Lichess is built for players. Ashtapada is built for the people who organise them.
We don't compete for your players, run our own tournaments or sell coaching. We give organisers and academies the platform to run events under their own name and get paid for them.
A brilliant place to play. Not a business tool.
Lichess is free, open source and run by a non-profit, and we admire it. But an organiser running a paid event, a hall full of boards or an academy needs things Lichess was never meant to do.
| What an organiser needs | Ashtapada | Lichess | By hand (Excel, WhatsApp, UPI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collect entry fees | ✓ Built inUPI or card at registration, paid out to your bank | ✗ NoNon-commercial by design | ~ ManualChasing screenshots, matching names by hand |
| Your brand on everything | ✓ YesYour logo on pairings, standings and certificates; your own link | ✗ Lichess brandYour team page lives on lichess.org | ~ YoursBut it takes hours to make it look good |
| Over-the-board events | ✓ YesBoard numbers, TV and wall pairings, arbiter result entry by phone | ✗ Online only | ~ Desktop softwareUsually one laptop, one person who knows it |
| Online events | ✓ YesSwiss, Arena, Round robin, Knockout | ✓ ExcellentArenas and Swiss for teams | ✗ No |
| Players join without an account | ✓ YesName and a link or QR code | ✗ Account needed | ✓ Yes |
| Results to parents on WhatsApp | ✓ YesIn English, ಕನ್ನಡ, தமிழ் or हिन्दी | ✗ No | ~ One message at a time |
| Academy tools | ✓ YesBatches, homework, monthly parent reports | ~ Classes for teachersStudent accounts and simple class pages | ✗ No |
| Someone to call on event day | ✓ YesPriority support for paid events | ~ Community forumsRun by volunteers | ✗ You're on your own |
| Your games stay private | ✓ YesNever published or sold; you control who sees results | ✗ PublicRated games are published in an open database | ~ DependsScattered across phones and WhatsApp groups |
| Free for players | ✓ Always | ✓ Always | ✓ Yes |
| Open source | ✗ NoA commercial service with support | ✓ Yes | — |
Use both if you like. Your players can keep their Lichess accounts. Ashtapada doesn't ask anyone to leave anything; it runs your events and gets you paid.
Engineered for event day, when everything happens at once.
Round 1 starts and every player moves within the same minute. Ashtapada runs on dedicated game servers built for exactly that moment: fast, real-time and always on.
Every game gets its own slot on the game servers, so a 300-player open never slows down a 10-player club night.
Low latency, every move
Players stay connected over a live connection, and moves are processed in memory on the game server, so they reach the opponent's screen almost the instant they're played.
Dedicated game servers
Live games run on their own servers, separate from websites, sign-ups and payments. Each game is isolated, so one busy board or one big event never slows another.
Automatic backups
Every move, result and payment is saved as it happens and backed up automatically. If a server restarts mid-round, the game picks up exactly where it was.
Fair clocks
Time controls and flag falls are enforced on the server, not on a player's phone, and the timers survive a server restart.
Always up
Built with no single point of failure. Servers are monitored around the clock and replaced automatically, and we add capacity ahead of big events.
Fast on any phone
Pages are light, and game analysis runs right on the player's device, so it's instant even on a busy tournament day.
Private by default. Yours to take.
Your events, players and games are private to you. We never publish them, never sell them and never show your players ads. And there's no lock-in: download any event, any time, in formats your arbiter, accountant and federation already use.
PGNEvery gameOne game, one round or the whole event, for any chess software.
XLSX · CSVStandings and crosstablesWith tie-breaks, ready to print or send to your association.
XLSX · CSVPlayer listsNames, sections, contact numbers and payment status.
PDF · XLSXPayment statementsEvery entry fee, refund and payout, for your accounts.
PDFCertificatesOne per player with your logo, or all of them in one file.
PrivateNot an open databaseGames aren't published to a public archive. Only you decide who sees results.
DeleteGone when you say soTemporary events delete themselves 24 hours after they end.
The small things that make event day calm.
Speaks your players' language
English, ಕನ್ನಡ, தமிழ் and हिन्दी, for players and parents.
TV and projector mode
Full-screen pairings and live standings for the wall, refreshing on their own.
Safe for juniors
No email needed for children, closed circles, preset chat and no ads.
Results on WhatsApp
Every parent gets their child's result and certificate after the event.
Your name, not ours
Your logo and your own link. Players see your academy, not a marketplace.
Your rules
Invite-only or open events, late entries, byes and withdrawals, all in your hands.
Run your next event on Ashtapada.
Free up to 16 players. Players never pay us; you keep your entry fees.
Create a tournament, free