Tornelo is a cloud-based chess tournament management website for online and hybrid chess events.
Unlike conventional chess servers like Chess-Results, Tornelo allows the tournament itself to be planned and hosted entirely on the platform.
It offers live game broadcasting, real-time arbitration, automated and convenient tournament pairings, and tracking rating and improvement for players and organizers.
In this article, we will explore the pros and cons of Tornelo, including its usability and drawbacks.
History
Tornelo is derived from the words “tournament” and “Elo.” Tornelo was founded in 2008 by former Australian Junior chess champion David Cordover to simplify the logistics of organizing tournaments in North Australia, including rating them.
In its early stages, Tornelo operated as a weekly rating management system, overseeing tournament registration, pairings, and rating system management.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tornelo added an online game server, which was rebuilt to run arbiter-led events.
Mission
Tornelo’s mission is straightforward— to help you run chess events you can enjoy!
Features
Tornelo is one of the most well-designed management platforms and features a simple, smooth, and functional design that is easy to use and navigate.
The site has a host of features that are unique to the platform. In contrast to Chess.com or Lichess, Tornelo isn’t catering to casual play.
It is designed for structured events, so there is no general pool of players looking for quick or casual games.
User Interface and Ease of Use
Tornelo’s dashboard has various sections for tournament creation, game management, result tracking, arbitration tools, and organizer features.
This structured layout benefits tournament organizers who need a clear overview of ongoing events.
Account Registration and Setup
Signing up on Tornelo is straightforward for players. Once registered, players can quickly join and register for tournaments.
However, organizers who want to use Tornelo need more details and identity verification.
Once registered, users can set up their player profile, join a club, or organize and play in tournaments.
The system also allows for bulk player imports, making it easy for chess clubs, schools, and federations to onboard members and players. There are other customizable tournament and game rules.
Tournament Management Features
Tornelo offers one of the most comprehensive tournament creation systems we have come across on any tournament management platform. Organizers can select from any of the following formats.
- Swiss System (with customizable tiebreakers)
- Round Robin tournaments
- Knockout-style events
- Hybrid tournaments (mix of in-person and online)
Organizers can customize Tornelo with options such as time control, color allocation, pairing adjustment, and arbiter settings.
This flexibility makes Tornelo ideal for professional organizers who need precise and flexible control over the tournament structure.
Arbiter Control—a standout feature
One of the major selling points of the Tornelo platform is how it is designed for professional events. For any successful professional event, arbitration is an essential aspect.
Tornelo allows real-time arbiter intervention. Unlike other platforms that rely solely on automated and algorithm-based fair play detection, Tornelo provides arbiters with complete control over the game management and tournament flow.
On Tornelo, Arbiter can
- Pause games when issues arise.
- Manually adjust clocks in case of technical difficulties.
- Change results and pairing decisions if needed.
- Monitor players’ cameras for fair play.
Besides these abilities, the players can directly chat with the Arbiter while in-game.
This level of control is crucial for official FIDE-rated tournaments.
Arbiters must ensure fair play, mirroring their responsibilities in offline tournaments.
Hybrid Tournament Support
Hybrid tournaments on Tornelo are popular because they involve a mix of online participants and those physically present at a venue.
Tornelo is one of the few platforms seamlessly integrating online and over-the-board (OTB) tournament play.
Players at a physical location can input moves on electronic chessboards, while remote participants play online; Tornelo synchronizes all game data in real time, ensuring seamless gameplay for all participants.
This feature is handy for national and international federations that host global competitions.
Automated Pairings and Fair-Play Measures
Tornelo follows Swiss pairing rules approved by FIDE, which guarantee fair and accurate matchups.
Unlike other platforms that use AI to detect cheating automatically, Tornelo allows arbiters to review and manually assess fair play violations.
This approach is ideal for schools and federations where human oversight is preferred over automated bans.
However, it might not be as robust as AI-driven detection systems on Chess.com or Lichess for open online events.
Game Performance and Reliability
Tornelo excels in organized tournament settings, showing minimal lag and effective game synchronization, surpassing many industry rivals. However, being a web-based platform, it is not as smooth or optimized as dedicated chess servers designed for casual online play.
Game Board and Customization
The game board on Tornelo is basic yet functional, offering players the choice of board colors, piece styles, and move highlighting options.
- Board colors
- Piece styles
- Move highlighting options
Mobile Accessibility
One of Tornelo’s major drawbacks is its lack of a dedicated mobile app, which limits the accessibility and user experience for players and organizers on mobile devices.
While the web version is responsive and works on mobile browsers, it is not as smooth or optimized as native chess apps.
A mobile app would significantly improve accessibility for players and organizers on the go.
Cost
For both organizers and players, Tornelo is entirely free to use, with the only costs being transactional costs for registration and processing fees.
As of this review, Tornelo charges organizers a 2.75% processing fee and players 25 AUD cents per transaction.
Conclusion
Tornelo is one of the best sites for tournament management and play. In our experience, it’s a site designed for serious and more competitive players, so casual fans might need to look elsewhere.
That aside, the fact that it streamlines the entire tournament process makes us rate it highly.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Who owns the Tornelo Website?
Tornelo was founded by David Cordover, an experienced chess organizer, and supports structured chess competitions with real-time arbiter control.
Is the Tornelo Website a part of Chess.com?
No, Tornelo is not affiliated with Chess.com or any other mainstream chess server.
Is the Tornelo Website free?
Tornelo is completely free to use.