Club Management
Whether you are starting a new chess club or bringing an established one online, TournaChess gives you the tools to manage your club, invite members, collect fees, and run tournaments all from one place. This guide walks you through setting up your club and managing it day to day.
Creating a Club
Any authenticated user with a verified email address can create a club on TournaChess. Creating a club takes just a few minutes and makes you the club Owner with full administrative permissions.
Club Name
Your club name is a unique identifier that becomes part of your club's URL. For example, if you choose the name lincoln-chess-club, your club page will be available at tournachess.com/clubs/lincoln-chess-club.
Club names follow these rules:
- Must be globally unique across all of TournaChess
- Can only contain letters, numbers, and hyphens
- Minimum 3 characters, converted to lowercase automatically
- Cannot be changed to a name already in use by another club
Choose your club name carefully since it becomes your permanent web address. If your club has a common name, consider adding your city or region to make it unique (for example, chicago-chess-club or westside-chess).
Display Name
The display name is optional and controls how your club appears to members throughout the platform. If you leave it blank, TournaChess uses the club name as the display name. Unlike the club name, the display name can include spaces, capitalization, and special characters, so you can use your club's official name exactly as it appears in real life.
For example, you might set the club name to st-louis-chess-club and the display name to St. Louis Chess Club.
Description
The club description supports rich text with headers, links, bold and italic text, and lists. Use this space to tell potential members about your club: when you meet, what events you run, and how to get involved.
Location
Enter the city where your club meets, or choose Virtual if your club operates entirely online.
What Happens Next
When you create a club, you are automatically assigned the Owner role with full permissions over every aspect of the club. You can immediately begin inviting members, configuring settings, and creating tournaments.
Club Settings
After creating your club, you can fine-tune its configuration from the club settings page. Settings are organized into several categories.
Basic Information
You can update your club's core details at any time:
- Club name: Your URL-friendly identifier (must remain unique)
- Display name: The human-readable name shown to members
- Description: Markdown-formatted club description
- Location: City name or Virtual
Tip: You can change the display name, description, and location at any time. The club name (URL slug) can also be changed, as long as the new name is not already in use by another club.
Managing Members
Add TournaChess members to your club is not necessary to allow players to participate in tournaments. Adding club members is required for:
- Granting elevated permissions to manage the club and run tournaments
- Allowing members to view and register for tournaments marked as private to club members only
Inviting Members
The way to add members is by sending in-app invitations:
- Navigate to your club's member management page
- Click Invite Member
- Enter the email address of the person you want to invite (they must already have a TournaChess account)
- Select a role for the new member (Admin, Tournament Director, or Member)
- Optionally set a display name for them
- Click Send Invitation
The invitation appears on the invitee's home page the next time they sign in. From there, they can accept or decline. Pending invitations are also visible on your club's member management page, where you can withdraw them if needed.
Only club Owners and Admins can send invitations. Tournament Directors and regular Members cannot invite others.
Note: The invitee must have an existing TournaChess account registered with the email address you enter. If they do not have an account yet, ask them to create one first, then send the invitation.
Tip: When inviting someone to be a Tournament Director, you can include their name as the display name so it appears correctly in your member list right away.
Viewing the Member List
The member list shows everyone in your club with key details:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Member's display name |
| Role | Owner, Admin, Tournament Director, or Member |
| Joined | Date the member joined the club |
| Chess IDs | Linked USCF and FIDE identifiers, if available |
You can sort and filter the list by role to quickly find your tournament directors or administrators.
Removing Members
Owners and Admins can remove members from the club. Removing a member revokes their access to club management features and future tournament creation, but does not delete their tournament history. Past tournament results remain intact for rating integrity.
Note: See Roles & Permissions for details on the role hierarchy.
Stripe Connect Setup
If you want to collect tournament entry fees online, you will need to connect a Stripe account to your club. TournaChess uses Stripe Connect to securely handle payment processing, so tournament fees go directly to your club's bank account.
Getting Started
- Navigate to your club's settings page
- Find the Stripe Connect section
- Click Connect with Stripe to begin the onboarding process
You will be redirected to Stripe's onboarding flow, where you will provide your club's banking and identity information. This is a standard Stripe process and typically takes a few minutes to complete. The process is much quicker for those that already have a Stripe account.
What Stripe Enables
Once your Stripe account is connected and verified, you can:
- Set entry fees when creating new tournaments
- Accept online payments during player registration
- Track payment status for each registered player
- Manage in-person payment tracking for players who pay at the venue
Online and In-Person Payments
Players who register online can pay their entry fees during the registration process using a credit or debit card. For players who register in person (or prefer to pay with cash), tournament directors can manually mark payments as received.
Tip: You do not need Stripe Connect to run tournaments. If your club does not charge entry fees, or if you prefer to handle payments outside of TournaChess, you can skip this step entirely.
For a complete guide to managing registration fees and payment workflows, see Registration & Payments.
Club Lifecycle
Over the life of your club, you may need to shut things down permanently. TournaChess provides an option for this.
Deleting a Club
If you need to permanently remove your club from TournaChess, you can delete it from the club settings page. Deletion is a drastic and irreversible action.
Warning: Club deletion cannot be undone. All tournament data, member records, and settings are permanently removed.
When you delete a club:
- All tournaments and their results are permanently removed
- All member records are deleted
- All club settings and activity history are erased
- The club name becomes available for others to use
- Stripe Connect association is removed
Next Steps
Now that your club is set up, here are some guides to help you get the most out of TournaChess:
- Creating Tournaments -- Set up your first tournament with sections, time controls, and registration settings
- Roles & Permissions -- Understand the full role hierarchy and learn how to delegate responsibilities
- Registration & Payments -- Configure online registration and entry fee collection
- Recurring Series -- Automate your weekly or monthly tournament schedule
- Grand Prix -- Create a multi-tournament series with cumulative standings
Still have questions? Visit our Contact page to get in touch with TournaChess support.