Frequently
Asked.
Answered.

No. You can browse all public tournament listings and view live brackets without signing in. An account is only required to register for events.

Click "Get started" in the top navigation, enter your email and a password, choose your role (Player or Tournament Director), then optionally link your US Chess member ID to pull in your official rating.

No — roles are permanent to preserve data integrity. If you need a different role, create a new account with a different email address.

Creating an account is free. Tournament directors pay a small platform fee on collected entry fees. Players pay whatever entry fee the director sets — ChessMate charges no additional registration fee on top.

Enter your 8-digit US Chess member ID during signup or in your account settings. ChessMate fetches your current rating and membership status automatically.

ChessMate mirrors the official US Chess database. If your rating appears incorrect, contact US Chess directly at uschess.org. Updates will sync automatically once US Chess corrects it.

You will see a warning on your dashboard and on any rated event you try to register for. Unrated events have no membership requirement. Renew at uschess.org to restore full access.

Yes — your public player profile displays USCF, FIDE, Chess.com, and Lichess ratings side by side. These are informational only; rated tournament results are submitted to US Chess and FIDE only.

Go to the tournament page, click "Register", choose your time control and section, then confirm. If there is an entry fee, you will be taken to a secure Stripe checkout.

Yes — some tournaments allow players to enter more than one section (for example, Open and U1800). Where this is permitted, you can select multiple sections during registration.

Yes, as long as the tournament is still in the "Open" status. Go to your player dashboard, find the tournament, and click "Withdraw". Entry fee refunds follow the director's stated policy.

Registration closes automatically when the director's player cap is reached. Contact the director directly if you want to be added to a waitlist.

Entry fees are collected via Stripe Checkout at the time of registration. ChessMate never stores your card details — all payment data is handled by Stripe.

ChessMate charges tournament directors a small percentage of total collected entry fees. This is deducted from the payout — players are never charged extra.

Payouts are processed automatically when a tournament is marked as Finished. Funds are sent to the director's connected Stripe account, typically within 2 business days.

Refund eligibility is set by the tournament director. ChessMate can process refunds only if the director approves them. Contact the director first; contact support@chessmate.app if you can't reach them.

ChessMate uses a FIDE-approved Swiss pairing algorithm (bbpPairings). Pairings are generated by score group, with color balancing and float restrictions applied automatically.

Round Robin schedules are generated using Berger tables. Every player faces every other player exactly once. Standings are determined by total points.

Pairings are published by the director or co-director. The moment they are published, the bracket on the public tournament page updates in real time — no refresh needed.

Directors can re-enter results for any pairing as long as the round has not been officially closed. Contact the director if a result appears wrong.

Club TD is sufficient for most local rated events. Local TD covers regional tournaments. Senior TD is required for any US Chess rated event above the club level. National TD is required for major invitationals and championships.

Yes. From your tournament's management page, go to Co-Directors and invite another registered Tournament Director by their email or US Chess ID. Co-directors can generate pairings and enter results alongside you.

Connect a Stripe account from your director dashboard. Once connected, payouts are sent automatically when you mark a tournament as Finished.

No. You can create and manage as many concurrent events as you like.