Registration & Payments
Whether you are running a free club night or a paid weekend Swiss, TournaChess gives you flexible tools to manage how players sign up and how you collect entry fees. This guide covers tournament registration -- from public sign-up pages and custom fields to Stripe-powered payment processing and notification preferences.
Registration Flow Overview
When a player visits your tournament's registration page, they walk through a streamlined multi-step process designed to get them signed up quickly with minimal friction.
The steps are:
- Section selection -- The player chooses which section to play in (for example, Open, U1800, or Scholastic).
- Player information -- Name, email, and optional USCF or FIDE ID. Logged-in users have this pre-filled from their account.
- Custom fields -- Any additional questions you have configured for the tournament, such as emergency contact or t-shirt size.
- Payment -- If the section has an entry fee, the player proceeds to a secure Stripe checkout page. Free tournaments skip this step entirely.
- Confirmation -- The player sees a confirmation screen and receives an email with their registration details and a link back to the tournament page.
Both account holders and guests can register. Players do not need a TournaChess account to sign up -- guest registration is fully supported so there is no barrier for walk-in players.
Tip: Share your tournament's short link (for example,
tournachess.com/t/abc123) on flyers, social media, or group chats. It takes players directly to the registration page.
Public Registration
Public registration is the default mode for tournaments on TournaChess. Any tournament that is not marked as private allows players to find and register for it through the tournament's public page.
How it works
- No account required. Players can register as guests by entering their name, email, and section preference. This makes it easy for walk-in players to sign up on the spot, even from their phone.
- USCF and FIDE ID validation. When a player provides a USCF ID or FIDE ID during registration, TournaChess automatically looks up their rating and verifies the ID. The player's official name, rating, and title (if applicable) are pulled in and displayed in the registration list, so you do not need to manually verify anyone.
- Email confirmation. After completing registration, every player receives a confirmation email that includes the tournament name, section, date, location, and a link to the tournament page.
Controlling public access
You can enable or disable public registration in your tournament settings. When public registration is enabled, anyone with the tournament link can register. When it is disabled, only club members and players added manually by a TD can participate.
Note: Even when public registration is enabled, club members who are logged in can always register. The public registration setting only affects whether non-members and guests can sign up on their own.
Private Registration
Some events are meant for a specific group of players rather than the general public. TournaChess supports private registration for members-only events and TD-managed sign-ups.
Members-only events
When you disable public registration on a tournament, only members of your club can register. Players must be logged in to a TournaChess account that is associated with your club. This is useful for club championships, internal leagues, and invitational events.
TD-managed registration
For events where you want full control over the roster, TDs can add players directly through the tournament management interface. Open the tournament's Registrations tab and use the Add Player button to search for club members or enter new player details. This works well for invitational events, team matches, or situations where you are collecting registration information in person.
Tip: For recurring club events, consider using the Recurring Series feature. It generates new tournaments automatically with your preferred settings, and members who played in previous events can re-register quickly.
Custom Registration Fields
Beyond the standard name, section, and rating fields, you can add your own custom questions to the registration form. Custom fields let you collect any additional information you need from players when they sign up.
Adding custom fields
From the tournament creation or editing page, scroll to the Custom Registration Fields section and click Add Field. For each field, you configure:
- Field name -- The label players will see (for example, "Emergency Contact Phone" or "School Name").
- Field type -- The kind of input to display. Available types include:
- Text -- A free-form text input for names, notes, or short answers.
- Number -- A numeric input for ages, counts, or other numerical data.
- Date -- A date picker for birthdays or other date-based information.
- Required or optional -- Mark a field as required to ensure every player fills it in before completing registration. Optional fields are shown but can be left blank.
Custom fields appear in the registration form between the player information step and the payment step. Responses are saved with the registration and visible to TDs on the tournament management page.
Common use cases
Custom fields are flexible enough to handle a wide range of scenarios:
- Emergency contact information -- Name and phone number for a parent or guardian, especially important for scholastic events.
- School name -- For scholastic tournaments where you need to track which school each player represents.
- T-shirt size -- If your event includes merchandise or swag bags.
- Dietary restrictions -- For tournaments that include meals or refreshments.
Note: Custom field responses are included when you export registration data, so you can use them for planning and logistics outside of TournaChess.
Payment Processing with Stripe
TournaChess integrates with Stripe to let you collect entry fees online as part of the registration process. Players pay securely through Stripe's checkout page, and funds are deposited directly into your club's connected Stripe account.
Prerequisites
Before you can collect payments, your club must have Stripe Connect set up. This is a one-time process where a club owner or admin connects a Stripe account to your club through the club settings page. For detailed setup instructions, see Club Management.
Once Stripe Connect is active, you will see payment options available when creating or editing tournaments.
Setting entry fees with payment options
Entry fees in TournaChess are configured through payment options. A payment option is a named pricing tier with an amount and an optional time window. You can create payment options at the tournament level (applying to all sections) or at the section level (for section-specific pricing).
Each payment option includes:
- Description -- A label players will see, such as "Early Bird Entry" or "Standard Entry Fee."
- Amount -- The price in dollars. Set the amount to $0.00 to create a free registration option (useful when you want to offer both paid and free tiers).
- Available from / Available until -- Optional date range that controls when this pricing tier is active.
Multiple pricing tiers
You can create multiple payment options with different date ranges to implement tiered pricing. For example:
| Payment Option | Amount | Available From | Available Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Bird | $20.00 | Tournament created | February 1 |
| Standard Entry | $30.00 | February 2 | Day of tournament |
| At-the-Door | $40.00 | Day of tournament | End of day |
When a player registers, they will only see payment options that are currently active based on the date. This means early registrants automatically get the lower price without any manual intervention on your part.
What players see
After filling in their registration details and any custom fields, players who need to pay are redirected to a Stripe-powered checkout page. This page is hosted by Stripe, so card details are handled securely and never touch TournaChess servers. Players can pay with credit cards, debit cards, and other payment methods enabled on your Stripe account.
Once payment is confirmed, the player is redirected back to the tournament page with a confirmation message, and their registration status is updated to Registered.
Tip: If a player starts the checkout process but does not complete payment, their registration is held in a Pending Payment state for up to 30 minutes. This prevents their spot from being taken while they complete payment. After 30 minutes, the hold expires and their pending registration is automatically cleaned up.
Free tournaments
If your tournament does not charge entry fees, you do not need to set up Stripe at all. Simply leave the payment options empty or create a $0.00 payment option. Players will complete registration without seeing a payment step.
Managing Payments
Once registrations start coming in, you can track and manage payment status from the tournament management page.
Payment status tracking
The registrations list on your tournament management page shows the payment status for each player. You can quickly see:
- Paid -- The player completed payment through Stripe or was marked as paid manually.
- Pending Payment -- The player started checkout but has not completed it yet. The system holds their spot for up to 30 minutes.
- Unpaid -- No payment has been recorded. This applies to players added manually or registered for free events.
In-person payments
Not every player will pay online. For players who prefer to pay at the venue with cash or check, you can handle this through manual payment tracking:
- When the player registers (or when you add them manually), leave their payment as unpaid.
- When they arrive and pay in person, open their registration from the tournament management page.
- Mark the payment as received and optionally add a note (for example, "Paid cash at door").
This updates their status so you have an accurate record of who has paid without requiring every player to go through the online checkout.
Payment reporting
The tournament management page provides a summary of collected fees for each tournament. You can see:
- Total fees collected -- The sum of all payments received through Stripe and marked manually.
- Outstanding payments -- Registrations that are still unpaid or pending.
- Payment breakdown by section -- How fees are distributed across sections if you have section-specific pricing.
Note: Stripe processes payouts to your connected bank account on its own schedule, typically within 2 business days. You can check payout status and details in your Stripe dashboard.
Registration Notifications
TournaChess keeps both players and tournament directors informed throughout the registration process with automatic email notifications.
Automatic player confirmation
Every player who registers -- whether they have a TournaChess account or are registering as a guest -- receives a confirmation email immediately after completing registration. The email includes:
- Tournament name and club name
- Section they registered for
- Tournament date and location
- A link to the tournament page where they can view pairings and standings
- A confirmation number for their records
This works for both free and paid registrations. For paid registrations, the confirmation is sent after payment is successfully processed.
TD notifications
As a tournament director, you may want to know the moment someone signs up for your event. TournaChess supports per-registration email alerts that notify subscribed TDs each time a new player registers.
When a new registration comes in, subscribed TDs receive an email that includes:
- The player's name
- The section they registered for
- Their USCF ID and FIDE ID (if provided)
- The current total number of registrations
- A direct link to the tournament's registrations page
This is especially useful in the days leading up to an event, so you can monitor sign-ups without checking the management page repeatedly.
Configuring notification preferences
Registration notification subscriptions are configured per tournament. To enable or disable notifications:
- Open the tournament's management page.
- Switch to the Registrations tab.
- Look for the Subscribe toggle (labeled with a bell or notification icon).
- Enable it to start receiving email alerts for new registrations, or disable it to stop.
Each TD manages their own subscription independently. One TD can receive notifications while another opts out, so there is no conflict between team members with different preferences.
Every notification email includes an unsubscribe link at the bottom, so you can quickly opt out if your inbox gets busy as registration picks up.
Tip: Enable registration notifications early when you first create the tournament. This way you will know immediately when your first players start signing up, and you can gauge interest well before the event date.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a player register for multiple sections?
Yes. TournaChess allows this as sometimes different sections occur at different times. Tournament rules may say otherwise. A TD can withdraw players from a section if necessary.
What happens if a player registers but does not pay?
If payment is required, the player's registration is held in a Pending Payment state for up to 30 minutes. If they do not complete checkout within that window, the hold expires and their registration is removed. If you are expecting the player to pay in person, you can add them manually and mark payment when they arrive. It is best to offer a 0-cost payment option to allow a player to explicitly choose the in-person payment option.
Can I offer refunds through TournaChess?
Refunds are managed through your Stripe dashboard. TournaChess records the original payment information, but refund processing happens directly in Stripe where you have full control over partial or full refund amounts.
Do guests receive the same registration experience as account holders?
Yes. The registration form, payment flow, and confirmation email are the same regardless of whether the player has a TournaChess account. The only difference is that account holders have their information pre-filled and can view their registration history across tournaments from their profile.
Can I change entry fees after players have already registered?
You can add, edit, or remove payment options at any time. Changes only affect future registrations. Players who already registered and paid are not affected by price changes, and existing payments are not modified.
How do I handle a player who registered for the wrong tournament?
A TD can withdraw the player from the incorrect tournament through the registrations management page. The player can then register for the correct event. If payment was involved, process a refund through your Stripe dashboard.
Still have questions? Visit our Contact page to get in touch with TournaChess support.