Ages ago, the idea of different competitions was suggested. A number of people (me included) wanted league play, but I don't think that is going to happen. So I've come up with an idea, based on the principles of my Grand Prix Tournament Series, that runs here on lichess.
The idea, which I refer to as the Lichess Super League, provides a completely different format of competition, but within the tournament system that is already set up and popular here.
- 5 Divisions, initially separated by rating
- Weekly tournaments
- Championship points won for the top 20
- Promotion and relegation between divisions
- 4 quarterly seasons per year
- Feeder 'top-up' tournament to stop new high-rated players starting in D5
It gives, in addition to the extra dimension of excitement for competitors of achieving promotion or fighting to stay in a division, a viewing spectacle of top players competing against each other. Think of it like football: we might play Sunday League, but we enjoy watching Liverpool vs Man Utd.
It also allows those who complain that there aren't tournaments that, say, 1700s can win, the chance to win a division and to compete with those at a similar level.
So here's how I'd see it working. We begin with 5 divisions of players divided according to lichess rating.
LSL D1: players >2100
LSL D2: players 1901-2100
LSL D3: players 1701-1900
LSL D4: players 1501-1700
LSL D5: players <=1500
There'd be a series of tournaments, and the top 20 in each would score championship points as follows, from 1 - 20:
125, 100, 90, 80, 70, 60, 50, 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Weekly progress would be charted on a league table for each division, with players ranked according to the number of championship points they have scored.
There'd be virtual trophies for the top 3 in each division.
At the end of each season, the top x percentage (perhaps 10%) from each division are promoted, and the same number at the bottom are relegated. Using a percentage rather than a flat figure ensures that the leagues get closer in size over the course of several seasons.
Of course, no one can be promoted from the top division, or relegated from the bottom!
Once the tournament has begun, there could be a top-up division for new people who wish to join, so that, for example, a 2500 newbie doesn't have to start in D5 the following season. It would be ridiculous for such a player to have to enter numerous tournaments vs those with a max rating of 1500.
The top-up would be a short series of mixed rating tournaments that started after the main divisions kick off. The top players in each CATEGORY (>2100, 1901-2100 etc) rather than the top players positionally are promoted into the appropriate division the following season.
The numbers promoted from the top-up could depend on the numbers of participants in each division. For example, if D4 had far fewer players than the other divisions, it might be that the number of 1501-1700 players promoted from the top-up tournament is greater. One would obviously know this before the top-up began.
I hope people like this idea, and that the lichess developers consider it a competition that is worth organising. We've already seen that the people who enter my GPTS enjoy the idea of multiple competitions that go towards a single 'title' - but lichess could make this a really wonderful and completely unique in chess style of tournament.
The idea, which I refer to as the Lichess Super League, provides a completely different format of competition, but within the tournament system that is already set up and popular here.
- 5 Divisions, initially separated by rating
- Weekly tournaments
- Championship points won for the top 20
- Promotion and relegation between divisions
- 4 quarterly seasons per year
- Feeder 'top-up' tournament to stop new high-rated players starting in D5
It gives, in addition to the extra dimension of excitement for competitors of achieving promotion or fighting to stay in a division, a viewing spectacle of top players competing against each other. Think of it like football: we might play Sunday League, but we enjoy watching Liverpool vs Man Utd.
It also allows those who complain that there aren't tournaments that, say, 1700s can win, the chance to win a division and to compete with those at a similar level.
So here's how I'd see it working. We begin with 5 divisions of players divided according to lichess rating.
LSL D1: players >2100
LSL D2: players 1901-2100
LSL D3: players 1701-1900
LSL D4: players 1501-1700
LSL D5: players <=1500
There'd be a series of tournaments, and the top 20 in each would score championship points as follows, from 1 - 20:
125, 100, 90, 80, 70, 60, 50, 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Weekly progress would be charted on a league table for each division, with players ranked according to the number of championship points they have scored.
There'd be virtual trophies for the top 3 in each division.
At the end of each season, the top x percentage (perhaps 10%) from each division are promoted, and the same number at the bottom are relegated. Using a percentage rather than a flat figure ensures that the leagues get closer in size over the course of several seasons.
Of course, no one can be promoted from the top division, or relegated from the bottom!
Once the tournament has begun, there could be a top-up division for new people who wish to join, so that, for example, a 2500 newbie doesn't have to start in D5 the following season. It would be ridiculous for such a player to have to enter numerous tournaments vs those with a max rating of 1500.
The top-up would be a short series of mixed rating tournaments that started after the main divisions kick off. The top players in each CATEGORY (>2100, 1901-2100 etc) rather than the top players positionally are promoted into the appropriate division the following season.
The numbers promoted from the top-up could depend on the numbers of participants in each division. For example, if D4 had far fewer players than the other divisions, it might be that the number of 1501-1700 players promoted from the top-up tournament is greater. One would obviously know this before the top-up began.
I hope people like this idea, and that the lichess developers consider it a competition that is worth organising. We've already seen that the people who enter my GPTS enjoy the idea of multiple competitions that go towards a single 'title' - but lichess could make this a really wonderful and completely unique in chess style of tournament.
