On Saturday evening we took part in a UK blitz team tournament online. The “UK Clubs Self Isolating Pawns Team Battle” featured 8 clubs, and was run on the lichess server using the Team Battle Arena option. The tournament ran for 2 hours, and you played as many blitz games as you could fit in against players from other clubs. The top 5 scorers from each club were used to calculate final standings.
The pairing system itself is a bit unpredictable, it is some combination of the Swiss pairing system and using the players who are available, given there are no set round times. You just go with it! It is possible to pause in between to get a cup of tea for example (or something stronger), and joining late or leaving early is possible too.
We managed a highly creditable 2nd place behind winners Hackney. Clement and Calum were out top scorers, and in fact were top scorers for the whole tournament! Final results can be seen here
We’ll be trying to go one better next Saturday at 8pm! To play just go to the Team homepage on lichess and sign up to the UK Self Isolating Pawns Team Battle on 2nd May.