Chess Tournament FAQ: the big organizer's guide

1. Up to 8-10 players you can use round-robin (everyone plays everyone), the fairest. From 10 people use the Swiss: everyone plays the same number of rounds, nobody is eliminated, pairings are by score.

2. A format where everyone plays a fixed number of rounds, nobody drops out after a loss, and each round you're paired with an opponent who has roughly the same score. Over a few rounds the leaders naturally rise to the top.

3. A tournament where everyone plays everyone once. The fairest format, but it needs many rounds: 8 people means 7 rounds, 12 means 11. So round-robin is only used for small groups.

4. In a knockout the loser is out after one game, having played just once. In the Swiss nobody is eliminated: everyone plays the same number of rounds to the end, so the tournament is more fun for everyone, not just the finalists.

5. There's usually no point: one format is chosen for the whole tournament. But big events sometimes split into stages - a Swiss qualifier and a round-robin final among the leaders. For an amateur tournament that's overkill.

6. Yes, ideally. It pairs players by strength after round one, so a beginner child plays fellow beginners rather than losing again and again to strong players. Fun and not discouraging for everyone.

7. Guide: 8-16 players - 5 rounds, 17-32 - 6, 33-64 - 7, 65-128 - 8-9. The round count grows like the binary logarithm of the field, so even a hundred people play just 8-9 rounds.

8. Several players score the same, and the winner is decided only by the Buchholz coefficient - less obvious than a clean win on points. For a short event that's acceptable.

9. The last rounds pair leaders whose fate is already sealed, while the tail plays on without suspense. The tournament drags without benefit. Better to stick to the field-size guide.

10. Technically the round count is set at creation. Plan it in advance by the field. If you really need to, check the option via /support in the bot.

11. Blitz 3+2 or 5+0 for an evening tournament. Rapid 10+5 or 15+10 for a weekend. Classical from 60 minutes for official multi-day events.

12. 5 minutes for the whole game per player plus 3 seconds added after each move (the Fischer increment). It keeps a game from ending on the flag in a winning position.

13. Blitz gives 3-5 minutes per player; rapid gives 10 to 60. Blitz is fast and exciting but with more randomness; rapid lets you play thoughtfully but games are longer.

14. For blitz and rapid, desirable. Free phone chess clocks work, one per table. For an unhurried friendly tournament you can skip them, capping the game by agreement.

15. Blitz for 16 people (5 rounds) - about 1.5 hours. Rapid 15+10 for 5 rounds - a full day. All games in a round run in parallel, so length depends on the control, not the number of people.

16. By the Buchholz coefficient - the sum of all your opponents' scores: the player who faced stronger opponents ranks higher. The bot computes it automatically after every round.

17. The sum of a player's opponents' scores over the tournament. The main Swiss tie-break. A detailed breakdown with formulas and a worked example is in a separate article.

18. It's fair: if two players scored the same but one faced stronger opponents, their result is worth more. Buchholz reflects exactly that.

19. Then the next tie-break applies - cut-1 Buchholz, number of wins, the head-to-head result or a draw of lots. For a friendly tournament the main Buchholz is usually enough, and a tie can be shared.

20. By the number of pairs: half the players, plus a spare set. So for 16 people - 8 boards and one spare. With fewer, play in turns and the tournament stretches.

21. Usually players bring their own - many have one gathering dust at home. Just ask in the group chat for those who have a board to bring it.

22. Any with enough tables: a classroom, a meeting room, a cafe, an apartment, benches in the yard. The main thing is room for all the parallel games.

23. Yes, it's advisable. The bot sends players a table number, so number the tables the same way as in the bot - then nobody gets confused about where to sit.

24. Those with Telegram sign up themselves by link via /open_tournaments. The rest the organizer adds as guests by name from their own phone.

25. Yes. The organizer adds a player as a guest by name, they play like everyone else, and the organizer enters their results. One smartphone with the bot - the organizer's - is enough.

26. 6-8 is enough - already 5 rounds and a fight for first. Even four can play a shorter one. There's no upper limit: the bot runs 8 and 80 players.

27. Better to lock the field before round one. If a player arrives at the start, add them before the launch. Including a new participant after a few rounds is unfair to the rest.

28. They simply stop playing; their unplayed games are scored to opponents as no-shows. It doesn't affect the rest - the bot keeps pairing without them.

29. Players do, with a button (win, loss, draw, no-show). On a mismatch the dispute goes to the organizer, who sets the correct outcome.

30. The bot flags the game as disputed and sends it to the organizer, who sets the correct outcome with a button - white wins, black wins or draw. So a slip won't become final.

31. Nothing - the bot gives one player a BYE (a bye with a point) each round and avoids giving it to the same person twice while others remain. No manual tracking.

32. A skipped round on an odd count: one player has no pair and gets a point without playing. The bot assigns the BYE automatically and, where possible, not to the same person.

33. The opponent marks a no-show, the bot scores it by the rules, and the round doesn't stall. No need to wait for a latecomer the whole round.

34. Yes, players can agree a draw - both mark it with a button. The bot scores half a point each. Kids' tournaments sometimes limit quick draws by rules, but that's up to the organizer.

35. The bot sends the pairing privately right after the round starts. /my_pairing shows it again anytime - opponent's name and table number.

36. The /standings command shows the live table with points and the Buchholz coefficient, recomputed after every round, so your place is visible in real time.

37. The Swiss system solves it itself: after round one strong plays strong and beginners play beginners. From the second round almost all games are between equals.

38. Only in round one are pairings random. After that the system spreads players by strength, so a beginner quickly lands in their group and gets interesting games, not routs.

39. Yes, you decide whom to invite: e.g. only beginners or only rated players. But it's optional - the Swiss comfortably handles a mixed field.

40. For an amateur tournament the organizer is enough - the bot watches the pairing and counting. A licensed arbiter is only needed to rate a tournament officially.

41. One page: name and dates, venue, format and number of rounds, time control, tie-break (Buchholz), prizes and contacts. That's enough to settle questions before the start.

42. For a neighborhood or home one - no, a verbal agreement is enough. For a school, corporate or open tournament they're advisable: they settle disputes about format and prizes.

43. The rules: how many minutes players may be late, what to do in a dispute (stop the clock and call the organizer), how to handle phones. That heads off most conflicts.

44. Any symbolic ones: a medal, a cup, a sweet prize, the right to cut the cake first. The value of the award is secondary - what matters is the buzz and attention to the winner.

45. The organizer can collect a fee for a prize fund however they like. The 'fee' field in the bot is informational: the bot doesn't process payments.

46. No. Many tournaments run on pure excitement - for the champion title and a place in the table. A prize just adds motivation but isn't mandatory.

47. Yes. Everyone plays in one individual tournament, and the team score is the sum of each team's players' points - by total or average for teams of different sizes.

48. Yes, but only with software: pairing 15 pairs each round and computing Buchholz for everyone by hand is practically impossible. The bot does it instantly, so a festival is within one organizer's reach.

49. Yes, it's a great format - an office, club or neighborhood league. A new tournament is created in a minute, and a season score keeps interest for weeks.

50. The bot is free. The entry-fee field is informational: the bot doesn't process payments; the organizer collects money for a prize themselves.

51. The bot - no. An official national or FIDE rating requires a licensed arbiter and a federation entry in advance. The bot is for amateur and internal tournaments.

52. Players just need internet to receive pairings and report results; the organizer needs it for seconds between rounds. The games run at the board with no connection; guests without Telegram are entered by the organizer.

53. Boards by the number of pairs, a phone with the bot, one-page regulations (for formal tournaments), an hour and a half for 5 rounds of blitz and, if you like, a symbolic prize.

54. Right inside the bot @vibechessbot with the /support command - it reaches the developers, who help with settings and answer during a tournament.