Creating a tournament on the iqpi.io platform — how to create an online tournament in your account: from the Create tournament button to publication. You can run an online Chess tournament (Classic / Capital Chess or Swedish), Tetris, or Tetris: Attack with a prize pool, with or without an entry fee; choose knockout or Swiss system, complete steps 1–5, and publish (for a prize tournament with a fixed prize pool — with prize-pool funding).

Below — where to start, which flags to choose in the modal, what each step configures, and how to publish or cancel a tournament.

Do not confuse with Organizing tournaments (organizer earnings) and Prize tournaments (participant view). System and fee details are in the neighboring articles in the Tournaments section.

Related topics: Knockout system, Swiss system, Player requirements, Fees, Balance management, Donations.

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Where things are

There is no separate “create only” URL: first the modal and match settings, then a draft at /lk/tournaments/{slug}?edit=1&draft_step=….

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What you need before creating

1. Sign in to your account.
2. IQPIC balance not below the tournament-creation threshold (value from platform settings). If funds are short, an Insufficient funds window opens with amounts “required / on balance / shortfall” and a Top up button → /lk/balance?deposit=1. This check is before the wizard starts — it is not a charge for opening the form.
3. For a prize tournament with a predefined prize pool (not “from fees only”), you will need prize-pool funding from your balance before publication — see below.

Top-up: Balance management.

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Overall flow

1. My tournaments → Create tournament.
2. Modal: game and basic flags → Continue.
3. Match settings page (chess, tetris, or sudoku) → Continue — a draft is created.
4. Wizard steps 1–5 on the tournament page.
5. Publish (when needed — Fund and publish with prize-pool funding).

Status before publication: Draft.

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“Create tournament” modal

UI hints:

• prize — “If enabled — the tournament will have a prize pool.”;
• fee — “If enabled — an entry fee will be required to participate.”;
• donations — “Enables accepting donations from players on the tournament page”;
• friends — “Only users from the organizer’s friends list will be able to register for the tournament”.

Donations ≠ players topping up the prize pool. See Donations.

Swedish (Bughouse) is chosen in the second button row when the game is Chess. Capital Chess and Tetris: Attack for classic chess / tetris are set on the next screen as the match / win mode.

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Match settings

After Continue, the game-creation screen opens with the tournament flag:

• chess (Classic / Capital Chess): /lk/game/create/chess?tournament_create=1&…;
• Swedish: /lk/game/create/swedish?tournament_create=1&…;
• tetris: /lk/game/create/tetris?tournament_create=1&…;
• sudoku: /lk/game/create/sudoku?tournament_create=1&….

Here you set time control and mode (for chess — win mode Classic or Capital Chess; for Swedish — format 2×2 / 3×3 / 5×5, check/mate by drop, and board win mode; for tetris — including Tetris: Attack; for sudoku — variant, board size, difficulty, error limit, and party time). In tournament mode, challenging a specific player, handicap, and rated Buy-in are hidden; for Swedish, lobby access (open / by link) and party type (rated) are also hidden — the match for the bracket is a tournament team match; for sudoku, solo mode and rated stake are hidden — bracket matches are always PvP.

Continue creates the draft and goes to /lk/tournaments/{slug}?edit=1&draft_step=1. Back — to My tournaments.

Game rules: Chess, Capital Chess, Swedish, Tetris, Tetris: Attack.

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Team registration (Swedish)

A Swedish tournament is team-based: teams, not solo players, appear in the bracket and standings.

How to declare a team

1. Open the tournament page (/tournaments catalog or organizer link).
2. While registration is open, press Declare team.
3. If the player already had teams in other tournaments, choose an existing one (avatar, name, flag; list if several) or Declare a new team. The team name must be unique on the platform (not only in this tournament) — a duplicate used by another creator shows an error. You can still declare your own past team under the same name. The Open lobby toggle (on by default): when on, To lobby in the participants table is visible to everyone; when off — only to the creator and team members. The same toggle is available when editing the team.
4. If the tournament has an entry fee, the captain pays it when declaring (from balance) following the on-screen flow.
5. The team lobby /game/swedish/{hash} opens: the captain takes a slot with Claim (number of slots = format 2×2 / 3×3 / 5×5). This lobby is not removed after 15 minutes (unlike casual Swedish outside tournaments). Piece colors are not shown in this lobby: they are assigned at stage pairing and appear in the round match.

How to invite partners to the team

1. In the team lobby copy the link with the share button (or from the browser address bar) and send it to partners.
2. A partner opens the link, presses Claim on a free slot, and pays the entry fee if required.
3. Return to the lobby from the tournament page with To lobby in the participants table (for your team; with Open lobby — also for other teams).

An incomplete team (not all seats filled) by the end of registration does not enter the tournament. Pairing and games are team vs team, board N vs board N. The Leave team button in the lobby cancels tournament participation under the same rules as Leave tournament (entry fee refund while registration is open).

While registration is open, the team creator can:

• in the participants table next to To lobby, open edit (pencil icon) and change the team name, avatar, flag, and the Open lobby toggle;
• in the lobby press Delete lobby if no other players are on the team — the team then disappears from the participants table (with entry fee refund). After at least one other player has taken a seat, or after registration ends, Delete lobby and the pencil are not shown.

Details: Swedish, Olympic system, Swiss system.

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Draft steps (1–5)

UI headings: Step 1 … Step 5.

Step 3 appears only if the tournament is a prize tournament.

Step 1 — main parameters

Fee recipient (if fee is enabled):

• Tournament (prize pool);
• Organizer;
• Mixed — separately % to organizer (0–99).

Details: Fees, Organizing tournaments.

Systems: Knockout, Swiss.

Step 2 — player requirements

• Minimum balance;
• Level;
• Lichess verification;
• Minimum players — at least 4;
• Maximum players — 0 means unlimited.

Details: Player requirements.

Step 3 — prize pool (prize tournament only)

• Prize pool amount in IQPIC (if the pool is not “from fees only”);
• Formed from fees only toggle — available if a tournament with fee is enabled;
• Number of prizes: for knockout always 3; for Swiss — 3–10;
• Prize calculation type: % or Fixed (fixed is unavailable with “from fees only”);
• shares / amounts per place;
• Auto-pay prizes — “Prizes will be paid automatically 1 hour after the tournament ends”.

Percent sum — not more than 100%; fixed sum — not more than the pool (can be less).

Step 4 — schedule

• Date and time of stage 1 start;
• Stage duration (min) — not less than the minimum for the selected match timer;
• Break between stages (min) — minimum 1.

Stage 1 start — not earlier than 1 minute after registration ends.

Step 5 — description (optional)

UI hint: “Fields on this step are optional.”

• Description (text);
• Stream link — YouTube, Twitch, or VK Video (embedded on the Broadcast tab).

After step 5 you stay on the tournament page in editor mode.

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Publication

On the draft page: Publish.

If the tournament is a prize tournament, the pool is set as an amount and is not formed from fees only, and funding has not been deposited yet — a Prize pool funding window opens:

• UI text: funding guarantees prize payout; if the tournament is cancelled or deleted, funds return to the balance within 15 minutes;
• Fund and publish button.

Without funding, publishing such a tournament is blocked with “You must fund the prize pool before publishing.”

After publication the status changes (tournament awaits start / registration), the slug becomes readable from the title; the tournament appears in the catalog /tournaments.

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Editing, deleting, cancelling, copying

Drafts appear in the organizer’s tournament block on My tournaments.

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Typical scenarios

A. Prize tournament with pool from balance

1. Modal: Prize on, fee optional.
2. Match settings → steps 1–5 (on step 3 — pool amount and places).
3. Publish → Fund and publish.

B. Prize from fees only

1. Enable Prize and Tournament with fee.
2. On step 1 — fee amount and recipient (often Tournament (prize pool) or Mixed).
3. On step 3 — Formed from fees only.
4. Publish without depositing fixed prize-pool funding.

C. Friends-only tournament

1. In the modal enable Friends only.
2. Complete the wizard and publish — only friends from your list can register.

D. Copy of a past tournament

1. In My tournaments / history — Create tournament copy.
2. Check steps 1–5 and publish.

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FAQ

Where do I see my tournaments?

/lk/history/tournament — My tournaments.

Why won’t creation open?

Not enough IQPIC for the platform threshold — Insufficient funds window and Top up.

Can I create a Swedish (Bughouse) tournament?

Yes. In the modal choose Chess → Swedish, set format and timer on the settings screen, then steps 1–5. Participation is via Declare team and board seats.

How does Knockout differ from Swiss?

Short version: knockout — elimination bracket; Swiss — rounds and points. Details: Knockout, Swiss.

Do I have to pay the prize pool immediately?

The creation threshold is a balance check only. Funding is charged when publishing a prize tournament with a fixed pool (not “from fees only”).

Where are organizer earnings from fees?

Organizing tournaments and Fees.

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Cheat sheet

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Useful help links

• Organizing tournaments — organizer fee share.
• Prize tournaments — participation and prizes.
• Knockout system, Swiss system.
• Player requirements, Fees.
• Balance management, Donations.
• Chess, Capital Chess, Swedish, Tetris, Tetris: Attack.

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This article describes creating a tournament on the iqpi.io platform at the time of publication. Check the interface for current button labels and thresholds.