Step 1: Set up your free lichess account
If you don’t already have a lichess account set one up here.
You will get a screen like the one below
Add your details, slide the sliders to the right to accept the terms and conditions and click the register button.
Your account is then set up.
Step 2: Put your real name on your account profile
You don’t have to do this, but it is really helpful if you add your real name to your account, so people can see who is who. Once you are logged in you can do this by
o Clicking on your user name in the top right hand corner
o Click the Profile menu option
o Click the settings button as shown in the screen capture
o Enter your real name on the next screen.
Step 3: Join the right “team” or “teams” on lichess.
lichess calls them teams but for our purposes they are just groups that allow us to play together.
If you want to play in any of the individual Open events (Monday & Wednesday nights or Friday & Saturday afternoons) then go to https://lichess.org/team/ringwood-chess-tournaments and request to join the Ringwood Chess Tournaments “team”, filling in your real name and club. This group is administered by Martin Clancy (username Wingwood) and he will add you to the group. Please allow Martin a day or so to do this.
If you want to play in the team challenge, then you will need to join whatever Lichess team your club captain has set up for you. If the case of Ringwood players go to, https://lichess.org/team/ringwood-arena-team-rat and request to join the Ringwood Chess Arena (RAT) team, filling in your name. You have to accepted into your team – please allow your Captain (Martin in our case) a day or so to do this.
The screen captures below show the process for joining the individual events group and of course it is almost identical for the team events group.
Click on the join button in the screen above and you will get a screen like the one below.
Add your name and club to the message, solve the chess puzzle by moving the correct piece, and hit the blue join team button. Then you are done and can sit back and wait for Andy or Martin to approve your application.
Once your application is approved you can…
Step 4: Join an Event
You will need to do this for each event you want to enter. As soon as Martin has set an event up you can join it, or you can join it a minute before it starts, or even after it has started! Below is an example of joining a test event called “Ringwood Test Winawer Arena” which Martin set up.
Firstly from within lichess, hightlight the Community menu option and click on the Teams sub-menu. You will get a screen like the one below which shows which teams you are a member of.
Pick the pick team that you want (Ringwood Chess Tournaments for individual events or your club team) and click on it. You will get a screen showing information about that team, including what events are set up for it.
If a future event is available click on it. In this case Ringwood Test Winawer is a future event and clicking on it gives the following screen.
Then all you have to do is click on the green Join button and you are entered into the event.