At camp phones are often handed in. Children are added as guests by name and the counsellor enters the results - only the counsellor needs a phone.
Every child goes into the "My guests" list. The second and third tournaments of the session are put together from that list in a minute.
Groups inside a tournament: younger cabins separate from older ones. Their own pairings, their own standings, their own prize winners.
It started raining? Put together a round robin for six from the list in five minutes.
Pairings and standings on a TV or projector, with the "No photos on the screen" switch - names only.
An A4 results sheet in PDF with places by group - certificates are signed from it, and it goes on the camp noticeboard.
Swiss pairings come from the bbpPairings engine, round robins from Berger tables. No working out pairings in the staff room at night.
Everything runs through the Telegram bot @vibechessbot, and on a laptop through the web version.
Open the Vibe Chess bot and its app button, or the web version. Games - "Create your own game" - "Swiss-system tournament". Venue - the porch or the camp hall, date and time, 10+5 rapid and five rounds: a game takes 15-25 minutes, and the tournament fits between rest hour and dinner. The number of tables is the number of boards with clocks the camp has. Switch on "Private tournament" so it does not appear in the city feed.
On the player list screen the counsellor types the children into the guest name field - best with the cabin straight away: "Jake Miller, cabin 1". A guest plays like everyone else, and the counsellor enters their result. If the counsellor is not playing, they switch themselves off next to their own name.
Younger cabins get little out of playing older ones. "Split into groups" - and each child gets a letter: A for cabins 1-3, B for cabins 4-5. Pairings are made only inside a group, each has its own standings and prize winners, and the rounds run at the same time.
"Close registration" - "Start the tournament", and round one is announced. When a game ends, the counsellor taps the table in the pairings list and picks the outcome: a win for white or black, a draw, a forfeit. The counsellor's word is final, with no dispute window. When the last result of a round is in, the next one starts by itself. Need a break for snack time? "Pause the tournament".
The tournament card has "Show the tournament on a screen". Switch on "No photos on the screen" and open the link on the laptop by the TV or projector: pairings and standings by group, names only, and the page updates by itself. Children who have finished watch the screen instead of crowding round other people's boards.
After the last round the tournament finishes on its own. "Final standings" works out places separately in each group, and ties on points are broken by the Buchholz score and Berger. "Standings as a PDF sheet" sends an A4 sheet for the cabin noticeboard.
It is raining and nobody can go outside - the perfect time for chess. Create a round robin for six: everyone plays everyone, and the app works out the number of rounds itself - five for six players. On the player list screen tap the "My guests" button next to the name field: every child you have added is there - tap a name and the child is in the line-up. No retyping.
How a round robin schedule works is covered in Berger tables.
For the final tournament of the session the children are gathered the same way, from the list. If you start typing a name by hand, the app tells you such a guest already exists - so no duplicates appear in the list. Each child's entry keeps count of the session's tournaments: you can see at once who played in all of them - and give them a separate certificate for persistence.
The final is run just like the opening tournament: groups, rounds, a screen without faces, final standings and a PDF results sheet for certificates at the closing ceremony.
Yes. Children are added as guests by name, and the counsellor enters the results. Only the counsellor needs a phone with internet.
Every child you add goes into the My guests list. In the next tournament you pick them from the list, and while you type a name the app tells you such a guest already exists.
Split the tournament into groups: for example, A for cabins 1-3 and B for cabins 4-5. Pairings are made only inside a group, and each group has its own standings and prize winners.
Only the counsellor's phone needs internet. Pick a spot where mobile data works, or share it from another phone. The app does not work offline.
Yes: Show the tournament on a screen with No photos on the screen switched on. Only names stay on the TV or projector.
No, the app has no separate helper rights: guest results are entered by the tournament organiser.
The app is free: tournaments, pairings, the screen and the PDF results sheet. It runs in Telegram through the @vibechessbot bot, and on a laptop at playvibechess.com/app.
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.
With no app involved - summer camp chess tournament and running a chess club for kids. The same app for other audiences - school, beginners', student and corporate tournaments.
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 →
