Start from how much time you have. If the tournament runs in a lesson or homeroom - blitz 5+0 or 10+0, one round per session. If it's an after-school club, play several rounds of rapid 10+5 in a row.
Estimate the rounds by the field: 8-16 kids - 5 rounds, 17-32 - 6. Stretch them over a week at one a day or run them all on one competition day - the bot handles both.
School-tournament regulations fit on one page and settle every question. What to include:
This is the key point of a school tournament: younger kids often have no phone, and older ones can't always use one in class. So it matters that the bot doesn't require Telegram from every child. The teacher only needs one phone.
The organizer adds pupils as guests by name - they play in the common draw, and the teacher or a helper enters their results. Parents install nothing, and the bot collects no extra data about children - only names for the table. Convenient and safe.
Everything is run from the teacher's bot Vibe Chess Bot: /create_tournament creates it, /start_tournament deals pairings and tables, /next_round starts the next round. Kids see their table number and sit down to play. At the end /finish_tournament shows the final table. Full commands are in the organizer guide; for a single class see the classroom tournament breakdown.
No. One teacher's phone with the bot is enough. Kids without Telegram are added by the teacher as guests by name - they play like everyone else, and the teacher enters their results. That makes it workable even in the younger grades.
For a tournament it needs only participants' names to show them in the pairing and results table. No phones or addresses are requested, and parents install nothing.
One page is enough: who plays, dates, format (Swiss), number of rounds, time control, Buchholz tie-break and prizes. That minimum settles most questions before the start.
Guide: 8-16 players - 5 rounds, 17-32 - 6, 33-64 - 7. The Swiss system finds a winner in a small number of rounds even with a big field, so a whole-class tournament is realistic over a week.
That's exactly what the Swiss system is for: after round one it pairs strong with strong and beginners with beginners. From the second round almost all games are between equals - interesting and not discouraging for weaker players.
Everything people usually keep in a spreadsheet is already in the app: pairings, points, tie-breaks, round order. Free, with no subscriptions and no cap on the number of players.
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.
For a single class - classroom tournament. For a club - chess club tournaments. At a camp - tournament over a camp session. General prep - how to organize a tournament.
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 →
