How Tournaments Work

Finding Tournaments

Open Arena in the top bar (the page is titled Tournaments). The tabs show Upcoming, Live, Completed and My Tournaments, and you can filter by format (Arena or Swiss), by Paid or Freeroll, and by Bullet, Blitz or Rapid. There's also a Search tournaments… box and a Sort menu (start time, prize pool, entry fee or players). Each event shows its clock, entry, prize pool, how many players have registered and when it starts.

We announce tournaments on Discord and X as well. When nothing is scheduled the list is empty, so check back or watch the announcements.

Two Formats

Arena runs for a fixed length of time (typically an hour), not a fixed number of rounds. When your game ends you go back into the pairing pool and get your next opponent at the next pairing sweep, about a minute at most: usually someone close to your rating who isn't one of your last two opponents. Scoring rewards momentum: a win is 2 points, a draw 1, a loss 0. After two wins in a row, your next result counts double, though a draw ends the streak. Final places go to the most points; ties are broken by higher rating (for that time control, at the start of the event), then more wins, then who registered first. Some arenas allow late entry for a short window after the start (the event page shows it), and you can step out any time with Stop after this game. You keep your score and any prize you've earned, but entry fees aren't refunded once an event has started.

Swiss is a set number of rounds that everyone plays. Pairings put you against players on your score, and nobody is knocked out. A win is 1 point and a draw half a point. If there's an odd number of players, one player sits a round out and gets a bye worth 1 point. Late entry isn't available in Swiss.

Tournaments run at the standard time controls (1+0, 3+0, 5+0 and 10+0) and can carry entry requirements such as a verification level, a rating range or games played. You can't be registered in two tournaments that overlap in time.

Entry & Prize Pools

• Freerolls cost nothing to enter. The prize pool is seeded by ChessBit.
• Depositors-only events. Some freerolls are open only to players who have made a deposit. The event page lists the rule ("Open to players who have made a deposit", or a minimum amount). If you haven't deposited yet, it shows Make a deposit instead of Register, and Register unlocks once you have. Eligibility is checked again when the event starts, and anyone who no longer qualifies is removed and refunded.
• Paid tournaments take an entry fee that builds the prize pool; ChessBit can add funds on top, and some paid events keep a small percentage of entry fees. The event page shows the prize pool. Paying an entry fee requires identity verification at Level 1, or higher for larger fees. Your entry fee counts against the same stake limits as a normal game.
• Prize pools sit in escrow: entry fees move to a dedicated escrow account at registration, the pool seals when the tournament starts, and prizes are released from escrow after the fair-play review (below).
• Prizes are split by finishing place according to the structure shown on the tournament page. They are paid in the currency the organiser sets; if none is set, in the coin you registered with.
• You have to play to win a prize. A place held by a player who finished on 0 points without making a move in a finished game stays empty: its share goes back to ChessBit and nobody below moves up.

Registration, Refunds & No-Shows

• Register from the tournament page while registration is open. You can unregister with the Withdraw button for a full refund, in the currency you paid, until registration closes or five minutes before the start, whichever comes first.
• If too few players register, the tournament is cancelled and everyone is refunded automatically. The minimum is shown on the event page.
• No-shows lose their game. If you don't make your first move within 45 seconds of being paired (120 seconds in the first Swiss round), you forfeit that game. Tournament games can't be aborted. Three first-move no-shows in a row take you out of the event; press I'm back — rejoin while it's running to keep your score. A player who has been taken out and hasn't rejoined is left out of the final standings. Entry fees aren't refunded once an event has started.

Fair Play Before Payout

Every tournament prize is held when the event ends and released after a fair-play review. In paid events, Argus checks each game as it finishes. In freerolls nothing is analysed during the event; afterwards we review the players in the prize places, plus anyone tied with them on points. A prize is credited automatically once all of that player's games have been checked and nothing is flagged. Until then it shows In fair-play review — credited once it clears, and then Credited to your balance.

A flagged prize waits for a person to release or deny it. A prize that isn't awarded (Not awarded after the fair-play review) goes back to ChessBit, and places below don't move up. If you think that's a mistake, contact support. We'd rather pay a little late than pay a cheater.