A chess tournament organiser's checklist

1. Two weeks out: decisions

Five decisions that everything else follows from

• Decide on your audience: who is playing and at what level
• Estimate the number of players, at least to an order of magnitude
• Choose the system: Swiss or round robin
• Choose the time control and the number of rounds
• Set the date and the finishing time
• Find a venue and confirm the booking
• Decide who runs the tournament and rules on disputes
• Decide whether the tournament is rated

2. A week out: paperwork and the announcement

• Write the regulations: conditions, system, time control, prizes, entries
• Decide the order of the tie-break scores and write it down
• Publish the announcement: what, when, where, for whom and what it costs
• Open registration and state the entry deadline
• Collect the players' details (for rated events, their IDs)
• Arrange the prizes and print the certificates
• Agree with the venue on the time to set the room up and on the question of music

3. The day before: equipment and a reminder

• Check the number of boards: one per two players plus spares
• Check that the sets are complete, spare queens included
• Check the clocks and batteries and set the right time control
• Print the table number cards
• Print the player list and a backup paper scoresheet
• Charge the laptop and take an extension lead
• Send a reminder to everyone signed up: date, time, address

4. On the day: setting up the room

Arrive at least an hour before registration opens

• Set out the tables and chairs and check the gangways
• Lay out the boards in the starting position
• Set every clock the same way on every board
• Put out the table number cards
• Set up a registration table by the entrance
• Prepare a screen or a spot for the sheet with the pairings
• Lay out the prizes in the prizegiving area
• Check the lighting and agree on the volume of the music

5. Registration and the start

• Check off those who came and remove the no-shows
• Add anyone who turned up without signing up
• Assign the starting numbers
• Announce the rules: rounds, time control, phones, late arrivals
• Announce how places are decided when players are level on points
• Make the pairing for round one
• Announce the pairs and check that everyone has started their clock

6. Running the rounds

• Collect the results after every round
• Update the table and announce it to the players
• Make the pairing for the next round
• Settle disputes on the spot and announce the decision out loud
• Keep an eye on the time: no more than 10 minutes between rounds
• Take a break after round three
• Photograph the room, board one and the players' faces

7. Finishing

• Check the final table and the order of the placings
• Call everyone together for the prizegiving straight after the last round
• Hand out the prizes: the special categories first, then the medallists
• Take a group photograph of everyone who played
• Announce the date of the next tournament
• Send the table and the photographs out to the players
• Pack up the equipment and count the pieces and clocks
• For rated tournaments, prepare and submit the report