Berlin Chess goes online, with JustChess

Berlin Chess is about chess over the board: the clubs, cafés and park tables where people sit down across from each other. But not every evening fits a trip across town, and plenty of you play online between club nights anyway.

So we are adding an online side. We are starting a collaboration with JustChess, and we will be organising online tournaments on their platform. Hosted from Berlin, open to everyone: online, it does not matter where you play from.

What JustChess is

JustChess calls itself a social chess club rather than just another place to play anonymous games. A few things set it apart:

• Fair play comes first. Engine analysis is available only once a game is over, and players are encouraged to play under their real names. For tournaments, where a result should mean something, that matters.
• Clubs and tournaments are built in. Clubs can run their own tournaments and compete against each other. There are already clubs from Istanbul to Marseille, and now one for Berlin.
• Puzzles and analysis with instant feedback, for the time between games.
• Lichess players are in reach too. You can play against Lichess players from inside JustChess.
• It runs everywhere. On the web, on iPhone and on Android, in English, German and several other languages.

How to join

1. Create an account at justchess.com, or in their iOS or Android app.
2. Join the Berlin Chess club on JustChess.
3. That is it. Our tournaments are announced in the club, so being a member is how you will hear about them first. The first one is tomorrow.

The first tournament is tomorrow

We start straight away: Sunday 25 October at 14:00 Berlin time (CET, UTC+1). Here is the tournament on JustChess. Join the club and sign up there.

After that, expect reports here like the ones we write for over-the-board events: who won, what happened, and a link to the full results.

If you have ideas for formats or time controls you would like to see, write to us at berlinchessapp@gmail.com.

And when you would rather play in person, every place to play in Berlin is still on the map, in the venue pages and in the Berlin Chess app.

See you at the board, the online one included.