Host Fast Tournaments on ChessKid!

Fast Chess Tournaments are one of the most requested features on ChessKid! This is a way that your class or club can all play together as a group in a live event.

Tournaments on ChessKid are competitions held in a Club - so, the first step to hosting a Fast Chess Tournament is making sure your Club is set up and includes your current student roster.

What are "Fast Chess Tournaments"?

• Fast Chess Tournaments are live chess events: the ChessKid system creates a multiple-kid and multiple-round event that take place in real-time (not over several days/weeks). They resemble an over-the-board tournament as far as pairings and standings, except they are played in our "Fast Chess" server.
• Adults who are the Admin of a ChessKid Club will automatically see an orange "New Club Tournament" button in the bottom right of the Fast Chess page.

 How to set up a Tournament:

• As a Club Admin,
• Click "Manage" followed by "Clubs" from the top menu:

 

• Click on the Club you'd like to create a Tournament from,
• On the right side of your page, click on "Tournaments":

 

• Click "Create Tournament":

 

• *ChessKid Tip*: If you are a coach of a large "Enterprise" program, your subprograms do not count as "Clubs" for this feature. You'll need to create a club specifically to be able to host Fast Chess Tournaments.
• Right now, both creation of Fast Chess Tournaments AND the ability for kids to play is restricted to the web browser version (not the iOS or Android apps). The ability for kids to join a live tournament via the app will come later.

After you click "Create Tournament," set your tournament parameters:

Note that as the Tournament Director, you do NOT need to be online for the event to take place. Once you've set up your tournament, the site will pair the rounds and the event will begin automatically (as long as the minimum number of players register).

 

You have options to set:

• Which Club will host the tournament
• A list of pre-set time controls, or, choose your own!
• Starting day & time
• Number of rounds
• (optional: you can limit players to only a certain rating range)
• (optional: you can set a maximum number of players - if the maximum is not reached before the starting time, the tournament will begin anyway at the scheduled start time)
• *Tournament Breaks

 

How to see the Tournament you've created:

Once created, you and the Kids in your Club will see the Fast Tournament tab if they are logged in to Fast Chess (remember for right now they must be on the desktop [browser] version and not the app). This is also where you can cancel a tournament you've set up.

 

How do Kids join your Tournament?

• When Kid members of your Club would like to join your tournament, have them look for the Upcoming Tournaments by clicking on "Play vs Kid" (otherwise known as the Fast Chess area)

• Once in the Fast Chess area,
• They will need to click on the "Tournament" tab followed by the Tournament they are interested in joining:

 

Here are some important tips for your players:

• Kids must register for the event in the 15 minutes prior to the start time!
• Kids must play from a browser (not the app). Our recommended browsers are Chrome & Firefox.
• Once a Kid has joined a tournament, we do not recommend leaving Fast Chess or having multiple tabs open.
• A browser cache clear helps keep your computer running smoothly & makes for a better Fast Chess playing experience!
• Check out this page with tips on How to Join a Fast Tournament.

We really hope you enjoy Fast Tournaments with your Club! A great idea is to host weekly tournaments at the same time each week, so your kids know exactly when to be online -

Remember to leave your feedback in this Parents and Coaches forum! Enjoy!