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Castle Gambit
Theme

System follows your phone or computer.

Theme

For organizers, club owners and tournament directors

Give the clipboard the night off.

Castle Gambit is a web app that runs chess club night: players scan a code, get paired as they arrive and confirm results on their phones, while a club TV shows every board. You unlock the door, settle the odd argument, and get a few games in yourself.

Start a CastleGet early access

It takes a minute: your club’s name, where you meet and when. Castle Gambit is for adults, 18 and over.

Watch a week at Riverside Castle

A week at Riverside Castle

Watch the room run itself.

Tuesday is club night. Thursday is knockout night. Made-up players, the real screens.

Knockout night is early accessSkip the reel

The reel, chapter by chapter

  1. Tue 6:45 pm, Doors open: One tap opens tonight’s lobby: a six-character code, a QR code and the TV. The organizer’s phone opens tonight’s lobby. Tonight’s code, K7M PQ3, lifts off the phone onto the club TV, beside a QR code.
  2. Tue 7:15 pm, Boards: Tap Find me a game, and Castle Gambit pairs you with someone near your level who’s also waiting. Sam T.’s phone: Find me a game, then Looking for a game, then a canary slip: Board 4, you’re White, against Dana L. The TV adds Board 4.
  3. Tue 7:50 pm, Results: After the game, you both tap how it went. Matching answers count, and you’re free for the next game. Two phones across Board 4: Sam T. tapped I won and Dana L. tapped I lost, so both results are stamped CONFIRMED.
  4. Tue 8:30 pm, Last round: Running rounds? Pair everyone shows every board first (who’s White, who sits out), then starts them all at once. The organizer’s phone previews five boards and says Theo M. sits out. One tap starts them: the TV fills with five boards and the table tents flip to their numbers.
  5. Wed 9:00 am, Recent nights, kept: Your recent club nights stay on your Games page: the games played, and how many came. A laptop showing Riverside Castle’s Games page: six recent Tuesday club nights, each with its games and head count, and the organizer’s notebook with a ballpoint line through them.
  6. Thu 6:30 pm, Knockout night (early access): Winners move on. Lose once and you drop to the pink second-chance sheet. Early access. A first-round result is written in and stamped ADVANCES: Marcus J. goes on, and Grace N. rides down the dashed line to the pink second-chance sheet.
  7. Thu 10:40 pm, The Castle Cup (early access): And the Castle Cup goes to… Marcus J., the long way round. Early access. The Castle Cup, a brass rook on a walnut plinth, with Marcus J.’s name engraved on its plate and a crown dropped onto its battlements.

Tue 6:45 pmDoors open

Tuesday, 6:45 pm. Riverside Castle unlocks the door.

What’s built today

Everything in this section works tonight.

No roadmap here. Every card below is in Castle Gambit now, for every Castle.

  • A game for every walk-in.

    People tap Find me a game and get someone close to their level who’s also waiting. The longer they wait, the wider it looks, and it steers clear of a rematch with the person they just played.

  • Rounds, when you want them.

    Pair everyone shows every board before it starts (who’s White, who sits out), then starts them all at once. Colors even out over the night.

  • Results nobody has to chase.

    Both players tap the result. Matching answers count. Different answers come to you side by side, and one tap settles it. Your own games are somebody else’s call.

  • Mistakes, undone properly.

    Fix or void any result later, and every rating it touched is worked out again, as if it had been right from the start.

  • Everyone plays, phone or no phone.

    The regular on a flip phone goes on your roster by name. You check them in and pair them, and their games count like everyone else’s. Adults only, on your word.

  • A club that remembers.

    Your last club nights with their games and head counts, the members you’ve let in, and a Castle page people can find. Hand the Castle to the next organizer and all of it goes too.

The pictures are Castle Gambit’s own screens and pieces, with made-up players.

A night in the life

Your Tuesday, minus the admin.

What running club night looks like when the paperwork runs itself.

A long table at a chess club night: wooden sets in play, a chess clock beside every board and a blank table tent at the nearest, players on both sides seen only at the shoulders, paper cups and coats on folding chairs.

  1. 6:30 pm

    You: Set out the boards. Print tonight’s poster (and the table tents), tape it to the door.

    Castle Gambit: The poster carries tonight’s code and a QR code.

  2. 6:50 pm

    You: Open the TV link on the club’s TV, a projector, or a laptop over HDMI.

    Castle Gambit: The TV shows tonight’s code, big enough to read from the back.

  3. 7:00 pm

    You: Open tonight’s lobby.

    Castle Gambit: Everyone who scans in lands on the list.

  4. 7:05 pm

    You: Walt’s here, flip phone and all. Check him in from your roster.

    Castle Gambit: Walt’s in the queue like everyone else.

  5. 7:10 pm

    You: Sit down on Board 3. Yes, you.

    Castle Gambit: Pairs the room as people arrive, board numbers and colors included.

  6. 7:45 pm

    You: Two players remember a game differently. Settle it between moves.

    Castle Gambit: Puts both answers side by side in Needs you.

  7. 8:30 pm

    You: Rapid round? Tap Pair everyone, check the boards, start them all.

    Castle Gambit: Balances colors and avoids rematches.

  8. 9:15 pm

    You: Someone slipped out without saying goodbye. Take them out of tonight.

    Castle Gambit: Flags phones that have gone quiet, for you only.

  9. 10:00 pm

    You: Close the lobby. Stack the chairs (sorry).

    Castle Gambit: The TV says goodnight.

  10. Next day

    You: Nothing.

    Castle Gambit: Lone reports stand, unreported games are voided, and tonight’s games and head count are on your Games page.

Organizer tools

The whole club, in your pocket.

Built today, for every Castle

  • Tonight’s lobbyOne tap: a six-character code, a QR code and a TV link.

  • The posterLetter or A4, with table tents to fold. A fresh code every night.

  • The club TVPaper or carbon, four sizes, readable from the back row.

  • Who’s hereWaiting, playing on Board 4, taking a break.

  • Pair everyoneEvery board previewed, then started at once.

  • Needs youDisputed results and roster games, one tap each.

  • GamesTonight’s games and your recent nights: settle, fix or void.

  • RosterAdults without a phone, by name. Rename, archive, restore.

  • MembersApprove who joins your Castle. Make co-organizers.

  • Hand it overMake someone else the owner. You stay on as an organizer.

  • A fresh codeNew code mid-night; everyone stays checked in.

  • GambitsPost an open game, a meetup or a tournament for people to accept. Set a limit, keep it members-only.

Early access(a preview with made-up players; not for a real event yet)

  • Knockout nightsEarly accessSingle or double elimination, with byes for the top seeds.

  • The wall chartEarly accessThe whole bracket on the club TV, with a second-chance sheet.

  • The Castle CupEarly accessThe champion’s name on the plate at the end of the night.

On the roadmap: Swiss and round robins, standings and crosstables, and exports for directors who submit ratings elsewhere.

The club TV

The pairing sheet on the wall, except it keeps up.

Open the TV link on a smart TV, a projector or a laptop plugged into one. Board numbers and names are sized to read from about 30 feet away on a 55-inch screen.

Screen

Made-up players. The same screen your TV shows.

  • Names, never numbers.The name each player gives (we suggest a first name and last initial). No ratings, ever.

  • New boards flip up where they sit.Nothing jumps to the top or pushes another board off.

  • Big nights page themselves.Every 12 seconds, whole rows at a time, with a Pause button.

  • Paper or carbon.Paper for projectors, carbon for TVs, in four sizes.

  • The link stays in the room.Only organizers have it, and search engines are told to ignore it.

For the door

Print it, tape it up, done.

The poster carries tonight’s code, a QR code the size of your hand and three plain steps. Tick Table tents too for a second sheet to fold and stand on each table.

A fresh code every night, so last month’s poster can’t open this month’s room.

Club night at

Riverside Castle

Tuesdays, 7–10 pm

Scan to play

QR code for castlegambit.com/play

No app. No account. Just your first name.

No camera? Go to castlegambit.com/play and type

Tonight’s code: K 7 M P Q 3
  1. 1Scan inor type the code.
  2. 2Say your namefirst name is plenty.
  3. 3Find me a gamewe’ll pick your board.

No phone? Ask the organizer to add you to the roster. This code is tonight’s only.

Castle Gambit
The poster and the table tents for a made-up club, as they print.

Fair and square

Honest results, a friendly rating.

The rules live on our servers, not on anyone’s phone, so they’re the same for everyone at every Castle.

  • A social Elo, not a federation rating.Built only from games across a real board, and separate from USCF, FIDE, chess.com and Lichess. (Glicko-2, if anyone asks.)

  • No number for five games.New players see tally marks, then a number with a question mark while it settles. Nobody is scared off on night one.

  • Players choose who sees it.People in their Castles by default, everyone, or just them. Never on the TV, in the lobby or next to a pairing.

  • Disputes come to you.Both answers, side by side. Your own games are another organizer’s call.

  • Corrections re-rate properly.Fix or void a result and every rating it touched is worked out again.

  • Loose ends get tied.A lone report stands after a day, and a game nobody reports is voided after a day. A dispute waits for an organizer.

How results work on the player side
Matching answers are stamped; different answers go to the organizer. Made-up players.

Safety

A room of strangers, handled with care.

Castle Gambit is for adults, 18 and over. Everyone answers one neutral question before their first game, and anyone younger is pointed to the free guides.

  • You let people in.Joining your Castle needs an organizer’s OK, and only members see the member list.

  • No direct messages.No chat, no DMs. People talk across the board.

  • Names only on the wall.The TV shows the name each player gives tonight, never ratings or photos.

  • Tonight is yours to run.Remove someone from tonight, or put up a fresh code, in a tap.

  • Club nights end.Lobbies close on their own after the night.

  • Your roster, your word.Roster players are adults you vouch for, and your name is kept as the one who added them.

Running a junior section too? Castle Gambit isn’t for players under 18, so that part of your club runs off the app. Who Castle Gambit is for

Early access

Knockout nights are coming. Get your club on the list.

We’re building knockouts the way the rest of Castle Gambit works: on the wall, on everyone’s phone, and fair when it’s level. A few clubs get them first.

Early access · made-up players. A knockout night mid-evening, on the club TV.

In the preview

  • Single or double elimination, with byes for the top seeds
  • A second-chance bracket on the pink sheet, so one bad game isn’t the end of the night
  • One- or two-game matches; level after that? A pair of blitz games, then armageddon
  • A grand final with a reset, and an optional match for third
  • Clubs from more than one Castle in the same bracket
  • The Castle Cup, with the champion’s name on the plate

After that (on the roadmap): Swiss and round robins, with standings, tiebreaks, and printable pairing sheets and crosstables.

What it won’t be: a rated-event tool. For USCF or FIDE events, keep your federation software, and the scoresheets.

Early access list

Bring Castle Gambit to your club.

Tell us about your club and we’ll be in touch when knockout nights open up. Club nights don’t need a list: you can start a Castle today.

First name and last initial is plenty.

Where we’ll write to you.

You are…

Optional.

Optional.

Optional.

What would you use first?

Pick any. Each one says whether it’s ready today.

Optional. Your nights, your room, what you’d want first.

We’ll only use this to talk with you about bringing Castle Gambit to your club. What we keep, and for how long. Ask and we’ll delete it: castlegambit.support@avevue.com.

Questions from organizers

Asked at the organizer’s table.

Do my players need to download an app?
No. Castle Gambit runs in the phone’s browser: people scan tonight’s code, or type it at castlegambit.com/play, and their first game doesn’t need an account.
What about players without a smartphone?
Put them on your roster by name. You check them in and out and pair them from your phone, and their games count like everyone else’s. Roster players are adults, on your word.
Does it run Swiss or round-robin tournaments?
Not yet. Today it pairs people as they arrive, and Pair everyone runs round-style nights: every waiting player paired at once, colors balanced, rematches avoided. Knockouts are in early access; Swiss and round robins are on the roadmap.
Can I run USCF- or FIDE-rated events on it?
No. Castle Gambit’s rating is a social one, separate from USCF and FIDE. For rated events keep your federation software, and the scoresheets: phones stay switched off at those anyway.
Two hands across a chessboard, each holding a scoresheet copy, one pink and one canary, with 1-0 circled on both: how rated tournaments confirm a result on paper.
Rated tournaments: two signed copies, phones off. Club night: two phones.
How do disputed results work?
When two players report different results, the game comes to you with both answers side by side, and one tap settles it. You can’t settle a game you played in: another organizer settles that one, so it’s worth making a co-organizer.
Who sees players’ ratings?
By default, only people who share a Castle with them; each player can make theirs public or keep it to themselves. Ratings never appear on the TV, in the lobby or on the pairing screen.
Can more than one person run our club?
Yes. Make any member an organizer: they can open the lobby, approve members and settle results. The owner can hand the Castle over and stay on as an organizer.
Can I run two rooms or sections on the same night?
Not yet: a Castle has one open lobby at a time.
Does it work on our TV?
Yes, if the TV has a web browser: open the TV link on it, or on a laptop plugged into it. There are size settings for 43-, 55- and 65-inch screens and projectors.
Is Castle Gambit free for organizers?
Yes, for players, and it stays that way: finding a game at club night, your rating, Castles, gambits, crowns and stamps are all free. Organizers get everything they use today for free too: the lobby, the poster, the club TV, pairing, rosters and results.
Later we’ll add paid extras for clubs that want more, like tournament tools and paid event registration. Club night itself stays free.
Who can use Castle Gambit?
Adults, 18 and over: everyone who plays, organizes or joins a Castle. Younger players are welcome to the guides, which are free to read with no account.

You bring the boards. We’ll bring the paperwork.

Start a Castle tonight and it’s ready for your next club night. Want knockout nights first? Get your club on the list.

Start a CastleGet early accessRunning a college club?