Full-Stack Developer / Team Needed for Real-Time Competitive Chess Platform

Real-Time Competitive Chess Platform with Crypto Payments — MVP Development We are looking for an experienced full-stack developer or development team to help us design and build the MVP of Chesspay, a real-time competitive chess platform where players can challenge each other and compete for real monetary rewards. Our goal is not to build a traditional betting platform or casino. Chesspay is intended to become a verified competitive chess platform built around skill-based competition, fair play, player reputation, secure transactions, and reliable match settlement. At this stage, we are evaluating development approaches, architecture, timeline, and cost. We have a detailed product and execution blueprint available for additional context. Core Concept Two players should be able to: 1. Create an account and player profile. 2. Fund their account using cryptocurrency. 3. Find or challenge another player. 4. Agree on a challenge/stake amount. 5. Have the required funds locked for the match. 6. Play a real-time chess match. 7. Have the match result automatically verified. 8. Have the prize automatically settled to the winner after validation. 9. Chesspay retains a platform fee from the transaction. Chesspay acts as the trusted intermediary between players and does not compete against them. 1. Chess & Real-Time Multiplayer The platform should support: * Real-time 1v1 chess games * Legal move validation * Chess clocks and selected time controls * Matchmaking based on player rating * Direct/private challenges * Scheduled tournaments * ELO/rating system * Player profiles * Game history * PGN generation/storage * Automatic result detection * Draws, resignations, disconnects, and timeouts * Reconnection handling * Server-authoritative game state We strongly prefer using existing and proven chess technologies where appropriate rather than building everything from scratch. This may include: * Stockfish * Existing chess libraries * Open-source board/UI components * Existing rating algorithms The developer/team should recommend the most appropriate approach. 2. Crypto Payments, Wallet & Match Settlement For the initial version of Chesspay, we are planning to use cryptocurrency as the primary payment method for deposits, match funds, and payouts. Our objective is to simplify the initial financial infrastructure by using existing third-party crypto technology rather than building traditional banking/payment infrastructure ourselves. We are not looking to create our own cryptocurrency or blockchain. We strongly prefer integrating established third-party: * Crypto payment providers * Wallet infrastructure * Custody solutions * APIs * Stablecoin infrastructure * Blockchain services The exact provider and architecture have not yet been selected, and we want the development team to provide recommendations. The system should support: * Crypto deposits * User balances * Available and locked balances * Match fund locking / escrow-like functionality * Automatic settlement after a verified match * Winner payouts * Platform fee collection * Withdrawals * Refunds when applicable * Transaction history * Transaction status tracking * Reconciliation * Appropriate security controls We are particularly interested in evaluating stablecoin-based solutions to minimize price volatility. We are open to both custodial and non-custodial approaches depending on complexity, user experience, security, regulatory considerations, and development cost. We do not necessarily require custom smart contracts if an existing provider can securely handle the required functionality. 3. Anti-Cheat & Fair Play This is one of the most important components of the platform. Because users will be competing for real value, Chesspay must have mechanisms to identify and reduce: * Chess engine assistance * Suspicious Stockfish-like play * Multiple accounts * Smurfing * Rating manipulation * Sandbagging * Collusion between players * Intentional losses * Suspicious account behavior * Other forms of fraud or abuse For the MVP, we do not expect a perfect proprietary anti-cheat system comparable to Chess.com to be built from scratch. Instead, we want a practical first version combining approaches such as: * Stockfish analysis * Engine correlation * Move accuracy * Move timing * Critical-position analysis * Player consistency * Behavioral telemetry * Account/device information * Risk scoring * Flagging suspicious matches * Manual review The system should be designed to collect sufficient telemetry from the beginning so that more sophisticated statistical or machine-learning models can eventually be developed using our own dataset. We would like applicants to explain their proposed anti-cheat approach. 4. Player Identity & Reputation Players should have an internal Chesspay profile containing information such as: * Username/profile * Chesspay ELO * Match history * Win/loss record * Tournament history * Competitive history * Fair Play / Trust indicators * Account status Long term, we envision a Chesspay Passport representing a player's identity, rating, reputation, competitive history, and fair-play record. For the MVP, this can be significantly simplified. 5. Competitive Formats The initial product should support a limited number of formats rather than attempting to offer every possible chess format. Challenge A player creates a private challenge and shares it with another player. Duel Players are matched based on skill level and compete under standardized conditions. A two-game series with reversed colors may also be considered to create a fairer competitive format. Arena / Tournament Scheduled competitions organized around rating levels or communities. The goal is to concentrate players into specific formats and time windows rather than creating an empty matchmaking environment. 6. Admin & Trust and Safety System We require a basic administration system where authorized staff can manage: * Users * Matches * Tournaments * Transactions * Crypto deposits/withdrawals * Suspicious matches * Anti-cheat flags * Account restrictions * Player reports * Disputes * Refunds * Payout status * Platform fees * Basic analytics Ideally, an administrator should be able to search a user and quickly see their: * Account * Match history * Transactions * Risk indicators * Disputes * Account actions All sensitive administrative actions should be logged. 7. Backend & Infrastructure The platform will require a reliable backend capable of handling real-time games and financial events. Expected areas include: * Authentication * User management * Real-time game server * WebSockets * Matchmaking * Tournament management * Database * Transaction records * Notifications * Logging * Monitoring * Backups * Security * Analytics/event tracking * Admin services The game system and financial/transaction system should be logically separated. Financial and match settlement events should be auditable and idempotent to avoid duplicate payments or inconsistent balances. We are open to recommendations regarding: * Node.js or alternative backend technologies * PostgreSQL or alternative databases * AWS / GCP / Azure * Managed services * Serverless components * Modular monolith vs. microservices * WebSocket infrastructure We prefer simplicity and maintainability over unnecessary architectural complexity for the MVP. 8. Web vs. Mobile We are open to recommendations regarding the best initial platform. Our current preference is potentially to launch web-first / responsive web / PWA to validate the product faster and reduce development cost before building dedicated iOS and Android applications. However, we are open to alternatives such as: * React * React Native * Flutter * Native mobile * Cross-platform development Please explain what you recommend and why. 9. Third-Party Integrations A major principle of this project is: We do not want to build technology that already exists and can be reliably integrated. We expect the development team to identify opportunities to use third-party infrastructure for areas such as: * Stockfish * Chess libraries * Authentication * Crypto payments * Wallet infrastructure * Stablecoin payments * KYC * Fraud prevention * Notifications * Analytics * Cloud infrastructure * Monitoring The objective is to reduce development time, cost, operational complexity, and technical risk. Please clearly identify what you recommend building internally vs. integrating from third parties. 10. Future Scalability The initial objective is an MVP, not the complete long-term platform. However, the architecture should allow Chesspay to later expand into areas such as: * Advanced matchmaking * Leagues * Clubs * Creator-hosted tournaments * University competitions * Rankings * Advanced anti-cheat * Automated risk scoring * Subscription plans * Revenue sharing * Referral systems * Mobile applications * Additional jurisdictions * Additional currencies/payment methods * B2B tournament tools We do not expect all of these features in the first release. What We Need From Applicants Please provide the following in your proposal: 1. Estimated MVP development cost Please provide your own realistic estimate rather than simply matching the listed Upwork budget. 2. Estimated development timeline Please include major phases/milestones if possible. 3. Recommended technology stack Explain your recommended frontend, backend, database, real-time infrastructure, and cloud architecture. 4. Crypto architecture recommendation Please explain how you would implement deposits, match fund locking, settlement, platform fees, and withdrawals. If possible, mention specific third-party providers or technologies you would evaluate. 5. Anti-cheat approach Explain how you would approach anti-cheat for an initial MVP and what you would build later as Chesspay collects more data. 6. Build vs. Buy Identify which components you would build ourselves and which you recommend handling through existing third-party services. 7. Relevant experience Please provide examples of previous work involving any of the following: * Real-time multiplayer * Chess * Online gaming * WebSockets * Wallet systems * Cryptocurrency * Payment systems * Fintech * Escrow/settlement * Fraud detection * Tournament systems Direct chess experience is valuable but not mandatory if you have strong experience building comparable real-time systems. 8. Team Please specify whether you are an individual developer or development team and who would work on the project. 9. Post-launch costs If possible, provide an approximate estimate of: * Cloud infrastructure * Third-party services * Crypto/payment infrastructure * Maintenance * Ongoing technical support Project Documentation We have prepared a detailed Chesspay Startup Execution Blueprint covering the product vision, MVP, architecture, anti-cheat strategy, competitive formats, trust and safety, payments, roadmap, and long-term direction. The document will be provided to shortlisted applicants. Applicants are not expected to follow every technical recommendation in the blueprint. We specifically want experienced developers to challenge our assumptions and recommend better solutions where appropriate. Our priority is to find the simplest, safest, and most cost-effective architecture capable of validating the Chesspay concept before investing heavily in additional features. Budget The budget listed on Upwork is indicative and not a final development budget. We are currently evaluating the cost and technical requirements of the project and would like applicants to provide their own realistic estimate. Please separate the estimate into major components where possible, for example: * UX / Frontend * Chess & real-time multiplayer * Backend * Crypto / wallet integration * Anti-cheat * Admin panel * Infrastructure * QA / testing * Deployment We are open to working with either an experienced senior developer or a small development team. Our priority at this stage is finding the right technical approach and obtaining a realistic understanding of the cost and timeline required to build a strong Chesspay MVP.