Tournaments
ChessVS has four tournament tiers, from the weekly Swiss to the season-defining championship. Exact requirements, and the entry fee if there is one, are published with each event.
The four tiers
Tier 1 — Weekly events
- Entry: A small FOCUS entry fee, shown on the event card before you register (100 FOCUS for the weekly Swiss)
- Format: Weekly rapid events
- Rewards: FOCUS for every round you play, a bonus for the champion, XP and card rewards
- For: Everyone — the perfect warm-up. FOCUS is earned by playing, so there is nothing to buy.
Entry fees
Some events charge an entry fee in FOCUS, the in-game currency you earn by playing. The fee is always shown on the event card before you register, so you never learn the price from the button.
- You pay when you take a seat. Registering for an event with open seats charges the fee right then.
- The waitlist is free. If the field is full, or seeds are already locked, registering puts you on the waitlist at no charge. You pay only if a seat opens for you, so keep at least the fee on your balance while you wait. If your balance can't cover it when a seat opens, the seat passes to the next player in line and you stay on the list.
- Refunds only if the event is cancelled. A cancelled event returns every fee in full. Withdrawing, forfeiting, or being swapped out for a no-show does not refund the fee.
- You'll be told. Getting a seat off the waitlist, being passed over, and a refund each send you a notification: the bell in the top bar, and a Discord message if your accounts are linked.
Tier 2 — Ranked play
- Entry: Announced in-game
- Format: Continuous ELO ladder plus seasonal ranked matches
- Rewards: FOCUS and ELO on a win
- For: All registered players — this is the core competitive loop.
Tier 3 — Advanced league
- Deck requirement: Requirements are published with each event
- Entry: Announced in-game
- Rewards: FOCUS and exclusive card drops
- Rank gate: Advanced tier or above
- For: Serious competitors with a real card collection.
Tier 4 — Season championship
- Deck requirement: Full loadout of high-rarity cards — requirements are published with each event
- Entry: Announced in-game
- Rewards: An exclusive trophy collectible, championship rewards, and a permanent title
- Rank gate: Master tier for qualifiers; Grandmaster for a direct seed
- For: The elite — one championship per season.
ELO and matchmaking
Your ELO rating is your chess-skill score. It starts at 1,200 and adjusts after every ranked match. How much it moves depends on your rating band:
| Rating band | Movement per match |
|---|---|
| Below 1,000 | Fast — new players calibrate quickly |
| 1,000–1,399 | Moderate |
| 1,400+ | Slow and stable — high ELO is hard-earned |
ELO carries between seasons, and so does your XP. Your ELO tier (Novice through Grandmaster) is derived from your rating; your XP Rank badge (Scout through Legend) is derived from career XP. They are separate ladders and you can sit at different heights on each.
Special formats
Mid-season cup — a mid-tier tournament at the season's midpoint: the recurring mid-season competitive beat between the early-season events and the late-season finals.
Cross-club team events — arriving in a later season. The winning club's members receive an exclusive cosmetic.
Sovereign Duels — live now: call out any player in public, 48 hours to accept, played in the open with the result on the record. Outside the ladder, so no rating and no FOCUS change hands — a duel pays the flat +90 XP a friendly does. See XP & Rank Tiers.
Invitational showcases — sponsored titled players competing with full card sets, broadcast for spectators.
A note on championship rewards
Each season's championship carries its own rewards, announced ahead of each season — check the in-app season page and the official Discord for the current details, since they are confirmed season by season.