New web app for managing chess tournaments - Feedback welcome!

[stefanoloberti]

Hi everyone,

My name is Stefano, I'm a developer and chess enthusiast, and I've recently been working on a new web-based application designed to help clubs and organizers run chess tournaments more easily.

Since this forum has a lot of experienced players, arbiters, and organizers, I would love to get your honest feedback.

You can try it out here: https://chesspairings.org

A few quick notes before you test it:

• The focus is on functionality: The user interface is currently quite basic and uses a standard template (white/purple theme). I prioritized getting the core tournament logic (pairings, standings, etc.) working perfectly first. A unique design will come later!

• Active development: I'm constantly updating it. For example, I just fixed a localization bug on the "Start Tournament" page thanks to some early feedback, so the English version should now run smoothly.

I would really appreciate it if you could click around, try to create a test tournament, and let me know what you think.
Is the workflow intuitive? Are there any specific features you feel are absolutely necessary for an organizer? Have you spotted any bugs?

Any kind of feedback—good or bad—is highly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your time!

[John Upham]

Does it publish to Chess Results dot com?

Does it manage Team Swiss events?

Does it manage Team Round Robin events?

[stefanoloberti]

Hi! Thanks for the question. Not yet! The app is still a bit too early-stage for that kind of direct integration, but publishing to Chess-Results is absolutely on my roadmap for future updates. Right now, I'm focusing on getting the core mechanics rock-solid first. Would you consider that a must-have feature before using a new software for your tournaments?

As for Team events: I am currently working on the team tournament logic right now, so Team Swiss and Team Round Robin aren't fully deployed just yet. Team events add a whole other layer of complexity!

Currently, the app fully manages individual Swiss system, Double Swiss, and individual Round Robin.
Also, as a unique feature, it has a really comprehensive implementation for Marathon tournaments, which I'm quite proud of!

Do you mostly organize team events for your club?

[John Upham]

Would you consider that a must-have feature before using a new software for your tournaments?

Yes: my perspective is from a National Arbiter operating on FIDE and ECF rated events where I need to inform competitors what is happening during the event.

Closed to club unrated events most likely would have less stringent requirements.

What were the answers to the team events questions?

Does it produce a rating file using the ECF and FIDE standard rating import file formats?

[stefanoloberti]

Thanks for the follow-up! Your perspective as a National Arbiter is exactly what I need, as you are absolutely right about the strict requirements for official FIDE/ECF rated events compared to casual club play.

To answer your questions directly:

Team Events: Not yet. The app currently does not manage Team Swiss or Team Round Robin, though I am actively working on the team logic right now. At the moment, it handles Individual Swiss, Double Swiss, Individual Round Robin, and features a very comprehensive system for Marathon tournaments.

FIDE / Rating Files: Actually, YES! The system already generates standard FIDE TRF (Tournament Report Format) files. So while I'm still polishing some features before tackling direct integrations (like Chess-Results) or team events, the FIDE rating export logic is already implemented and functional.

I really appreciate you taking the time to ask these questions. Getting feedback from an active Arbiter is incredibly helpful for prioritizing my roadmap!

[John Upham]

Does it produce ECF (ENG) rating files?

The bulk of organisers (lets not mention bulky organisers) in this place will wish to submit rating files to the English Chess Federation using the ECFs native format.

[IM Jack Rudd]

As far as I can tell, there seems to be no way to create manual pairings. This would render it unsuitable for the tournaments I run.

[John Upham]

As far as I can tell, there seems to be no way to create manual pairings. This would render it unsuitable for the tournaments I run.

I should have asked that question Jack but being able to do manual pairings is such a basic requirement that I did not bother to ask it.

[stefanoloberti]

Thank you both for taking the time to try ChessPairings and for the honest feedback — this is exactly what I need to hear.
You're absolutely right about manual pairings. It's a fundamental feature for any serious arbiter and I understand why it's a dealbreaker. The good news is that it's already on the roadmap and it's high priority. The plan is to allow full manual override: create pairings from scratch, swap players between boards, and edit any automatically generated pairing before publishing the round.
Regarding the ECF export format — that's a very valid point too. Right now we support TRF (FIDE standard), but I can see how that's not enough for organisers working with the English Chess Federation. I'll look into adding native ECF export.
The project is still young and moving fast — I've shipped team tournaments, a FIDE-reference tiebreak engine, and Chess-Results import just in the last few weeks. Manual pairings will come soon.
I'd be happy to hear about any other features you'd consider essential. You can also reach me directly at [email protected] or through the in-app support page.
Thanks again for the feedback.
Stefano

[Brian Valentine]

The ECF submission specification is here: https://rating.englishchess.org.uk/doc/ ... t_def.html

[stefanoloberti]

As far as I can tell, there seems to be no way to create manual pairings. This would render it unsuitable for the tournaments I run.

Hi Jack, hi John,
Quick update — manual pairings are now available in ChessPairings.
When you enable "Edit pairings" in the tournament settings, the system enters draft mode: after generating pairings automatically, you can review and modify them before publishing the round. Swaps between boards, color inversions, removals, and manual additions are all supported. Nothing goes live until you confirm.

editpairings.jpg (96.75 KiB) Viewed 3147 times

This should cover the scenarios you both mentioned — late withdrawals, federation-specific rules, or simply building the round from scratch when the situation requires it.
I'd genuinely appreciate it if you could give it a try and let me know what works and what doesn't. The feature was built with feedback from working arbiters in mind, so if there's anything missing for your specific use case, I want to know.
Regarding ECF export — it's on the list. Not there yet, but it's coming.
You can reach me anytime at [email protected] or through the in-app support page.
Stefano

[Roger de Coverly]

When you enable "Edit pairings" in the tournament settings, the system enters draft mode: after generating pairings automatically, you can review and modify them before publishing the round.

But can you change the pairings after you have "published" them? You find out one minute after you have confirmed the pairings that a result has been misreported, someone played with the wrong colour in the previous round or someone wants to withdraw or take a bye. How easy would it be to rework the pairings?

[stefanoloberti]

Good question — these are real scenarios that happen all the time.
Yes, you can. If you've already published a round and need to make changes, you simply delete the current round — this takes you back to the previous one, where you have full control: correct a misreported result, assign a bye, a half-point bye, or mark a player as withdrawn. Then you regenerate the pairings, review them in draft mode, make any manual adjustments you need, and publish again.
So the full workflow for your scenarios would be:
Misreported result: Delete current round → fix the result in the previous round → regenerate pairings → review in draft → publish.
Last-minute withdrawal or bye: Delete current round → mark the player as withdrawn or assign a bye in the previous round → regenerate pairings → review in draft → publish.
It's a few clicks, but the arbiter stays in full control at every step. Nothing is locked permanently — you can always go back and fix things.
Stefano

[John Upham]

Once the integration with chess results dot com and ECF rating files is enabled I will take a proper look at this app.

[stefanoloberti]

Hi John,
Good to know — thanks for keeping an eye on it.
Regarding chess-results.com: as far as I know, publishing tournaments there isn't open to third-party software — it's tightly integrated with Swiss Manager. I'll look into whether there's any way to submit results to their platform, but it may not be something I can offer. If you know of any documentation or contact for their upload process, I'd be happy to explore it.
ECF rating file export is on my list and coming soon — I've got the submission specification and I'm working on it.
Stefano