Originally posted by Ramned
it seems cool..and you get some more features as they come along I suppose.
On the tournaments, do you typically play pople around your skill? Are they fairly competitive?
And are clans / clan leagues worthwhile? Is there a sort of ranking on the clan leagues?
There are banded and unbanded tournaments. In the banded tournaments you play against people in your rating range, in unbanded ones you can get anything. There are also different group sizes, so in some tournaments you only play one opponent at a time, while in others you'll get a big game load. Some are thematic, which means that you start from a certain position (usually a certain opening). The tournaments are as competitive as you make them - some of them are discussed in the Tournament Forum, people try to predict who's going to win etc. Some tournaments also have a small prize for the winner.
I find the clans the best feature for subscribers. Most importantly, you'll get games against players around your own strength this way. If I want more games, I just ask one of my clan leaders to set up some challenges. The private forums are also a great addition. Different clans use them to a different degree and for different purposes, so it's a good idea to think about what you want to get out of it (e.g. friendly chat, game analysis, or talking about a subject you are interested in) and ask around a bit before you join a clan. I have played in one clan league and enjoyed it very much, but it also adds a lot of games, and at the moment I prefer to have fewer games, so I'll stay out of the leagues for a while. As with the private forums, if you want to play in the leagues, you should choose your clan carefully. Many clans don't play in the leagues at all, and those who do usually don't play in all of them (there are leagues for different timeout settings).