Run a chess tournamentfrom entry list to final standings
Swiss, all-play-all or a knockout. Classical, rapid or blitz. Individual or in teams. You fix the number of rounds, players enter themselves, and after every round the next pairing is ready with the tie-breaks already worked out.
What a chess tournament looks like
Five rounds side by side, each pairing following from the results of the round before. A draw is half a point, and there are boards rather than courts and times.
- The number of rounds is fixed up front, whatever the field size
- A draw is half a point, a bye is credited as a win
- Boards as a resource, with no playing times if you do not want them
What you hand over as an arbiter
In chess the next round does not exist until the last one has been played. That is not a scheduling detail, it is the whole format.
Nobody goes home after one round
- You fix the number of rounds in advance, because it does not follow from the size of the field
- Each round is paired on what has been played so far, so equal scores meet equal scores
- Nobody is eliminated, everybody plays every round
- The odd player out is credited with the round rather than left a point behind
- Level scores are separated on the strength of the opposition
- Buchholz or Sonneborn-Berger, in the order you set
The shape that fits your day
- Classical for a tournament across several days
- Rapid for a day, blitz for an evening
- An all-play-all for a small, closed field
- A bracket or a double elimination draw where a knockout is wanted
- Boards and playing times per round, so the hall adds up
Individually and in teams, in one tournament
- Individual events for classical, rapid and blitz
- Teams of four to eight boards, with reserves around them
- Players confirm for themselves that they are in the team
- Groups by age and rating, so the juniors get a section of their own
- A win, a draw or a loss per game, with points per result that you set
And the rest of the Saturday
Around the chess sits the work an arbiter loses a morning to.
Entries without a list
Entrants sign up themselves. You know who is in the room before round one, and a withdrawal on the morning is handled before you pair rather than after. Paying online is coming soon.
A table that is right immediately
Results go in per board and the standings work themselves out. The next round can be paired straight from them, so the break between rounds stays a break.
Everything else that comes with it
Players see their rounds, their opponent and their board on their phone. If a round runs late or the hall is rearranged, you republish and everybody is told.
Chess tournament questions
How many rounds should I set?+
In a Swiss that is yours to decide, and the system insists on an answer. A Swiss section cannot derive its rounds from the size of the field the way a pool or a bracket does, so without a number the section is refused rather than guessed at.
How is a tie at the top decided?+
On the strength of the opposition, because in a Swiss nobody plays the whole field and two equal scores therefore do not mean the same thing. Buchholz and Sonneborn-Berger are both there, and you decide which applies first.
Can we run a club championship instead of a tournament?+
Yes. For a small closed group an all-play-all is the right shape: everybody meets everybody once. For an open Saturday that is impossible, and Swiss is the answer.
We play in teams of eight boards.+
That is a team event of four to eight players with a wider squad around it. The captain invites their players, each one confirms, and the match is decided by what happens on the boards.
Your chess tournament is sorted before round one starts
Create a free account, set your sections and your rounds and share the link with the clubs around you. Keeping the entry list is off your desk from then on. Publishing and taking entries are part of the free plan; the draw, the playing schedule and live results come with a paid plan.