Format and teams
The format determines who enters the tournament and whose results appear in the standings: players or teams. Choose it at the first step of creating a tournament, then configure the lineup during registration.
Individual and team formats
Individual
Team
The format affects registration, pairings and match card structure.
Tip
Choose the format before registration. You can change it while no matches exist, but switching between individual and team play requires reconfirming registration and forming teams if needed.
Which formats are available
Standard and Chess960 support both formats. Bughouse, Doubles 2x2 and Hand and Brain require teams: choosing one enables team format and disables individual play.
See Chess variants for a comparison of disciplines, team sizes and result calculation.
Team tournaments: two ways to assemble a lineup
Selecting team format adds a Teams in tournament setting during registration. It determines whether rosters stay fixed or temporary teams are formed before pairing.
Fixed teams
A fixed team keeps the same roster throughout the tournament. Use it when participants already know their partners, such as established club teams or pairs.
First add players to the Players to assign pool. Then you can:
- assemble a team manually — create a team, add players and rename it if needed;
- add an existing club team — select a saved team with its roster;
- assign automatically — the service fills vacancies and creates missing teams, aiming for similar average ratings. Repeating assignment may change the result because similarly rated players are distributed randomly;
- leave a player in the pool — they remain available for assignment but do not represent a team until added to its roster.
A player can belong to only one team in the tournament. Removing a player returns them to the pool; removing a team returns all its players. Removing a team from a tournament does not delete it from the club.
Check the rosters
The service flags undersized teams, duplicate rosters and players assigned to multiple teams. You can confirm and save incomplete rosters, but check every team before the first pairing.
Random teams
With random teams, register players as for individual play. Permanent teams are not created: the service forms temporary lineups before each round according to settings.
This suits club evenings where people arrive individually and partners change each round. Pairings show that round’s teams, while standings list players and their individual points. Each team member receives the points awarded for the team match result.
Random teams are unavailable in round robin, where rosters must stay unchanged throughout precomputed cycles so later cycles can mirror earlier ones. Choose fixed teams for round robin.
Switching team modes
You can change team formation mode during registration:
- switching from fixed to random moves team members into the general registration list and clears rosters;
- switching from random to fixed moves registered players into the assignment pool.
Choose the mode before filling rosters where possible. Changing format or team mode in an existing tournament takes you to Participants; changes are saved only after you review and confirm the new registration structure.
Team size
Players per team sets the required roster size. The minimum is two.
Bughouse, Doubles 2x2 and Hand and Brain require two players. In Standard and Chess960, the organizer chooses the size, such as two, three or four boards.
The participant limit counts players, not teams. A limit of 12 with three-player teams allows 12 players, or four complete teams.
How opponents are paired
Pair opponents determines how team matchups are arranged each round.
- Automatically. The service creates pairings using the selected tournament system, treating teams as participants. This is required for rated team tournaments.
- Manually. The organizer or players decide the player matchups within opposing teams. Cards show teams and rosters; individual opponents and colors are assigned outside the service. This mode is unavailable in rated tournaments.
With manual pairing, individual board results cannot be recorded because the service does not know the matchups. Enter one team result: 1 for a win, 0.5 for a draw and 0 for a loss.
How team matches are scored
In individual play, each game result counts for two players. In team play, pairings create an encounter between teams and its overall result goes into standings. A match may contain one shared game or several boards, depending on the variant.
Team Standard and Chess960 use separate boards; Bughouse, Doubles 2x2 and Hand and Brain follow different match and scoring rules. See Chess variants.
See Tournament pairings for match cards, rounds and results.
Playoffs and team results
Team playoffs also let you choose how to score a series:
- by boards — all individual board points count toward the series;
- by rounds — each completed team match gives one result: win 1, draw 0.5, loss 0.
For example, a two-match series with a 2–1 win and a 1.5–1.5 draw totals 3.5–2.5 by boards, or 1.5–0.5 by rounds.
Choosing a format: quick walkthrough
- Choose the chess variant. Bughouse, Doubles 2x2 and Hand and Brain require team play.
- For Standard or Chess960, decide whether players compete individually or in teams.
- Choose fixed teams for permanent partners, or random teams for new lineups each round.
- Set team size and opponent pairing mode.
- During registration, add players and assemble or check teams.
- Before the first pairing, check for incomplete rosters and duplicate players, and ensure every team is ready.