A 12-hour chess marathon: format and schedule

Alexey Mudry · updated October 26, 2026

A chess marathon is not one very long tournament but a day when the chess never stops: from morning till evening, sometimes till the next morning. Players like it because they can come at any hour; organisers like it because it is an event people talk about. Below - three marathon formats, a sample 12-hour schedule, how to keep overall standings and how to build a marathon in the Vibe Chess app.

Three marathon formats

Format	How it works	Why it is good
A series of tournaments	several tournaments in a row: blitz, rapid, team, a final	each block has its own prize-winners, easy to come for part of it
Back-to-back arenas	blocks of 2-4 hours, play as many games as you like in each	come and go at any moment, no waiting for a round
Open play	boards and clocks all day, no pairing	for a festival or charity, where taking part matters more than places

A mix works best: an arena at the start and at the end, when people come and go, and a paired tournament in the middle of the day, when the hall is full. In an arena, a new game starts as soon as a table and an opponent are free.

A sample 12-hour schedule

Time	What is on	Comment
10:00-12:00	a 3+2 arena to warm up	open to everyone
12:00-13:00	lunch break	a simultaneous exhibition for anyone who wants
13:00-16:00	a Swiss tournament, rapid 10+5	the main block of the day
16:00-16:30	break	prize-giving for the tournament
16:30-19:30	a 3+2 arena	people arrive after work and classes
19:30-20:00	break	counting the marathon standings before the final
20:00-22:00	a final blitz or a team tournament	the marathon prize-giving at the end

Breaks between blocks are a must - for players and organisers alike. Very few can manage twelve hours of play without a pause, and a hall without a break becomes a hall of tired people by the evening.

Overall marathon standings

A marathon has two kinds of awards - and both should be announced in advance:

• Block prize-winners - the winner of each arena and each tournament. They are awarded at the end of the block, while people are in the hall.
• The marathon standings - who scored most over the whole day, or who played the most games. The latter is especially popular at festivals: an award for stamina, not strength.

If the standings add up points from different blocks, agree how to compare an arena and a tournament: for example, points for the place in each block, as in a league.

People, food and rest

• organisers and arbiters work in shifts: one person will not last 12 hours;
• food and water in the hall or nearby - the breaks are short;
• a place to rest outside the playing area;
• sockets and power banks: phones with the clock run all day;
• for a 24-hour marathon - a night shift of organisers and a clear note that people may leave at night and come back.

The Coffee Bean hall is full: players watching games and waiting for the next round — A Vibe Chess tournament in Moscow City: a full hall for the main evening block.

A player in a burgundy sweater thinking over a move, a phone clock beside her — A Vibe Chess tournament in Moscow City: a full hall for the main evening block.

A marathon at a festival and for a charity

A marathon fits well into a festival - as its all-day chess part: a chess festival. And "12 hours of chess in support of a charity" is a clear reason for a charity event, where taking part matters more than places: a charity chess tournament.

A marathon of arenas in the Vibe Chess app

An arena in the app lasts from 10 minutes to 4 hours. So a marathon is built from several arenas and tournaments in a row:

• each block is its own event with its own schedule and sign-up;
• in an arena pairs are made automatically as soon as a table is free - come and go whenever you like;
• the Vibe Chess rating changes with every game in every block;
• each block's results are ready as soon as it ends;
• the hall screen shows the current block's table.

An arena card before the start: all 11 players checked in, 4 tables, a warning that some pairs will wait, a start button — A marathon block is an arena: one button to start.

An arena card on the organiser's screen during play: players with wins, draws and losses, buttons to pause the arena and to finish it early — The arena is running: the organiser can pause or finish early.

The app does not yet calculate overall standings across several blocks - they are compiled from the block results. Need marathon standings right in the app - write to the developers, the link is at the bottom of the page.

A marathon of arenas - in one app

In the Vibe Chess app an arena pairs players as soon as a table is free, and the rating counts every game. Create the first block of your marathon for free.

Open the Vibe Chess app

Frequently asked questions about a chess marathon

What is a chess marathon?

An event where chess goes on all day without a break for hours: a series of tournaments, back-to-back arenas or open play for 6, 12 or 24 hours.

How do I make a marathon schedule?

Split the day into blocks of 2-4 hours in different formats and put 30-60 minute breaks between them.

How is the marathon winner decided?

Award the prize-winners of each block and separately compile overall standings: by the sum of points for places in blocks or by the number of games played.

How many organisers does a marathon need?

At least two shifts: one person will not last 12 hours. A 24-hour marathon needs a separate night shift.

Can a marathon be run in the Vibe Chess app?

Yes, from several arenas and tournaments in a row: an arena lasts up to 4 hours, and in each block pairs are made automatically. The organiser compiles the overall standings across blocks.

Create your own tournament for free

The Vibe Chess app opens from a link and needs no installation. Setting up a tournament takes a minute: pick the system, set the date, the venue and the time control - the app handles the rest.

Swiss system
for a large field: opponents are matched by score, you choose the number of rounds
Round robin
for a small circle: everyone plays everyone, the round count follows from the field
Free meetup
no rounds, no pairings: players sign up and pick opponents at the table

Create a tournament in the app

More than a bot: the app, FIDE rules and a TRF report

The app. Besides the bot there is an app - inside Telegram and simply at playvibechess.com/app: what is on in your city, the player list, a live table, the current round, your profile and game history - everything that is awkward to read as chat messages.
Pairings by FIDE rules. Pairings are computed by bbpPairings, an open-source engine implementing the Dutch system: score groups, floats on an odd field, colour alternation, no rematches, and no player gets a bye twice.
A TRF report. A finished tournament exports as a single file in the FIDE data exchange format - the one arbiter software and federations accept. Your profile stores the FIDE ID, national federation code, title, sex and date of birth for it.
Free. All of the above, with no subscriptions, paid plans or limits on the number of tournaments and players.

Full overview

Missing a feature? Message the developers

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.

What to read next

More about big events: a chess festival, a tournament for 100 players and a charity chess tournament.

Alexey Mudry · hosted 37 events for Vibe Chess · 157 reviews · rating 5.0

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 →