The whole way from registration to the last move runs through one app. The organiser needs no arbiter's laptop, no pairing program and no separate broadcast system.
live.playvibechess.com is made for a big screen: a projector, a TV, a monitor in the hall. The boards are laid out to fill the whole screen with no scrolling - one game takes the whole wall, six or twelve games of a tournament are laid out in a grid.
A guide for viewers and parents: how to watch a chess tournament broadcast.
On a phone the page opens the same way - by link, without the app and without signing in. There is a light theme for a hall where the projector shines in daylight, and a Full screen button.
Open the Vibe Chess bot in Telegram and press the app button, or go to the web version on a computer. On the Games tab - Create your own game - choose the format: Swiss system, round robin, team tournament, arena. Set the venue, date, time control, number of rounds and number of tables.
Players sign up by the tournament link or QR code; children and guests without a phone are added by the organiser. In detail - how to organise a chess tournament.
The organiser marks attendance and presses Start the tournament. The app makes the pairings by the rules of the chosen system and assigns colours and table numbers. No need to read pairings out loud or pin a sheet to the wall: every player sees on their phone who they play and at which table.
The same round can go on a screen in the hall as a separate page - pairs, tables, points and standings. When every table has finished, the app pairs the next round by itself. How the pairing works - chess tournament pairing online.
A broadcast needs two phones at the table. The easiest way: one player opens the chess clock on their phone, the other puts their phone on a stand with the camera on the board and opens game recording.
The app finds the board in the frame by itself - a green frame settles on its edges. The camera must see all 64 squares; any sensible angle works: from above, from the side at 45°, from White's or Black's side. After the start every piece is labelled on the phone screen, but nobody needs to look at it during play.
More on camera recording - recording a chess game with a phone camera and chessboard recognition with a camera.
A player starts the clock - and recording on the camera phone starts by itself. The app records every move and sends it straight over the internet to the Vibe Chess server, and live.playvibechess.com picks up new moves every few seconds. Viewers see a move almost the same second as the players at the board.
During the game the camera phone has a Board tab: the recorded position, whose move it is and the list of moves. The organiser can walk up to any table and check the record against the board - but players do not need to look at that screen.
On the broadcast page viewers see the board and the moves, not the camera picture.
Checkmate and stalemate are spotted automatically. Resignation, a draw or a flag fall are marked by the players on the clock - recording stops and the result appears large on the broadcast board. The result goes into the tournament table, and the app pairs the next round by itself.
The recorded game stays with the players in the app: it can be stepped through move by move and analysed by an engine - an evaluation graph, mistakes and best moves.
No step needs a person: no broadcast operator, no arbiter at a laptop, no volunteer copying moves. If there is a camera at the table, the game is on air.
The broadcast runs over the internet, so the hall needs a stable connection at every table with a camera: venue Wi-Fi or a good mobile network, ideally with a backup channel. What matters is that the connection does not drop, and if every camera uses one venue network, test it under load in advance - with several phones at once. It is easier for players to install the app on their phone in advance: it then works directly, without Telegram or a VPN. In detail - internet for a chess tournament broadcast.
A detailed checklist with a fan zone and a commentator - how to prepare for a chess tournament broadcast.
The arbiter and the players do not need to press "start broadcast", "start recording" or "stop recording". Everything follows the normal course of the tournament:
No electronic boards. All you need on top of a normal tournament set is phones and stands. The players usually have the phones already.
| What | How many | Which |
|---|---|---|
| Clock phone | 1 per table | Any smartphone with the Vibe Chess app. Usually one of the players' phones. |
| Camera phone | 1 per table | A modern smartphone - a recent iPhone or Android. Its main camera faces the board. |
| Stand or tripod | 1 per table | A flexible clip-on holder costs a few dollars; a desk tripod will do too. |
| Board and pieces | 1 set per table | Any ordinary ones: a vinyl board and plastic pieces, wooden ones, tournament sets. |
| Internet | at the camera phone | Mobile data or venue Wi-Fi: the moves go to the broadcast over the network. |
| Charging | optional | A power bank or an extension lead at the table - for a long tournament with a camera. |
| Screen or projector | optional | If you want to show the broadcast in the hall: a laptop or a TV with a browser. |
Boards and pieces for events - chess sets for events.
A broadcast is also a full record of the tournament. Every game played with a camera is saved in the app with all its moves: after the round it can be opened, stepped through move by move and analysed by an engine. The app calculates each player's accuracy and shows mistakes and blunders.
For the arbiter the record works as a virtual arbiter. The moves are recorded together with the clock: you can see who made which move and in what order. If an illegal move is made on the board, the app notices it and stops recording at the last legal position - a dispute about "how the pieces stood" is settled by the record, not by the players' memory.
Analysing a recorded game - chess game analysis in the app. The arbiter's role at an amateur tournament - a host and an arbiter for a tournament.
The broadcast works in every format of the app: every game with a camera goes on air, whatever system paired it.
| Electronic boards | Vibe Chess phone camera | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per table | hundreds of dollars | a stand for a few dollars |
| Board and pieces | only its own set | any ordinary ones |
| Connection | cables, a laptop, a program | a phone and internet |
| Pairings and standings | a separate program | in the same app |
| Broadcast page | set up separately | live.playvibechess.com - straight away |
| Game analysis | export and a program | a button in the app |
We build the app ourselves and are open to working together. If your tournament needs something beyond what is described above, write to us and we will adapt the broadcast for you.
Create a tournament in the Vibe Chess app and start it - the app makes the pairings by itself. At each table put a phone with the chess clock and a second phone on a stand with its camera on the board and game recording open. Every game of the tournament appears straight away on live.playvibechess.com.
No. Any ordinary boards and pieces will do. The moves are recorded by a phone camera.
The app and the broadcast page are free. The only cost is a phone stand for each table, a few dollars, and your own phones if the players do not have enough.
Two per table: one runs the chess clock, the other is the camera. For the camera a modern smartphone works - a recent iPhone or Android; the clock runs on any phone.
No. A game appears in the broadcast as soon as camera recording is opened at the table. Recording starts when the clock is started on the second phone and ends on checkmate or when the players mark the result.
On live.playvibechess.com - in a browser on a computer, a TV or a phone, without the app and without signing in. It can go on a projector in the hall.
Yes. Open live.playvibechess.com by link - the game is visible move by move the same second as in the hall.
Swiss and round-robin systems, team tournaments, leagues, the arena, as well as free play and one-on-one games.
Yes. Every game recorded with a camera is saved with all its moves: it can be stepped through and analysed by an engine in the app.
Yes, write to us on Telegram. We build the app ourselves and adapt the broadcast to your tournament: a delay, a logo, a separate page, game exports.
There are no club or arbiter roles in the app: the create button is available to everyone. You can announce a tournament today and run it this weekend.
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.
A turnkey broadcast with your own design and a delay - order a chess tournament broadcast. The platform the broadcast runs on - a platform for broadcasting chess games. A step-by-step checklist before the tournament - how to prepare for a chess tournament broadcast. Recording a single game - recording a chess game with a phone camera. What recognition can do - chessboard recognition with a camera. Analysing recorded games - chess game analysis. Every way of showing a game to spectators, from a plywood board to a projector - demo boards and broadcasting.
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 →
