Call: support and develop SWAR

SWAR, the tournament management software developed by Georges Marchal, is used by the majority of organizers in Belgium. To ensure its continuity, we are looking for a motivated person to help maintain it and, in time, take over its development.

🔍 Profile we’re looking for

• Interest in maintaining and evolving an existing software package.
• Willingness to work alongside Georges during a transition period.
• Long-term ambition to take over the project.
• Knowledge of the chess world is a plus, but not essential.

📣 Why this matters

SWAR has become a central tool for tournament organization in Belgium. It needs to stay up-to-date and reliable to continue serving the community.

📝 Technical background of SWAR

• Language & tools: Written in C++ using Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 (32-bit).
• Libraries: Uses several proprietary libraries (SQLite, zconf, zlib, Curl, JSON, InnoSetup…).
• Size & structure: 176 source files, totaling over 110,000 lines of code.
• Data interfaces: Configuration files maintain connections to the old FRBE site to download databases, submit results to FRBE and FIDE, and generate HTML files for online tournament display.
• Recent changes:
  • FIDE introduced major changes in 2025 that required updates to tie-break calculations.
  • Modifications to Buchholz and Sonneborn–Berger score calculations for unplayed games (Feb 2025).
  • Performance rating now calculated from the second game onwards (Apr 2025).
  • Extensive updates to Buchholz (cut1, cut2, med1, med2) and Sonneborn–Berger methods.
  • Correction of Sonneborn–Berger scoring in case of general forfeits (May 2025).
  • Various minor updates (HTML file naming, added progress slider for large downloads, small usability tweaks).

Key requirement: to maintain SWAR effectively, the developer must have a deep understanding of – or strong willingness to learn – FIDE pairing rules and tie-break systems, as these evolve over time.

🤝 Transition & support

Georges will remain available to train and guide the future developer during the transition.

✉️ Interested?

If you’d like to contribute — or know someone who would — please contact us at steven.bellens@frbe-kbsb-ksb.be.
👉 Further information and the source code are available on request.