Club teams compete in a double round-robin league — each team match is played over multiple boards, like the 4NCL
Team leagues are club-vs-club competitions. Each team (a named roster from a club) enters the tournament. Teams play a double round-robin — every team meets every other team twice (home and away). When two teams meet, they play a team match over several boards at once — one chess game per board.
Teams belong to clubs. A club organiser sets up rosters; the captain enters the team and picks a squad for the tournament.
Typically 4 boards (configurable). Board 1 = strongest player, board 4 = fourth strongest. All boards in a team match start together.
Each pair of teams plays twice. In the return fixture, home and away are swapped.
One captain registers the whole team. Squad members are notified. Lineups are frozen when the league starts, not at entry.
From league table down to individual games
Minimum squad size is 1 player — empty boards count as automatic forfeits at start.
Board points (games) and match points (team vs team)
Summed across all boards in a team match. Also used for the optional player prize pool.
Awarded to the team that wins more boards (defaults — organisers can configure). The league table is usually ranked by match points, then board points.
How many team matches and board games to expect
Example: 8 teams, 4 boards per match, double round-robin
| Metric | Formula | Example (8 teams, 4 boards) |
|---|---|---|
| Team matches (total) | T × (T − 1) | 8 × 7 = 56 encounters |
| Phases (approx.) | 2(T − 1) | 2 × 7 = 14 phases |
| Board games (total) | T × (T − 1) × B | 56 × 4 = 224 games |
| Games per team | 2(T − 1) × B | 14 × 4 = 56 games |
| Team matches per team | 2(T − 1) | 14 (each opponent twice) |
Odd team counts add byes in the team round-robin (one team sits out that phase), same idea as individual leagues.
Hammersmith Knights vs Cardiff Castles — 4 boards
| Board | Home (White) | Away (Black) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alice (2180) | Eve (2175) | 1–0 |
| 2 | Bob (2100) | Frank (2090) | ½–½ |
| 3 | Carol (2050) | Grace (2040) | 0–1 |
| 4 | Dan (1980) | Henry (1970) | 1–0 |
Paid team leagues can split the prize pool between a team pool and a player pool:
Entry fees are charged per team (from the team balance), not from each player individually. Organisers may add extra prize funding from their personal wallet when creating the league.
Teams are ranked primarily by match points (configurable to board points). When teams are tied on the primary metric, the secondary metric (board points or match points) is used.
Advanced tie-breaks (Buchholz, etc.) are not used in v1 — tied positions share pooled prize percentages where applicable.