Arena tournaments are great and convenient to play, with a format particularly suited for bullet/blitz games. I noticed people organize different tournaments using other websites, or just plain spreadsheets, so I think it would be nice to integrate it into the website. Here is a suggestion how:
Under the 'play' menu, make a distinction between the current 'arena' tournament style (easy to join and leave) and the more traditional round-based 'tournaments' (which require more commitment from a player). Like simuls, these tournaments are not regular but must be created by someone.
When you create a tournament, some options include:
-tournament style: round-robin | swiss | direct elimination
-duel style for each round: e.g. "1 game classical correspondence 1 day per move", or "best of 7 different variants 5+0"
-registration deadline
-maximum number of players (and/or maximum number of rounds)
-days per round, as these tournaments will typically span multiple days
-optionally active playing hours in a day (to avoid pairing people from different time zones)
-a default time when each round is to be played
After a tournament is created, everyone can ask the host to join until the registration deadline. After that the pairings are done, and there is no more joining or leaving. The tournament lobby interface can look very similar the the ones for arena tournaments, except for the scoring table, which depends on the tournament style.
Those who participate will now see who they are up against, how long they have to finish the round, and the time that their next game is scheduled. For the most tricky part, i.e. to make sure the games are actually played, I suggest the following:
-unless agreed otherwise, both players should be present in the tournament lobby at the default starting time
-by clicking on their next game when in the tournament lobby, players can suggest another time to play the game. If the opponent agrees, the starting time is moved.
-your next scheduled game will appear automatically under the 'challenges' tab at the home page. This will light up if your opponent is online, so one of the players can one-click invite the other to 'start the tournament game now'. The other one will be notified with an incoming challenge.
-two no-shows will eliminate you automatically from the tournament. Players will that way obtain a 'tournament completion rate' that a host can take into consideration when deciding who can join.
I realise it's a lot of work to implement all this, but I personally believe it can set new standards for online tournaments. No challonge or other websites would be needed anymore, and I think the regular-rounds and garuanteed-games aspect of a tournament will boost the play of longer games. Lichess itself could host a 'Lichess masters' every year with top players, which requires no special coding and could be promoted the same way as the yearly marathon now. Since it features common tournament formats, it could also be used to livestream grandmaster tournaments (or just upload the games afterwards to analyse and comment).
Lots of information and few details, so please add your opinion on this. Maybe some of the ideas will be picked up.
Thanks!
tl;dr
Suggestions for round-based tournaments (think direct elimination) and how to avoid no-shows.
Under the 'play' menu, make a distinction between the current 'arena' tournament style (easy to join and leave) and the more traditional round-based 'tournaments' (which require more commitment from a player). Like simuls, these tournaments are not regular but must be created by someone.
When you create a tournament, some options include:
-tournament style: round-robin | swiss | direct elimination
-duel style for each round: e.g. "1 game classical correspondence 1 day per move", or "best of 7 different variants 5+0"
-registration deadline
-maximum number of players (and/or maximum number of rounds)
-days per round, as these tournaments will typically span multiple days
-optionally active playing hours in a day (to avoid pairing people from different time zones)
-a default time when each round is to be played
After a tournament is created, everyone can ask the host to join until the registration deadline. After that the pairings are done, and there is no more joining or leaving. The tournament lobby interface can look very similar the the ones for arena tournaments, except for the scoring table, which depends on the tournament style.
Those who participate will now see who they are up against, how long they have to finish the round, and the time that their next game is scheduled. For the most tricky part, i.e. to make sure the games are actually played, I suggest the following:
-unless agreed otherwise, both players should be present in the tournament lobby at the default starting time
-by clicking on their next game when in the tournament lobby, players can suggest another time to play the game. If the opponent agrees, the starting time is moved.
-your next scheduled game will appear automatically under the 'challenges' tab at the home page. This will light up if your opponent is online, so one of the players can one-click invite the other to 'start the tournament game now'. The other one will be notified with an incoming challenge.
-two no-shows will eliminate you automatically from the tournament. Players will that way obtain a 'tournament completion rate' that a host can take into consideration when deciding who can join.
I realise it's a lot of work to implement all this, but I personally believe it can set new standards for online tournaments. No challonge or other websites would be needed anymore, and I think the regular-rounds and garuanteed-games aspect of a tournament will boost the play of longer games. Lichess itself could host a 'Lichess masters' every year with top players, which requires no special coding and could be promoted the same way as the yearly marathon now. Since it features common tournament formats, it could also be used to livestream grandmaster tournaments (or just upload the games afterwards to analyse and comment).
Lots of information and few details, so please add your opinion on this. Maybe some of the ideas will be picked up.
Thanks!
tl;dr
Suggestions for round-based tournaments (think direct elimination) and how to avoid no-shows.