Here is a comparison of three different Swiss tournament pairing programs.
Chess tournament directors may find this useful because computer-assisted
pairing enhances a tournament.

The programs compared are:

   Swiss Perfect 97
   http://www.swissperfect.com/
   Swiss-Sys
   http://www.swisssys.com/
   Windows TD
   http://www.estima.com/chess/
The comparison is based on the downloadable demos found on the web sites
and accompanying documentation.

CRITERIA COMPARED:
   Pairing Rules
   Accelerated pairings
   Allowable Results
   Tie Breaks
   Reports
   Ratings
   Special Tournament Administration Features

PAIRING RULES

   All 3 programs pair a Swiss tournament or round-robin and allow 
      restrictions on pairings (like don't match teammates) and
      manual pairing.
   Only Swiss-Sys provides for "double blitz" style.
   Swiss Perfect 97 and Swiss-Sys provide for FIDE (in addition to USCF)
      pairing rules.

ACCELERATED PAIRINGS:

   Swiss Perfect 97 requires adding extra points to every player in the
      top half which I find inconvenient.  The benefit of this approach
      is that there is total control of the acceleration, however.

   Swiss-Sys gives a yes-no choice for accelerated pairing on each round.

   Windows TD gives the choice of the 3 options listed in the USCF rules
      or accelerated pairings for all rounds.

ALLOWABLE RESULTS

   All 3 allow win, lose, draw, or forfeit.
   Windows TD allows a split result (for example, 1 point for one side,
      1/2 point for the other).
   Swiss Perfect 97 allows for an additional minor score.
   
TIE BREAKS

   Swiss Perfect 97 lists Bucholtz, Median Bucholtz, Progress, Berger,
      Number of Wins, Opponents Rating Sum, Minor Scores, and Brightwell.

   Swiss-Sys lists Average Opposition, Cumulative Score, Game Points,
      Kashdan, Median, Opposition Cumulative Score, Performance of
      Opposition, Sonneborn, Solkoff, and US Amateur.

   Windows TD lists Modified Median, Solkoff, Cumulative, Opponents
      Cumulative, Sonneborn-Berger, Percentage Score, US Amateur (Team),
      Performance Index (Team), and Game/Match Points (Team)

   Only Windows TD does Modified Median, which is the first tie break of
      choice according to USCF rules.

REPORTS

   All 3 programs will list players, pairings, wall charts, and
      standings.
   Swiss Perfect 97 additionally will print pairing cards.
   Windows TD additionally will print prize reports for overall,
      rating groups, and upsets.

RATINGS

   Swiss Perfect 97 and Windows TD have local ratings calculated from
      tournament results.

SPECIAL TOURNAMENT ADMINISTRATION FEATURES

   Swiss Perfect 97 will keep track of Grand Prix Points in a series of
      tournaments.

   Swiss-Sys will produce reports in HTML format so they are ready for
      web publishing.

   Swiss-Sys and Windows TD provide for an export of results in the USCF
      Tournament Administrator format.  This reduces rating fees by USCF.

   Windows TD allows cross round and cross section pairing.

   Windows TD allows entry of results into multiple computers which can
      then be merged.

   Windows TD allows re-entry into a tournament as specified in the USCF
      rules.


SOFTWARE DETAILS:

   Swiss Perfect 97 is 49 USD.
      It will handle 1000 players for 60 rounds.

   Swiss-Sys costs 99 USD.
      It will handle 1000 players for 14 rounds.

   Windows TD costs 90 USD and works with Windows 3.1 or Windows95.
      It will handle 12 rounds.  Maximum players is not specified.


ADDITIONAL PAIRING PROGRAMS:

   Tournament Director (supports British Chess Federation rules and regulations).
   http://www.tournamentdirector.co.uk/

   PAIR PLUS.
   Not available on the internet

   CHESST.
   Not available on the internet.