User Guide
Everything you need to play in or run a chess tournament. Start with the Quick Start below, jump to a topic from the Contents, or open the FAQ at the bottom.
⚡Quick Start
Players
- 1. Sign in (Google, Lichess, Email, or Passkey)
- 2. Set timezone & availability in Profile
- 3. Join an Open tournament
- 4. Propose/accept match times in match chat
- 5. Play, report result, check standings
Tournament Organizers
- 1. Create tournament (Draft)
- 2. Open registration & add participants
- 3. Set deadlines and start
- 4. Monitor progress
- 5. It completes after the last round
Club Organizers
- 1. Create a club
- 2. Invite members
- 3. Create club tournament
- 4. Only members can join
- 5. Manage from club page
Creating an Account
Sign in with whichever method suits you:
Google Sign-In
Click Continue with Google → Choose your Google account → Done.
Lichess Sign-In
Click Continue with Lichess → authorize on Lichess → Done. Also auto-fills and verifies your Lichess username.
Email Code
Click Sign in with Email Code → enter your email → enter the 6-digit code we send. The code works for 10 minutes and allows 5 tries. If it says “Invalid or expired code”, check you typed the latest code; once it has expired or you’ve used all 5 tries, click Resend code.
Passkey
Once registered, tap "Sign in with passkey" → confirm with biometrics or PIN. See Passkeys below.
Account Approval
After signing in for the first time, you land on the waitlist. Pick your role (Player, Organizer, or Both) and add a short introduction — this helps admins review your request faster. You’ll get an email the moment you’re approved. If your request isn’t approved, the waitlist page tells you so and shows any message from the team. Update your role and details, then click Request approval again to go back on the waitlist for another review.
Joining via a club invite link skips the waitlist entirely — you’re approved automatically. Ask a club admin for their invite link if you have one.
While you’re on the waitlist you can browse tournaments and clubs, and update your request (your role and introduction) on the waitlist page. Your profile, and joining or creating tournaments, open up once you’re approved.
Once you’re approved, a short welcome flow asks for your display name, chess accounts and timezone, an optional referral code from a friend, and how you’ll use Chess Manager. Finish it to unlock the rest of the app — you can still browse tournaments in the meantime.
Passkeys
Passkeys let you sign in with your device’s biometrics (Touch ID, Face ID, Windows Hello, Android fingerprint) or a hardware security key — no email code, no password. They’re tied to a public/private key pair stored on your device or synced via iCloud Keychain / Google Password Manager.
Register your first passkey
- Sign in once with Google, Lichess, or an email code (passkeys can only be added to an existing approved account).
- Open Profile → scroll to the Security section.
- Click Register a passkey — your device prompts you to confirm with biometrics, PIN, or a security key.
- You’ll see a “Passkey registered” toast and the new entry in the list with its device hint and creation time.
Sign in with a passkey
- Open the login page.
- Click Sign in with passkey (below “Continue with Lichess”).
- Confirm with biometrics, PIN, or security key when your device asks.
- You’re signed in — no email lookup, no code entry.
Manage your passkeys
| Rename | Click the pencil icon next to a passkey to give it a friendly name (1–100 characters), e.g. “Work laptop” or “Personal YubiKey”. |
| Revoke | Click the trash icon and confirm — the passkey stops working immediately, and your other devices are signed out. If it’s your only way to sign in, revoking is refused until you sign in once with an email code (which verifies your email) or add another method. |
| Device hint | Shown automatically based on the authenticator (e.g. “iCloud Keychain”, “Windows Hello”, “YubiKey 5”). |
| Last used | Each row shows when that passkey was last used to sign in — handy for spotting unused devices. |
Supported platforms
| iPhone / iPad / Mac | Touch ID, Face ID, or device passcode — synced via iCloud Keychain across your Apple devices. |
| Windows | Windows Hello (face, fingerprint, or PIN). Modern browsers on Windows 10+. |
| Android | Fingerprint or screen lock — synced via Google Password Manager. |
| Security key | USB / NFC / Bluetooth FIDO2 keys (YubiKey, SoloKey, etc.) — touch the key to confirm. |
Synced passkeys (iCloud Keychain / Google Password Manager) roam between your devices automatically. Hardware keys and device-bound passkeys do not — register a separate passkey on each device you want to sign in from.
Troubleshooting
| “No passkey found for this site” | Your device has no passkey for this account — either you cancelled the prompt, or you’re on a device where you never registered one. Sign in with Google, Lichess, or email instead, then register a passkey from Profile → Security. |
| “Passkeys aren’t supported” | Your browser or OS doesn’t support WebAuthn yet. Use Google, Lichess, or email sign-in, and consider updating your browser. |
| “Sign-in with passkey failed” | Something went wrong during the ceremony — try again, or fall back to another method. If it keeps happening, revoke the affected passkey and register a fresh one. |
| Lost or stolen device | On another device, sign in with an email code (or Google or Lichess, if you’ve connected them), then revoke the lost device’s passkey from Profile → Security. Revoking signs out every other device straight away, including the lost one — only the device you’re using stays signed in. |
Passkey registration is rate-limited to 5 attempts per minute. If you hit the limit, wait a minute and try again.
Linked Sign-In Methods
You can use more than one way to sign in, and they all reach the same account. Connect Google or Lichess from your profile so email, Google, and Lichess sign-in all land on one account.
| Connect Lichess | Profile → Linked Chess Accounts → “Link via Lichess sign-in”. Authorize on Lichess and it’s connected — this also auto-fills and verifies your Lichess username. |
| Connect Google | Profile → “Connect Google”. Authorize with Google and both Google and email sign-in reach the same account. |
| Disconnect | Click “Disconnect” next to a connected method and confirm. You stay signed in here, but your other devices are signed out. Disconnecting Lichess also removes your Lichess username from your profile. Until you add it back, you can’t join Lichess tournaments, games in tournaments you’ve already joined aren’t set up on Lichess automatically, and a Lichess game you report can’t be matched to you by username. If you turned on auto-create, it’s turned off; turn it on again once your username is back. The surest way back is to connect Lichess again. Typing your username into the Lichess field on your profile and verifying it also works, unless another account has taken it in the meantime. If it’s your only way to sign in, disconnecting is refused — sign in once with an email code (which verifies your email), or add a passkey or another connected account first. |
Already have an account? If you click “Continue with Lichess” on the login page but that email already belongs to an account, we won’t merge it in automatically — a Lichess email can’t be confirmed as verified on our side. Sign in with your email address instead — we’ll send you a code — and we’ll then offer to connect the Lichess account you just used, in one click. Sign in within 10 minutes, in the same browser — after that the offer expires, and you can connect Lichess from Profile → Linked Chess Accounts → “Link via Lichess sign-in” instead.
The login-page buttons are best for a brand-new account, or an account already linked to that provider. To add a provider to an existing account, connect it from your profile.
Setting Up Your Profile
| Display Name | Your unique username — shown throughout the app |
| Chess.com | Your Chess.com username — validated against the platform |
| Lichess | Your Lichess username — validated against the platform |
| Timezone | For displaying times in your local timezone |
Click "Detect" to auto-detect your timezone from your browser.
Your profile shows a completeness progress bar (25% per field). Chess.com and Lichess usernames must be verified against the platform to count toward completeness.
Privacy Settings
Control who can see your profile information:
| Profile Audience | Everyone, My Clubs, My Tournaments, or Nobody |
| Timezone Visibility | Toggle whether others can see your timezone |
| Searchability | Opt out of player search — organizers in your tournaments can still find you |
| Personalized Recommendations | On by default — your clubs, time-control preference and tournaments shape your suggestions. Turn it off and you’ll still see featured tournaments, but the Suggested clubs and Suggested players sections are hidden |
Availability
Set your weekly availability so opponents can find times that work for both of you. The availability editor shows a grid of 7 days × 2-hour blocks (06:00–24:00). Click cells to cycle through three levels:
| Preferred (green) | Best times to play — most likely to accept |
| Conditional (yellow) | Available with caveats — may need advance notice |
| Unavailable (red) | Cannot play during these times |
Unmarked slots are treated as unspecified. When you propose or counter-propose a match time, the dialog shows an overlap grid of the times you’re both available, so it’s easy to pick one that works.
You can also add free-text scheduling notes below the grid (e.g., “I’m flexible on weekends” or “Prefer mornings”). They’re saved when you save your profile, and your opponent sees them in the same dialog, below the grid.
Your opponent’s times are converted into your timezone. Only your opponent sees your availability and notes, and only while your match is being scheduled. Nobody else can see them, and if your profile audience is Nobody, your opponent can’t either.
Mailing List Preferences
Control which mailing lists you’re subscribed to from your profile:
| Product Updates | New features, improvements, and release notes |
| Community & Tips | Tournament organizing tips, guides, and community highlights |
| Marketing | Promotions, partnerships, and sponsored content |
All lists are opt-out — you’re subscribed by default and can unsubscribe at any time.
Theme
Switch between Light, Dark, and System (follows your OS preference) from the Theme option in your user menu, top right. When you’re signed out, use the theme toggle in the navigation bar.
Data Export
Download a copy of your personal data — your profile, match history and chat messages — from the “Data export” section near the bottom of your profile. Click Request export: the ZIP file is prepared in the background, and we email you when it’s ready to download. You can request one export every 24 hours.
Deleting Your Account
Open the Danger Zone at the bottom of your profile and click Delete Account. Your account is deactivated straight away, any active matches are forfeited, and you’re signed out. After 30 days your personal data is permanently deleted — your past games and standings stay in their tournaments, without your name. Changed your mind? Sign in again within those 30 days and click “Keep my account” on the page you land on (or Cancel Deletion in your profile’s Danger Zone).
If you navigate away with unsaved profile changes, you’ll see a confirmation dialog. Save or discard your changes before leaving.