Chess

Want to know how good you really are? Sign up for a Live Chess tournament and find out today!

Click Here to Play Live Chess!

New tournaments start every 15 minutes, around the clock, and offer a choice of 6 different time-controls. All Live tournaments are Swiss style: there's no elimination, so every player plays in all rounds.

Right now, all Live Tournaments are rated and include sections for all rating levels, as well as an Open section. Here is the current schedule (a two-hour cycle), with estimates of the total tournament duration for each format (make sure you've got time to finish!)

Hour 1:00 = 10|0 Rapid Tournament (5 rounds = ~1.5 hrs)
Hour 1:15 = 1|0 Lightning Tournament (9 rounds = ~20 mins)
Hour 1:30 = 5|0 Blitz Tournament (7 rounds = ~1 hr)
Hour 1:45 = 15|10 Standard Tournament (5 rounds ~4 hrs)
Hour 2:00 = 3|0 Super Blitz Tournament (7 rounds = ~45 mins)
Hour 2:15 = 1|0 Lightning Tournament (9 rounds = ~20 mins)
Hour 2:30 = 5|0 Blitz Tournament (7 rounds = ~1 hr)
Hour 2:45 = 2|1 Bullet Tournament (7 rounds = ~45 mins)

You will see the several upcoming tournaments (those starting soonest) in the Seek graph, as little Trophy icons. Hover your mouse pointer over the icon for more information. 

For a more detailed view of upcoming events, there is a "Tournaments" tab just above the Seek Graph: Here, you will find a list of sections you are eligible to join, showing exactly when they will begin - based on your computer's clock.

Events are available for registration one hour before the start-time (just hit "Join" at right):



You may join only one tournament at a time. Once you join, you will immediately see a new tab appear below, in the same section as the Alerts tab; it will have the same title as the specific tournament you joined.

If you join a tournament accidentally, or change your mind, simply hit the "Withdraw" link in the upper right corner of the new tab (see below). You can do this during the tournament as well, but please be sure to properly resolve any games in progress, by resigning if necessary.

(Note: Players who wilfully prolong tournament rounds because they are losing will have their accounts restricted! Click here to review our Fair Play Policy.)

The tab for a specific tournament has three views:

• Chat: A special chat-room for players in your section, this is available for use before the event begins and after it has finished. We also announce the winners here when the event ends!

• Games: A list of all the tournament games currently in play. (If you're between rounds you can observe games from here.)

• Standings: Who's in the lead?? Find out here, with a straight-forward list of players, as well as their ratings, point-scores and tie-break scores. (Click here to learn more about tie-break scores.) Please note: Standings are updated at the end of each round, not at the end of each game.

So what's it like to play in a tournament? Here's how it works:

• 60 seconds before the event begins, registered players get a reminder in all Chat areas, including the Alerts tab. Get ready to play!

• IMPORTANT: If you are playing another game at this point, you should finish it quickly (unless you enjoy playing multiple games at once)! Also, if you disconnect/log-out and have not reconnected when the tournament begins, you will be withdrawn.

• When the round begins, your new game will appear & clocks will start automatically (for subsequent rounds, there is a 10-second delay before the clocks are started)

• When your game ends, you simply wait for the remaining games in that round to be completed, and then the next round begins. This process repeats for the remaining rounds.

NOTE: Occasionally, if there is an odd number of participants, you may get a "1-point bye" during a given round instead of playing an actual game...



The bad news is you have to sit one round out; the good news is you get scored as if you won! (Generally speaking, byes are awarded in the first round to the lowest-rated player - and in subsequent rounds to the lowest scoring player in the event. A given player cannot get a bye more than once per event.)

When the tournament ends, the winners are announced, and the complete final results may be viewed on the "Standings" tab (see above). Trophies are awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place! The Results announcement (see below) will also show your personal result (with a shaded background), regardless of where you placed.

You are now free to join another tournament, provided you have not already hit the limit for your membership level:

• Basic/Free = 3 tournaments per week

• Gold = 3 tournaments per day

• Platinum/Diamond = unlimited tournaments

Click Here to Play Live Chess!

Please note: We will soon be adding pages on the main site where you can view details about your past Live Tournaments, similar to the existing pages for e-chess tournaments.