For chess tournament organisers: everything in one place

Alexey Mudry · updated October 26, 2026

Here are all our guides for people who run chess tournaments: clubs, schools, companies and federations. Preparation, rules, arbiting, broadcasting, working with players and money - by topic, with links. And the tournaments themselves can be run in the Vibe Chess app: sign-up, pairings, results, rating and game broadcasts - for free.

An app for the organiser

• sign-up by link and QR code, a player list, guests without a phone;
• pairings - Swiss, round robin, arena, team, casual meetup;
• results are entered by players, the organiser corrects them and settles disputes;
• game broadcasts from phone cameras and a hall screen for the projector;
• results - to every player right after the tournament, the table as a PDF;
• rating and leagues - your club's own rating and seasons of stages.

Where to start - how to organize a chess tournament.

Preparing a tournament

Where to start and what not to forget a week before, the day before and on the day.

How to organize a chess tournamentstep by step, from idea to prize-giving Organiser's checklistwhat to do and when Tournament regulationswhat to set out in advance Venue agreementtwelve clauses Season calendarthe whole season A tournament for 100 playersbig-tournament logistics Multi-day tournamentschedule and postponements

Formats and pairings

Which system to choose and how pairings, colours and tiebreaks work.

Swiss system onlinea free tournament in the app How many Swiss roundsby number of players Round robineveryone plays everyone Team tournamentteams and boards Casual meetupan evening without pairings Bughousepairs on two boards Chess ladderchallenges within a club Groups within a tournamentbeginners and experienced players in one event Online pairinground pairings in seconds Colour in the first rounddrawing lots and the rules Accelerated pairingsfor big opens Buchholz scorewho ranks higher on equal points

Arbiting and disputed cases

What the arbiter does when something goes against the rules.

The arbiter's panel in the appevery button and when to press it How results are recordedclock, camera, players and arbiter A record as evidencewhat a record shows in a dispute How many arbiterswho does what Illegal movepenalties in blitz and rapid Flag fallwho claims and when it is a draw Touch-movedisputed cases Draw offerwhen and how Late arrival and forfeitwhen a loss is recorded Double forfeitpoints for both and the record Phones in the hallthe FIDE rule Pairing errorif the pairings are wrong Manual pairing changeswhen the arbiter may step in Appealhow to appeal Arbiter's reportwhat goes to the federation

Broadcasting and the hall screen

How to show games to spectators in the hall and online.

Live tournament broadcasthow games get online Preparing a broadcastnine steps Internet for a broadcastwhat network the hall needs Hall screenpairings and table on a projector Projector or TVsize, brightness, connection Fan zonea place for spectators Commentatorwhom to invite and how to run the stream How to watch a broadcasta guide for viewers Record your own gameat any tournament Tournament without internetplan B

Players and attendance

How to gather people so they come and come back.

Announcement templatesTelegram, Facebook, a poster Reducing no-showsreminders and confirmation Waiting listwhen there are more people than places Organiser cardreviews, rules, venue photos Collecting feedbacka rating after the tournament A player without a phonechildren and older players Keeping playerswhy newcomers do not come back

Results and publishing

What to do after the last round.

Publishing resultswhere and how fast Results as PDFa table for printing and the prize-giving Sharing prizeson equal points Photos and contentwhat to shoot and publish Report for sponsorsfigures, photos, reach

Money and documents

Entry fees, prizes, budget and paperwork.

Prize fundhow to raise and distribute it What a tournament coststhree budget scenarios Forms and protocolswhat to prepare Parental consentchildren's photos and data A FIDE-rated tournamentan official tournament

Leagues, children and special tournaments

Seasons, junior tournaments and unusual formats.

Club leaguea season of stages Children's tournamentgroups and guests Junior tournament broadcastfor parents Your child lostwhat parents can say Age categoriesFIDE and national groups Charity tournamentin support of a charity Chess marathona format for festivals

Did not find an answer? Write to the developers

If the guide you need is missing or the app lacks a feature for your tournament - write to the developers, the link is at the bottom of the page. Your own broadcast page, a delay, special league rules and help with a big tournament - by arrangement: live chess tournament broadcasts.

Run a tournament in the Vibe Chess app

Sign-up, pairings, results, rating and broadcasting - in one app. Free.

Open the Vibe Chess app

Frequently asked questions from organisers

Where do I start organising a chess tournament?

With the format, date and venue. Step by step - in How to organize a chess tournament and the organiser's checklist.

How much does it cost to run a tournament in the Vibe Chess app?

Nothing: creating a tournament, pairing, entering results and broadcasting are free.

Which tournament formats does the app support?

Swiss and round-robin systems, arena, team Swiss, casual meetups, bughouse and one-on-one games.

Do I need an arbiter if the tournament runs in the app?

The app takes care of pairings and scoring, but disputed cases are decided by a person - the organiser or an arbiter. How many arbiters you need is covered separately.

Free

The app instead of arbiter software

Pairings are computed by bbpPairings, an open-source engine implementing the Dutch system by FIDE rules: score groups, floats on an odd field, colour alternation. Free to use.

1The event is created in the app in a minute
2Players register themselves through the link
3The engine pairs every round, not the organizer
4The finished tournament exports as a TRF file that arbiter software accepts

Swiss system. proper rounds with correct pairings, not random matchups
Round robin. a full circle, with the round count derived from the field
Free meetup. a light format with no tournament machinery

Open 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

Start with the essentials: how to organize a tournament, the organiser's checklist and the arbiter's panel.

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 →