Ludo Chess
Tournament Guide & Rules
Official rules for Ludo Chess tournaments. This document covers bracket format, time controls, draw handling, tiebreakers, no-show forfeits, and edge cases. Last updated: April 2026.
1 Overview & Format
All Ludo Chess tournaments use a single-elimination bracket. Each match consists of one game (except the Finals, which may be best-of-3). Lose a match and you're out. Win and you advance to the next round until a champion is crowned.
- Format: Single-elimination (knockout)
- Game modes: Ludo Chess or Classic Chess (set at creation)
- Bracket sizes: 2 to 2,048 players (auto-padded to nearest power of 2)
- Draw offers are not allowed in tournament matches — play to win
- Match deadlines enforce timely play; no-shows are auto-forfeited
2 Creating a Tournament
Any player can create a tournament. The creator sets the rules before generating a shareable invite code.
Creation Settings
| Setting | Options | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Tournament Name | 1–100 characters | — |
| Description | Up to 500 characters | Empty |
| Game Mode | Ludo Chess, Classic Chess | Ludo Chess |
| Time Control | 5 min, 10 min, 15 min, 30 min | 10 min |
| Max Players | 2–2,048 (tier-dependent) | 8 |
| Match Deadline | 1–168 hours | 24 hours |
| Finals Format | Best-of-1, Best-of-3 | Best-of-3 |
| Require Approval | Yes / No | No |
Once created, share the 12-character invite code or link. Players can join via the app by entering the code on the Tournaments screen.
3 Bracket & Seeding
When the tournament creator starts the event, the bracket is generated automatically.
- The bracket size is rounded up to the nearest power of 2 (e.g., 12 players → 16-slot bracket).
- Players are randomly shuffled and assigned seeds 1 through N.
- Empty slots become byes, giving some players a free pass to Round 2.
- Bye distribution uses a balanced algorithm (bit-reversal permutation) so no side of the bracket is unfairly loaded.
- Each round has a deadline calculated from tournament start:
Round N deadline = start + matchDeadlineHours × N - Matches in later rounds begin in "pending" status and become "ready" once both players are assigned from previous rounds
- Both players receive a push notification when their match is ready
4 Time Controls
Each game in a tournament uses a fixed clock with no increment for Ludo Chess, or standard increment for Classic Chess.
| Label | Total Time | Increment | Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5+0 | 5 minutes per side | None | Both |
| 10+0 | 10 minutes per side | None | Both |
| 15+0 | 15 minutes per side | None | Both |
| 30+0 | 30 minutes per side | None | Both |
| Armageddon | White: 5 min / Black: 4 min | None | Classic only |
Armageddon is a special time control used only in Classic Chess tiebreakers. White gets more time, but Black wins if the game is drawn. See Section 8.
5 Match Rules — Ludo Chess
- Opening phase (moves 1–7): Normal chess — move any legal piece.
- Dice phase (move 8+): Roll the dice. The result determines which piece type you
must move:
1–2 = Pawn, 3 = Knight, 4 = Bishop, 5 = Rook, 6 = Queen. King can always move. - Move cap: Games end after 25 moves per side if no checkmate or stalemate.
- Point scoring at move cap: Pawn = 1, Knight = 3, Bishop = 3, Rook = 5, Queen = 9, King = 0. Higher total wins; equal totals = draw.
- Turn timer: 45 seconds per move during dice phase.
- No draw offers in tournament games.
Game End Conditions
- Checkmate — decisive win
- Resignation — decisive win for opponent
- Timeout (clock runs out) — opponent wins
- Stalemate — draw
- Move-cap reached — resolved by piece-value points
- No legal moves with dice restriction — draw ("stalemate by dice")
6 Match Rules — Classic Chess
- Standard FIDE-style chess rules apply (no dice, no move cap).
- Time controls: 5+0, 10+0, 15+0, or 30+0 (set at tournament creation).
- Games end by checkmate, resignation, timeout, stalemate, or insufficient material.
- No draw offers in tournament games.
7 Draw Handling & Replays
Since tournament matches must produce a winner, draws trigger replay games within the same match. The rules differ slightly between the two game modes.
7a. Ludo Chess Draw Handling
- Draw 1: The match resets. A new game room is created using the same time control. Colors may be swapped.
- Draw 2: Same as above — another replay at the original time control.
- Draw 3: No more replays. The match is resolved by tiebreakers using data from all 3 games (see Section 8).
After each draw, the match deadline is refreshed to give players full time for the replay.
7b. Classic Chess Draw Handling
Classic Chess uses a tiebreak time-control ladder with escalating speed:
| Draw # | Next Game Time Control | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1st draw | Same as base time control | Replay at original speed |
| 2nd draw | 15+0 | Tiebreak ladder begins |
| 3rd draw | 10+0 | Faster |
| 4th draw | 5+0 | Blitz |
| 5th draw | Armageddon | Final tiebreak (see below) |
In an Armageddon game, White gets 5 minutes and Black gets 4 minutes. If the game is drawn, Black wins the match. This guarantees a decisive result.
8 Tiebreakers
8a. Ludo Chess — 3-Draw Tiebreaker
When all 3 replay games in a Ludo Chess match end in draws, the winner is determined by aggregate statistics across all 3 games:
- Total Points: Sum of piece-value points across all 3 games. Higher total wins.
- Total Sixes: Total number of 6s rolled on the dice across all 3 games. More sixes wins.
- Coin Toss: If both metrics are tied, a random coin toss decides the winner.
8b. Classic Chess — Armageddon Tiebreaker
Classic Chess matches use the time-control ladder (Section 7b). The ultimate tiebreaker is the Armageddon game where a draw is counted as a win for Black.
8c. Deadline Tiebreaker
If a draw-replay match expires before the new game is played (deadline reached with outstanding draws), the same tiebreaker cascade applies:
- Total points across completed draw games
- Total sixes across completed draw games
- Coin toss as last resort
9 No-Show & Deadline Forfeits
Every match has a deadline. If a match is still unplayed when the deadline passes, the system automatically resolves it.
The deadline check runs every 15 minutes. When a match's deadline expires:
- If the match has draws already played (drawCount > 0): The match is resolved using tiebreakers (points → sixes → coin toss) — not treated as a no-show.
- If no game was played:
- If exactly one player attempted to start the match, that player advances.
- If neither player (or both) attempted it, a coin toss decides.
After each draw game, the match deadline is refreshed so players have the full match-deadline window (default 24 hours) to play the replay. If the replay deadline expires, the system does not treat it as a no-show. Instead, it uses the tiebreaker cascade based on actual game data from the completed draws.
10 Finals & Championship Match
The last match in the bracket is the Finals. It can be configured as best-of-1 or best-of-3.
- Best-of-1: Standard single game. Draw handling applies as in Sections 7–8.
- Best-of-3: First to 2 wins takes the title. Each individual game follows the same draw-replay rules if it ends in a draw.
- Win/loss counters are tracked per player across the series.
- Colors alternate (or are re-randomized) each game.
After the Finals
- The tournament is marked completed
- The champion, runner-up, and "most sixes" player are recorded
- Push notifications are sent to the winner and runner-up
- A celebration message is posted in the tournament chat
- The result is archived in the Champions Cup collection
11 Edge Cases & Rulings
If a game room expires or is abandoned with zero moves played (e.g., a player joined but never moved), the game is recorded as match expired. This does not count as a decisive result — the match resets for a retry. The no-show player is flagged.
If a game room is abandoned mid-game (player disconnects and doesn't return), the game ends with the outcome "abandoned" and is treated as a draw for bracket purposes. Both players are shown the message "Match was abandoned" rather than an incorrect checkmate message.
When a draw triggers a replay, the server persists the exact time control for the next game. The replay room always uses this server-computed value — not a client-side guess. This ensures the time control matches the tournament's base setting (or the correct tiebreak ladder position for Classic Chess).
When both players press "Play" simultaneously, an atomic transaction ensures only one game room is created. The second player joins the existing room rather than creating a duplicate.
Tournament admins can manually forfeit a player in any match via the admin panel. The opponent advances immediately. This is recorded with the reason "forfeit_admin".
If a game ends with no clear winner (e.g., match_expired, abandoned), the app displays the correct draw/expiry message. It will never show a false "checkmate" or "you won/lost" message for a game that had no decisive result.
12 Tournament Tiers & Pro
| Tier | Max Players | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Up to 8 | Free |
| Standard | Up to 32 | £2.99 |
| Premium | Up to 128 | £4.99 |
- Unlimited active tournaments (non-Pro: max 1 active, 3 free tournaments per 30 days)
- Access to all tier sizes
- Pro badge displayed in brackets
- Ad-free experience during tournament play
13 Fair Play & Code of Conduct
- All players must play their own games — no engine assistance, second screens, or third-party help.
- Intentional stalling, repeated no-shows, or abusive behavior in tournament chat may result in removal by the tournament admin.
- The tournament system detects no-show patterns and flags repeat offenders.
- Disputes should be raised with the tournament creator/admin via in-app chat.
- Coin-toss outcomes in tiebreakers are final and cannot be appealed.