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Gambit Chess
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Organise a chess tournament with friends

A round robin gives everyone opponents without eliminating players after a loss. Use a dated tournament for an event, or an ongoing private group when your friends want to keep playing.

Single or double round robin?

In a single round robin, each pair plays once. With six players, that means five scheduled games per player and 15 games overall. In a double round robin, each pair plays twice with colours reversed: the same six players receive ten games each and 30 games overall.

Gambit supports 2–24 participants. The format advisor estimates the schedule before you choose. A longer schedule needs more time; equal scheduled opponents do not guarantee that everyone finishes before the closing date.

Set up your private event

  1. The organiser signs in and opens Friends and tournaments.
  2. Choose a tournament name, supported format, start date and end date. Allow time for your friends to accept and finish their games.
  3. Create named invitations with a short personal message and send each link privately to its intended participant.
  4. Use the fixtures and standings to follow the event. Friends tournaments are human-only; they do not insert computer opponents.

Points, unfinished games and ties

A win earns one point, a draw half a point and a loss zero. There is no knockout elimination. Unfinished fixtures do not receive invented results, and tied leaders share the win. Participants should agree on availability before the event, particularly if they choose two games per pairing.

What happens when someone joins late?

Invitations can be accepted while the tournament remains open. Late entrants receive the missing pairings against existing members and need to catch up before the end. This adds work for earlier players too, so invite everyone early and communicate the closing date clearly.

Guests and returning players

Invitees can participate as registered players or guests. Guest access belongs to the browser holding the private membership credential. If a guest loses access, the organiser can replace access for that same member; the replacement preserves fixtures and results and invalidates the old access. Keep replacement links private.

When an ongoing group is a better fit

If friends play whenever they have time, choose a private group without tournament dates. Members can arrange repeated games without a deadline or elimination bracket. For a single friendly match, a private game invitation is simpler.