Creating Tournaments

Step 1: Basic Info

Set the core identity of your tournament.

• Tournament name — displayed on the tournament page and in search results.
• Organizer — which of your organizations is hosting this event (locked after creation).
• Description — rich text field; an AI-assisted draft is available if you want a starting point.
• Tournament image — optional promotional image for the tournament page.
• Tournament type — Swiss, Round Robin, Team Swiss, Team Match, or Ladder.
• Ratings — three independent checkboxes for USCF, CFC, and FIDE. USCF and CFC are mutually exclusive (selecting one deselects the other), but FIDE can be selected alongside either.
• Time control — tournament-level default; individual sections can override this.
• Expected rounds — tournament-level default; individual sections can also override.

Step 2: Location & Date

Configure when and where your tournament takes place.

• Venue name and address — address field includes geocoding to confirm the location.
• Event dates — start date (required), end date (for multi-day events).
• Timezone — strongly recommended so cutoff times display correctly for players in different regions.

Step 3: Sections & Registration

Define your tournament sections and choose how players will register.

Sections:

• Section name — e.g., Open, U1800, Scholastic.
• Click Add Section to create additional sections. Drag to reorder.

Registration method:

Choose between ChessRoster Registration (online registration with payment processing) or External Registration (link to your own registration page or handle registration outside ChessRoster).

When ChessRoster Registration is selected:

• Registration open and close dates — control when the registration window is active.
• Public or private registration — private registration generates a unique link for invite-only events.
• Entry fee — free, or paid via PayPal. Requires a linked PayPal account for paid events.
• Refund policy — Full (organizer absorbs fees), Standard (player refunded minus platform fees), or None.
• Player withdrawal — toggle whether players can withdraw themselves, with an optional cutoff time.
• Director refunds — toggle whether tournament directors can issue refunds (not just admins).
• Capacity limit — optional overall cap on total registrations across all sections.

Step 4: Section Details

Configure the details for each section you created in the previous step — fees, eligibility, and scheduling.

• Rating limits — optional minimum and maximum rating per section.
• Section capacity — optional per-section player cap.
• Registration tiers — set up pricing periods (early, regular, late) with different fees and dates.
• Membership discount — optional discount for players with an active organization membership.
• Titled player discount — optional discount for players holding a chess title (FM, IM, GM, etc.).
• Play-up fee — optional surcharge for players registering above their rating limit; configure the threshold, amount, and whether it applies to unrated players.
• Bye configuration — control which rounds allow half-point and zero-point byes, maximum byes per player, and bye request deadlines.
• Round schedule — optional per-round start times and ASAP flags.

Step 5: Directors & Administrators

Assign staff members who can manage this tournament.

• Search by email — find existing ChessRoster users or invite new ones.
• Access level — toggle between access to all of the organization’s tournaments or this tournament only.

Step 6: Organizer Notifications

Configure email alerts for your staff when registration activity occurs.

• Registration Events — Any Time — send immediately for every registration, withdrawal, or bye request.
• Registration Events — Within 24 Hours — send only when the tournament is within 24 hours of its start time.

See Tournament Notifications for details.

Step 7: Custom Questions

Add registration questions players must answer when they sign up.

• Question types — Text (freeform), Select (dropdown), or Autocomplete (text with suggestions).
• Required or optional — choose whether the question must be answered to complete registration.
• Section scope — apply a question to all sections or only specific ones.
• SwissSys field mapping — optionally map a response to a SwissSys export field (Team, Club, City, State, or Zip).

Questions appear in the player registration flow immediately after you publish.

Step 8: Player Notifications

Configure player-facing pairing notifications.

• Enable pairing notifications — players can opt in to receive SMS and email alerts when pairings are posted.
• Enable projected pairings — show estimated first-round matchups based on current registrations before the event starts.