Chess in the classroom

How a class tournament works

1. Type a name and press Create the tournament. The format, time control and start time have good defaults; if you want to change anything, it's under Settings.
2. Show the QR code on the big screen. Students scan it with a tablet or phone, or type in the short address, and type their first name.
3. Press Start when everyone has joined. The students are paired up, and the game starts right away on each screen.
4. Follow the standings on the big screen. They update after every game. Click a game under way to watch it.
5. Print certificates. When the tournament is over, every student gets a certificate of their own with their name, place and the date.

Arena or rounds?

Arena works best in a lesson. For a set time, 30 minutes for example, everyone plays as many games as they can fit in. A few seconds after a game ends, the student gets a new opponent with about the same number of points, so nobody sits waiting for the others. A win is 2 points and a draw 1, but a draw in fewer than 10 moves each scores nothing. Whoever wins two games in a row is on fire 🔥 and gets double points until they don't win.

Rounds work like an ordinary chess tournament: everyone plays the same number of games, and the next round starts when every game in the previous round is finished. A win is 1 point and a draw ½. If there's an odd number of students, one sits out each round, and that counts as a win. Two students don't play each other twice as long as there's someone else to play.

How long does it take?

With 5 + 0, each player has five minutes for the whole game, so a game takes at most ten minutes. A few suggestions:

Before the lesson

• Open the tournament on the computer connected to the projector, so the QR code shows up big.
• Check that the students' devices can reach lavichess.com. Nothing needs to be installed.
• Not everyone knows the rules yet? Go through the lessons together, or read about chess for kids.
• If you want the tournament to start by itself, right after recess or lunch for example, choose a start time under Settings.

During the tournament

• Ask the students to stay on the tournament's page. Anyone who closes the page, or lets the tablet go to sleep, gets no new opponent until they're back.
• Anyone who doesn't make their first move within 30 seconds loses the game and is paused, so nobody is left sitting and waiting. The student presses Keep playing to join in again.
• You can change a name or remove someone from the list, for example if the same student has joined twice.
• If you need to stop early, press End the tournament. The games under way are played out and count.

Afterward

• Print the certificates: one per student, on landscape US Letter or A4. If you want only the top three to get a place, you can choose that; then the others' certificates say “for taking part.”
• After each game, the student can press See the game to open a page with all the moves of that game. It works well for showing on the big screen and talking through.

Safe for students

• No chat. Students can only send ready-made greetings, like 👍 Nice! and 🤝 Well played.
• No accounts and no email. Students type only their first name, and the name is checked for rude words.
• Private. The tournament can only be reached with the link or the QR code. Anyone watching a game can't write anything, only cheer with 👏 😮 🔥, and nobody sees who's watching.
• You're in control. Only you have the link that runs the tournament. If someone has a mean name, you can change the name or remove them from the list.
• Deleted. The tournament and every name in it are deleted 30 days after it's over, and you can delete everything right away with one button. No ads. Read more under privacy.

Think for yourself: help from a chess program during the game is cheating, in a class tournament too.

Do you run a chess club? There's the same thing for clubs.