Previously, there would always be at least one active arena tournament of normal chess in either 1m, 3m, or 5m. Now, often there are three active thematic tournaments simultaneously being played in each of those time controls and zero normal tournaments. The thematic tourneys may seem popular, but part of that is because there is no regular tournament to play in!
In my humble opinion, there should only be one active thematic tournament at a time. Three is overkill and it divides the players into separate tournaments who *want* to play thematic.
I think there should always be a regular chess arena at any given time. It's frustrating to log on and see there isn't a regular chess arena for another 30 minutes.
And the thematic arenas, in my opinion, would be best at 1 minute time control and only 15-20 minutes long. One minute is great for learning openings because you rapidly see so many different positions. If each thematic arena lasts 20 minutes, then you could go through 72 openings per day.
In my humble opinion, there should only be one active thematic tournament at a time. Three is overkill and it divides the players into separate tournaments who *want* to play thematic.
I think there should always be a regular chess arena at any given time. It's frustrating to log on and see there isn't a regular chess arena for another 30 minutes.
And the thematic arenas, in my opinion, would be best at 1 minute time control and only 15-20 minutes long. One minute is great for learning openings because you rapidly see so many different positions. If each thematic arena lasts 20 minutes, then you could go through 72 openings per day.