Every other tournament tool assumes you already know the rules
Ask ChessHost is the one that answers when you do not.
Chess tournament software has always been built for arbiters. Swiss-Manager and Vega Chess pair a round perfectly, and both are genuinely good at what they were made for. But they are pairing engines. If a parent asks why their child finished fourth on the same score as the player in third, or two kids start arguing about whether a piece was really released, the software has nothing to say. You are on your own in a noisy room.
Most people running a chess event are not arbiters. They are a teacher at lunchtime, a volunteer at the club, a parent, or the person in the office who offered to organise something. The software assuming expertise they do not have is the actual problem, and no amount of automatic pairing fixes it.
So ChessHost added the thing none of the others have: something you can ask. It sees your event, it knows chess, and it answers in seconds while the round is still running.
What it can do
Two halves that are only useful together: your event, and chess itself.
It knows your event
It reads the tournament you opened it from: the format, the round, the real names, the scores, the pairings and the tiebreak numbers. Ask why Sarah is above Tom on the same points and you get an answer about your room.
It knows chess
Rules and how they are usually applied, the history, famous games, openings and the ideas behind them, what to teach a beginner. It is a chess companion that happens to also know your event.
Answers in seconds
You are standing in a noisy hall with a question and twelve people waiting. Type it on your phone and read the answer before the next game finishes.
It advises, you decide
On a contested moment it tells you what the rules usually say and what most organisers do, then says plainly that the call is yours. It never declares a forfeit and it never overrules you.
One event, never mixed
It is opened from a specific event and is told about that event alone. That is enforced in the code, not promised in the copy, and the panel shows you which event it is reading.
Still there afterwards
Open it from a finished or archived event to ask about prizes, tiebreaks, or what to tell a parent asking why their child placed fourth.
Things organisers actually ask it
These are the questions that come up on a real night, and the reason a generic chatbot cannot help with most of them: it does not know your event.
About your event: Why did Marcus get the bye this round? Why is Priya ranked above Dan when they both have 3 points? How many rounds should I still play? Who can still win this?
About the rules: A player touched a piece then moved another one, what usually happens? Someone arrived twenty minutes late, what do most organisers do? How does a draw by repetition work? What counts as an illegal move in a casual event?
About chess: What opening should I teach a total beginner? Who was Capablanca? What is a good way to explain a fork to nine year olds? What should we do at club night that is not another Swiss?
What it will not do
Being clear about the limits is what makes the rest trustworthy.
It does not make rulings. ChessHost is not an arbiter tool and never has been. On a contested moment the assistant explains what the rules usually say and what most organisers do, then says the decision is yours. It will not tell you a player forfeits or is disqualified.
It does not change anything. It is read only. It cannot add a player, pair a round, enter a result or edit a setting. Where an action is needed it names the button and you press it.
It does not analyse positions. It will explain an opening, a plan or an idea happily, but it will not claim to calculate exact variations or hand you the best move. For that, use an engine. A confidently wrong line is worse than admitting the limit.
It does not see your other events. It is opened from one event and briefed on that event alone, and the server refuses any request that does not name an event you own.
How to get it
Ask ChessHost is part of ChessHost Pro, at $7 a month or $18 for 3 months, with 25 questions a day. Everything else about ChessHost has a free plan: one event a month of up to 12 players, forever, with no credit card, including automatic Swiss pairings, QR code player sign up, the TV display and certificates.
You open it from inside an event: a button on the round screen while the tournament is running, and on the results screen once it has finished. There is no separate app and nothing to install.
Run your next event with an answer in your pocket
Create a free account in under two minutes and set up your first event. Ask ChessHost comes with ChessHost Pro, at $7 a month or $18 for 3 months, and you can cancel any time.
Launch ChessHostFrequently asked questions
Can AI help me run a chess tournament?
Yes. ChessHost has a built in assistant called Ask ChessHost that you open from inside an event. It can see that event, so it answers questions about your actual tournament, things like why a player got the bye or why two players on the same score are ranked in that order, and it also answers general chess questions. It is advisory: it explains what the rules usually say and leaves the decision to you.
What is Ask ChessHost?
Ask ChessHost is the AI assistant included with ChessHost Pro. You open it from a live event's round screen, or from the results screen of an event that has finished. It answers in seconds, in plain language, and it is written for organisers who are not arbiters and may never have heard of Buchholz.
Does the AI assistant know about my actual tournament?
Yes, and that is the point. It is given a summary of the one event you opened it from: the format, the round, the player names, the scores, the pairings and the tiebreak figures. So you can ask why the standings look the way they do and get a real answer about your room, not a generic explanation of the Swiss system.
Can the AI decide a dispute or make a ruling?
No, and it is built not to. It will tell you what the rules usually say and what most organisers do in that situation, then it says clearly that the decision is yours. It never declares a player forfeited or disqualified. ChessHost is not an arbiter tool and the assistant does not pretend to be one.
Can it change anything in my tournament?
No. The assistant is read only. It cannot add a player, pair a round, enter a result or change a setting. When something needs doing it tells you which button to press and you press it.
Is the chess tournament AI assistant free?
The assistant is part of ChessHost Pro, which is $7 a month or $18 for 3 months. The rest of ChessHost has a free plan: one event a month of up to 12 players, forever, with no credit card. Pro subscribers get 25 assistant questions a day.
Can it answer general chess questions too?
Yes. It will talk about the rules and how they are usually applied, chess history, famous players and games, openings and the ideas behind them, what to teach a beginner and how to run a better club night. It will not claim to calculate exact variations or tell you the best move in a position, because a confidently wrong line is worse than saying so.
Does it work after the tournament has finished?
Yes. The questions do not stop when the chess does. You can open it from the results screen of a finished or archived event to ask about prizes, tiebreaks, or what to tell a parent who is asking why their child placed where they did.
Can my players use the assistant?
No. It is for the organiser only, and it is never reachable from the public join page or the TV display. Players join your event by scanning a QR code and never need an account.
What happens to my players' data?
The event summary sent to the AI contains player display names, scores and results, because those are what the questions are about. It never contains a player's email address, who has paid an entry fee, your club member list or your event's join code. The text of your questions is not stored on our servers, and the conversation stays in your own browser.