Why We Should Go Paperless at Chess Tournaments
Dear Chess Organizers, Arbiters and yes—Players too,
After a recent Sunday’s event, I came to a conclusion: We should all move toward paperless tournaments.
Let me tell you what happened.
I was part of the chess team from the Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club, and in partnership with the Civic Center District, we held a chess event at UN Plaza in San Francisco.
It’s a fun, energetic place in the heart of the city — right across from the farmer’s market, with tons of people walking by. We planned a scholastic tournament with a maximum of 60 players, using a 4-round G/30;d5 time control (yes, delay is common in the U.S… don’t get me started!).
As arbiters, we’re so used to relying on our pairing software — print the pairings, post them, players find their spots, and off we go. But what if you have no power outlets and no printer?
That’s exactly what we faced. And it turned out to be the perfect opportunity to show the world (well, at least the local community!) that we don’t need paper to run a tournament.
No printed pairings. No result slips. Just clean, digital information!
How to Run a Paperless Chess Event
1. Create a private Google Sheet
This is your working document for pairings, standings, and results.
2. Create a public Google Sheet
Use IMPORTRANGE to mirror data from your private sheet to this public one. Why? Because if many people are viewing the same sheet you're editing, it can become slow or inaccessible — so it’s best to separate the two.
3. Share the public sheet
Send the link to participants in your pre-event welcome email, the morning-of reminder, or display a QR code at the venue.
4. Post pairings and standings in real time
Do this on your private sheet, and tell participants to refresh the public sheet to view the latest updates.
5. Collecting Results:
- For scholastic tournaments: I have players report results directly to me. This lets me confirm they sat on the correct side, played the right opponent, and agree on the outcome.
- For open tournaments: I either give players edit access to input results themselves, or continue collecting them manually.
6. Pro Tip:
Duplicate your pairing/results sheet after each round to maintain a record of every round’s data.
This isn’t rocket science — honestly, my kids could probably do this! So why don’t we see more paperless tournaments?
What are your thoughts?
Let’s keep pushing forward and changing old habits.
Xoxo, Judit
Proud mom of three brilliant, funny, and hard-working daughters, and wife to the smartest person I know, who's doing incredible work at the University of the Pacific.
I began my professional life as a chemist, earning a PhD in theoretical mass spectrometry and spending over a decade in analytical and clinical chemistry research.
But life took an unexpected and wonderful turn when I entered the world of chess. What started as curiosity and volunteering quickly became a passion, leading me to tournament organizing and arbitration.
Today, I hold the titles of National Tournament Director (NTD) and International Arbiter – Category C (IA-C), and have had the privilege of organizing and directing hundreds of chess events across the US and beyond.
At Chess.com, I’m thrilled to support and collaborate with a wide range of communities—from over-the-board (OTB) clubs and titled players to coaches, bloggers, and casual enthusiasts. No matter your level or interest, I’m here to help you find your place in the chess world.
Feel free to reach out—email is the best way to connect: judit.sztaray@chess.com.