8 min read
What to expect at your first chess club night
Nobody is going to quiz you on the Sicilian. Here’s what actually happens when you walk into a chess club for the first time, and how to get a game.
Guides
Club chess, explained.
How to start a chess club, what happens on your first club night, and how ratings, clocks, notation and pairings actually work. Plain words, no gatekeeping, and nobody quizzing you on the Sicilian.
8 guides · for players and organizers
For players
Walking in for the first time, keeping score, and what that number next to your name means.
9 min read
How do chess ratings work? Elo, Glicko and your club rating
Why beating a stronger player is worth more, what the question mark after a new rating means, and why your online number and your club number disagree.
8 min read
How to write chess notation on a scoresheet
Every square has a name, every piece has a letter, and a whole game fits on one sheet of paper. Algebraic notation in ten minutes.
For organizers
From an empty room and a bag of boards to a night that runs itself.
10 min read
How to start a chess club
A room, a regular night, a bag of boards and a sign on the door. Everything else is details, and this guide is the details.
8 min read
How to run a chess club night, start to finish
Unlock the door, set the boards, pair the room, settle the one argument, lock up. A practical run of show for organizers, casual or round-style.
Already running a club?
Put it on the map.
Start a Castle and your club gets a page people can find, a poster for the door, and a join code for club night.
Start a Castle
For everyone at the board
The rules of the room: the clock, the handshake, and who plays whom.
8 min read
Chess club etiquette: the rules nobody tells you
Touch-move, handshakes, draw offers, and why you don’t analyze next to a game that’s still going. The written rules and the unwritten ones.
8 min read
How does a chess clock work? Time controls explained
What 15+10 means, why you press with the same hand, what happens when the flag falls, and which time control suits a club night.
8 min read
How do chess pairings work? Casual, Swiss and round robin
Who plays whom, and why: how a casual club night matches people as they arrive, how a Swiss tournament pairs by score, and when a round robin or a knockout makes more sense.