How to run a chess tournament in the Vibe Chess app
Six steps from an empty screen to final standings with a tie-break column and a report for arbiter software. Nothing to install and nothing to pay for: the app opens from a link, works in a browser and inside Telegram, and guests without Telegram play on equal terms. Every step below is shown on a real screen.
Pick the format
The app opens from a link and needs no installation: it is an ordinary page that works both in a browser and inside Telegram. On the «Games» tab there is a create button at the bottom of the list, and the first screen asks what exactly you are running.
There are four formats. A Swiss tournament suits a large field: opponents are matched by score, nobody is knocked out, and you set the number of rounds. A round-robin is for a small group where everyone should play everyone; the app works out the number of rounds from the field. A free meetup has no pairing at all - people sign up and sit down with whoever they like. An individual game is a single match against whoever responds.
Fill in the tournament card
The form is short and almost entirely optional. You do not have to invent a name - the app builds one from the venue and the date. The venue is picked from places you have played before, or added as a new one with a name and address.
Then the date and time, a time control from one-minute blitz with a one-second increment up to classical ninety plus thirty, the number of rounds and the number of boards. The entry fee defaults to zero, and the description field is where you put what usually gets lost in the chat: the door code, the floor, whether people should bring their own clocks.
Build the field, guests without Telegram included
Players are added in two ways. Those who use Telegram sign up themselves: send them the invitation or show the QR code from the tournament screen. Everyone else the organizer types in by hand, in the «guest name» line.
A guest is a full participant: they enter the pairing, results are recorded for them, and they take their place in the final standings like everyone else. That solves the central problem of a club evening, where half the room does not use Telegram and would otherwise drop out of the event.
The toggle next to a name temporarily removes a player from the field without deleting them - handy when somebody warns you they can only play the first few rounds.
Invite the players
The tournament card has two buttons for gathering people. «Send invitation» prepares a message with a link that you forward to a chat or a DM. «Invitation QR code» shows the code on screen: convenient to hold up at the table or put on a display in the hall so arrivals can sign themselves up.
While registration is open the field changes freely. Before the start you close it, and the app announces the first pairing.
Run the rounds
Once the event starts the app builds the pairings and assigns colours itself. Each player sees their own game in large type: who they face, in which colour, at which board. The result goes in with a button straight after the game - won, drawn, lost or opponent no-show.
Below is the list of every board in the round, so you can see who has finished. The next round is not announced until the results are in, and the app shows how many games it is still waiting for. Disputes are closed by the organizer: they can set the score for any board, and that decision stands.
Read the standings and finish the event
The table updates as the tournament runs, and the app picks the tie-break that fits the format: Buchholz in a Swiss, the Sonneborn-Berger score in a round-robin, which is what the regulations prescribe there. Players level on points are ordered by it automatically.
When the last round is played the event closes and the card offers a TRF export. Arbiter software accepts that file: it is what the remaining tie-breaks are computed from and what a rated event is submitted with.
What else is in the app
A chess clock in the same app
A separate tab turns the phone into a clock: two dials facing opposite ways so the device can lie between the players. The time control comes from a list, and there is a pause and a move counter. For a club evening that is enough, and nobody has to buy a dedicated clock.
Profiles and a club rating
Every player has a profile with an internal rating, a game history and a city. The same place holds the details a rated event needs: name, FIDE ID, federation code, title. For a friendly evening none of it is required.
It installs on the phone
On first open the app offers to save itself to the home screen. After that it launches from an icon like any other app, with no link to hunt for. Inside Telegram it behaves exactly the same.
What to read before the event
Questions about the app
Do I need to install anything?+
No. The app opens from a link in a browser or inside Telegram and works immediately. You can save it to the home screen if you want, and then it launches from an icon like a normal app.
What does it cost?+
Nothing. The app is free, with no subscriptions, no paid features and no limits on the number of events or players.
How do people without Telegram play?+
The organizer adds them by hand as guests - a name is enough. A guest is paired, appears in the standings and counts like everyone else; the only difference is that the organizer records their results.
Who enters the results?+
Usually the players themselves, with a button right after the game. The organizer can set the score for any board, and that decision is final - which is what you need for guests and for disputes.
What if a player arrives late?+
The field can be edited while registration is open. The toggle next to a name takes a player out of the pairing temporarily and puts them back just as easily if they do turn up.
Does the app compute tie-breaks?+
Yes, and it picks the one that suits the format: Buchholz in a Swiss, Sonneborn-Berger in a round-robin. Players level on points are ordered by it with no manual recalculation.
Can I submit the event for rating?+
A finished event exports as a TRF report, which arbiter software and results services accept. From there the tournament is processed like any other.
How is the app different from the bot?+
They are two doors into the same thing. In the bot the event is managed by commands in a chat, in the app by screens and buttons. The data is shared: an event created in the app is visible in the bot.
How many players can I gather?+
There is no limit. For a round-robin the practical ceiling is time, since everyone plays everyone and a large field means many rounds. A Swiss takes any number.
What if a feature I need is missing?+
Write to us. The app is developed continuously and requests from real organizers are what shape it - several of the features described above appeared exactly that way.