Regulus manages Swiss-system chess tournaments with FIDE Dutch pairings and FIDE tie-breaks in force from 2026. It runs in the browser: no installation needed. Regulus is independent software, not endorsed by FIDE.
Other manual pages:
- Managing a tournament: registrations, rounds, results, byes, corrections, printouts.
- Importing and exporting: Vega, FIDE TRF, backup.
- Site administration: options, updating the FIDE list with cron.
Without an account or with an account
Without an account you can create and arbiter a complete tournament. The tournament is saved only in the browser and on the device you are using: if you change computer, browser or delete browsing data, you lose it. To move it or secure it use the backup (see Import and export).
With a site account (registration is free) you can also:
- save the tournament online and open it from any device;
- arbiter it together with other arbiters in your group;
- publish it: standings, pairings and results visible to players and public;
- invite by e-mail the people who need to follow it (read-only).
Without an account, the menu shows "Player archive" and "Settings" only when there is at least one tournament on the device.
Without an account, next to Save of the tournament details you find the link to create a free account and share the tournament.
A tournament saved on the device is modified in one browser tab at a time: if you open it in a second tab, Regulus notifies you and suggests Use it in this tab (the first stops modifying it). This way two tabs do not overwrite each other's changes.
The ⤢ button in the top right shows Regulus in full screen, without menu and site header; ⤡ returns to the normal page.
Creating the tournament
- On the Tournaments page press New tournament. The Details tab opens.
- Fill in the details and press Save.
If you exit without saving anything (name, players), Regulus warns you and deletes the empty tournament.
Alternatively, from the menu ▾ next to New tournament, you can import a tournament prepared with Vega (see Importing and exporting).
General details
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Event name | Required. |
| Chief arbiter, Deputy arbiter, Venue | Optional; appear in the file for FIDE. |
| Host federation | 3-letter code, usually ITA. |
| Start date, End date | Suggested with today's date. The start date is also used to calculate age groups. |
| Pairing system | Swiss (FIDE Dutch), round robin or double round robin. Cannot be changed after round 1. |
| Number of rounds | From 1 to 99. Can be increased even after the tournament has started. In round robin it depends on the number of players. |
Suggested rounds from end date. As long as you do not choose the number of rounds yourself, changing the end date, Regulus suggests rounds and calendar:
- less than 5 days: two rounds a day;
- less than 10 days: one round a day;
- from 10 days to 3 weeks: the minimum number of rounds per week that gives at least 5 rounds, always on the same days of the week;
- over 3 weeks: one round per week.
You can then correct the number of rounds and dates by hand. If there is at most one round a day, the time entered for round 1 applies to all rounds.
Time control
Choose a preset time control (90+30, 30+15, 12+3, 5+3) or enter minutes and increment. The app suggests the FIDE rating to use according to FIDE regulations: standard from 60 minutes and above for 60 moves, rapid between 10 and 60, blitz up to 10. You can change it.
Tie-breaks depend on the system: in Swiss, Buchholz with the worst removed, then Buchholz; in round robin, Sonneborn-Berger, then number of wins.
Round robin
Everyone plays everyone else (twice in double round robin, with colours reversed in the second round). The pairings are those of the FIDE Berger tables, with the pairing number as the table number; with an odd number of players, one player has a bye each round. The number of rounds is fixed when registration closes; there are no late registrations or requested byes, and anyone who does not show up loses by forfeit.
Round calendar
Optional. For each round you can enter the start date and time. To avoid entering them one by one:
- enter the date and time of round 1 (if the date is missing, start from the tournament start date);
- choose the frequency: every week, every day or same day (rapid tournaments in one day);
- press Fill the other rounds from round 1;
- correct by hand any exceptions (a round moved, a different time) and press Save.
Date and time appear in the rounds page, in the printouts of the pairings and in the HTML page to be published. The dates (without time) also go into the TRF file for FIDE.
Byes and absences
| Setting | Default | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Pairing-allocated bye | 1 point | Points for players who are without an opponent because the number of players is odd. Cannot be changed after round 1. |
| Requested bye | ½ point | Points for those who ask in advance to skip a round (or 0). |
| Max requested byes | 2 | Per player; 0 = no limit. |
| Last rounds without requested byes | 2 | In the last rounds, the requested bye is not provided; the arbiter can grant it anyway. |
| Points per missed round (late entry) | 0 | For each round already played when the player registers (0 or ½). |
| Last round to join | 2 | After this round, registrations are closed. |
| Board 1 colour, round 1 | Drawing of lots | Or White or Black. Cannot be changed after round 1. |
Age groups
Used for category prizes (U8, U10, …, Over 65). The age is the age reached on the first day of the tournament, calculated from the player's date of birth. You can modify the groups or add more.
Forbidden pairs
Groups of players who must never meet each other (for example parent and child), not even for some rounds only. They are added after the players are registered: select them, enter from the round and to the round (empty = until the end) and save the details.
Print header and language
- Printout language: Italian or English, independent of the site language.
- Print header: club name and logo, at the top of every page of the tournament and in printouts. The default ones are set once in Settings and apply to all tournaments; in each tournament you can replace them (for example with a sponsor's logo). Where missing, for online tournaments the name and logo of the group of arbiters are used (what whoever follows the tournament from another device sees).
Player archive
The Player archive collects all players entered, with ID and FIDE rating, ID and Italian rating, title, national category, date of birth, sex and club. When you register a player, you search for them by name or ID and the app retrieves their details; the rating is "photographed" at registration, so the tournament does not change if you later update the archive.
With an account, your group of arbiters' archive is enriched with the players from tournaments saved online and is shared among the arbiters of the group.
Save online and share
Available to registered users, from the Reports tab of the tournament.
- Press Save online and choose the group of arbiters (or create a new one: just give it a name).
- Choose who can see the tournament: - Public: appears in the list of tournaments on the site; anyone can see it. Its address is easy to read, made up of the group name, title and start date, and does not change even if you later rename the tournament or group; - Unlisted: only those who receive the link; - Private: only the arbiters of the group and the invited people.
- Copy the link to share, or invite by e-mail the people who need to follow the tournament: they receive a personal link in read-only, valid for 6 months. Those who lose it can ask for a new one from the Tournaments page, with Lost the link to a tournament?.
Those reading see confirmed pairings, results, standings and printouts; they do not see dates of birth nor pairings still in draft.
Groups of arbiters
On the Groups page you manage the groups you belong to: name, website, logo and arbiters. With Invite an arbiter you enter an e-mail address: if the person does not have an account, they receive an invitation to create one for free and, after signing in, become an arbiter of the group. All arbiters of a group can manage its tournaments. If two arbiters modify the same tournament at the same time, the second save is rejected and the app asks to reload.