A zone that needs no power socket, no stage and no sound system
We bring the boards, clocks and hosts, set up the zone and run it for as long as the programme needs: an hour, half a day or the whole day. A schoolchild and a pensioner end up at the same table - for a city event that is half the job done.
From the site we need level ground, tables and shade. Everything else is on us.
Chess is a rare activity where a schoolchild and a pensioner end up at the same table and both are interested. For a city event that is half the job done
No electricity, no water, no stage, no sound. That makes agreeing a spot in the park far simpler
The zone does not compete with the stage and does not bother neighbours on the site: all you hear is the clocks
Spectators gather around the players of their own accord - the zone looks lively even in a quiet hour
From three tables on a weekday to twenty on City Day: you add boards and hosts, and the mechanics stay the same
Photographs of people at the boards against the park - material for your posters and for your report
The tables run for several hours in a row and a host explains the rules. People come up and play one or two games
An hour to an hour and a half, a results table, a winner. Works well towards the evening, once the crowd has gathered
A strong player against ten to twenty challengers. The most spectacular format for the site
A separate block for schoolchildren with short games and prizes - usually the most popular part of the programme
A regular fixture: every Saturday in the same spot in the park. People start coming specially
City Day, Youth Day, Sports Day, a festival in the park: the zone runs alongside the other activities
The formats in detail - a simultaneous exhibition, blitz in an evening, a children's tournament, a neighbourhood tournament, a tournament at a festival.
Everything that breaks an outdoor tournament is known in advance, so it is easier to agree on it before the event than on the day of the celebration.
Tarmac, paving or packed earth. On grass the tables wobble and the pieces fall over at every move
In the sun the board is flooded with glare and play is impossible. You need the shade of trees, an awning or a marquee - this is the key point on the whole list
Ordinary rectangular ones: two people per table. If the site has none of its own, we discuss hire separately
In a strong wind light pieces and scoresheets blow away. A marquee with side walls or a sheltered spot solves it
We agree it in advance: move under cover, shift the time or cancel. Wet boards mean ruined equipment and a ruined day
And straight away, a frequent question: we have no giant floor chess - only ordinary tournament-size equipment. What exactly we bring - chess boards for a tournament.
Write to us: what the site and city are, the date, how many hours it should run and whether there is cover. We reply the same day - we work out the tables and hosts and give you a price.
No. Our equipment is ordinary tournament size: boards, clocks, scoresheets. If you specifically need life-size floor pieces, we will tell you honestly that we are not the people for that, and point you in the right direction.
We discuss it in advance and fix a plan: move under cover, shift the time or cancel with no hard feelings. You cannot play in the rain - the paper gets soaked, the pieces get slippery, and the equipment is fit for the bin afterwards.
No, none at all. The clocks are mechanical, and the pairings and the table live in an app on the host's phone. For a park site this is often the deciding argument.
We do not quote figures from other people's celebrations. Work it out from the mechanics: one board handles six to twelve people an hour, then multiply by the number of tables and hours of operation.
The host keeps order in the zone and oversees the play, but responsibility for the child stays with the accompanying adult. We are not a playground and we do not replace supervision.
Yes: your own branding in the zone, your own tournament name, your own prizes. The rules of play remain the FIDE rules.
Outdoors - no: nobody plays in the frost for longer than five minutes, and the clocks and fingers give up at the same time. In winter the format moves indoors: a library, a community centre, a shopping centre, a café.
On the site's side - yes, as for any activity: the spot, the time, vehicle access for unloading. We work with what you have agreed; we do not obtain permits ourselves.
One for a small zone, two for a tournament with a results table or a simul. For a large city celebration we plan to the programme.
Yes, and that is the best option: people remember a standing chess day in the park and start coming on their own, without any posters.
Indoor venues for bad weather and winter - a shopping centre, a library, a restaurant. City formats - a tournament at a celebration, a mass tournament. For companies - corporate tournaments.
