put beginners up against strong players round after round.
The Vibe Chess app is built for an evening over the board, not for online play: it keeps the sign-up list, the pairings and the table while you deal with people and the venue. All of it free.
score groups, no rematches, no two byes in a row
everyone plays everyone, the app works out the number of rounds
who is free and who is already at a board is shown under Now
The bot is constantly improved based on real tournaments. If you need a feature that isn't there yet, message the developers right inside the bot with the /support command. Many features appeared exactly because organizers asked for them, and useful ideas get added quickly.
Byes - byes and no-shows. Documents - the regulations. Scoring - tie-break scores.
At the board since childhood: hazy about his rating, precise about every rook he has blundered. Counts an evening as a good one if the opponent stayed to talk afterwards instead of rushing off to check with an engine. Message →
