Hosting a chess evening: a guide for the person running it

Every new arrival is met personally. The aim is to work out quickly who they are and whether they are ready to play.

If yes, find them on the list. If not, help them enter on the spot - it takes under a minute and it is the difference between somebody playing and somebody leaving.

• Said hello and learned the name.
• Asked about the entry.
• Made sure they know where to wait for the start.

Two minutes, standing where everybody can hear. Do not read out regulations - name the four things that matter.

Add the format, the control and the number of rounds, and say when the prize-giving is - people plan their evening around that - the opening announcement.

The step people skip, and the one that ruins round one when they do. Pairing is done from the players actually present, not from the entry list.

• Untick everybody who did not appear. A no-show in the pairing means an empty table and a wasted round for their opponent.
• Add walk-ups. Anybody who turned up without entering goes in now, before the pairing.
• Count the field. An odd number means somebody gets a bye - say so out loud in advance - about byes.

Once the field is confirmed, the pairings are generated. Your job is to make sure everybody sits in the right place.

• Stay visible. The person to ask should be findable from anywhere in the room.
• Do not hover over the boards. Walking between tables during time trouble distracts everybody.
• Watch the noise. One quiet request early prevents a loud one later.
• Collect results as they finish. A game recorded twenty minutes late is a game somebody misremembers.
• Give finished players somewhere to go. Otherwise they start analysing in the middle of the playing area - seating and setup.

The governing principle: stop the emotion, gather the facts, decide, and get the tournament moving again.

Somebody arrives late

If the event has not started, enter and confirm them. If it has, check whether they can be added without breaking the pairing.

Entry has closed

Do not promise the impossible. Explain calmly and offer them the alternative.

The players disagree about the result

1. Stop the argument.
2. Hear both players in turn.
3. Check the position, or the fact that the game ended.
4. Decide.
5. Record the result.

A result was entered wrongly

Check with both players. Once the error is confirmed, correct it or pass it to the organizer.

Somebody is disturbing the players

A gentle word first. A firmer one if it repeats.

Prompting from the side

Prompting is not allowed. Stop it immediately.

A player disagrees with your decision

Do not get drawn into a long argument. The decision exists so the tournament can continue.

The finish is not only about results. It is the part people remember, and the part that decides whether they come back.

The full ceremony, with the order of the categories and the timing - the prize-giving. And take the group photograph while everybody is still together - what to shoot.

• Decide out loud and once. A host who deliberates in public loses the room.
• Never comment on the quality of play. Not seriously and not as a joke.
• Learn names. «Your table is seven, Anna» lands differently from shouting a number.
• Keep the pauses short. Three minutes between rounds instead of fifteen changes the whole evening.
• Watch the newcomers. A first-timer who spends the evening confused does not return - running an event for beginners.