Chess league

I am switching over from GameKnot, another great chess site. I chose to switch to RedHotPawn because I believe it is also a great chess site. I was a subscriber at GK and I will subscribe to RHP if my experience proves my belief right.

One of the most fun competitions GK offered was the 18-division league. You can challenge other players in the same division to two games - one as white and one as black. Every finished game's result counts towards a league score. Once the league score reaches a certain limit, you will be promoted or relegated accordingly.

Don't get me wrong - I am not advertising GK. RHP has plenty of good competitions - clans (teams on GK) and tournaments (which GK also offered). However, I personally enjoyed the league and would love to play league chess on RHP. I hope the webmaster considers implementing such a competition on RHP.

How does GK make their leagues appeal to people - the clan leagues were introduced here this year. What propels they leagues at GK, are the exciting to take part in, how is the league winner recognised or awarded at the end of the season?

I really enjoyed the league. Every league game, besides counting towards my rating, also counts towards the league score. I know that if I win enough games to get enough points to get promoted, I will get to play stronger opponents. Many players have developed ways to rule the league. I once developed a strategy allowing me to play against similar-strength players in higher divisions (I get more points for beating players in higher divisions) to help me advance divisions quickly and meet much stronger players.


Here are the rules for the GK leagues (quoted directly from the site):

1. Players in the same division can challenge each other to a league match consisting of two games (one playing as white and one as black) with time control set to 3 days per move by clicking on the "play" link next to the corresponding user name. League challenges cannot be declined and league games cannot be cancelled. Other players will not be able to challenge you to a game if the vacation flag is set for your account.

2. Each win is counted as +1 point towards the league rating, each draw is 0 points, and each loss is -1 points. League games affect chess rating as well, just like any other rated games.

3. In case the opponents end up in different divisions by the time the game is finished, the league score is calculated according to the following table: Difference Win Loss
winner 1-2 divisions higher +0.5 -0.5
winner 1-2 divisions lower +2 -2
winner 3+ divisions higher 0 0
winner 3+ divisions lower +5 -5
If the game ended in a draw, the player from the lower division will be awarded +0.5 points and -0.5 points will be given to the player from the higher division.

4. All players with 10 or more points will get promoted to the next higher division and players with -10 or less points will get relegated to the next lower division. If a division has more than 30 players, top 5 players will also get promoted and bottom 5 players will be relegated. In case a division has more than 60 players, 10 players will be promoted and 10 relegated. Only players with 3 or more completed games can be promoted/relegated.

5. All promotions and relegations are performed once a week -- Sunday morning GameKnot local time (PST).

6. If two players have the equal scores, the one who has been playing in the division longer will get promoted/relegated.

7. When joining the league initially, players with rating 1199 or less start in division D3, rating 1200 to 1499 -- division D2, rating 1500 to 1899 -- division D1, rating 1900 and higher -- division C3.

8. If you retire from the league, you can later on re-join the same division if you had positive/zero score, or one division below if you had negative score. Your score will be reset to zero when you re-join.

9. If you time out in three or more league games, you will be automatically disqualified from the league.

Sounds interesting but my advice to you would be to subscribe and get involved with the clans, clan leagues, tournaments and sieges, they should keep you equally amused. You can use the Send Feedback button at the bottom of the screen and select Site Ideas and make your suggestion to the Admins of the site for individual player leagues.

Thanks for your advice. I am sure the RHP team will be more likely to listen to a subscriber. I will certainly subscribe if my experience as a free member tells me it is worth the money.

RHP's siege competition is very unique.