Champion Swiss is proud to present the first designs of what we hope will be the best arbitrage application in the world of chess.
After studying the requests and questionnaires made to the arbitration community, we have taken into account all the demands in terms of ease of use and functionality. We have also assessed the shortcomings and defects of the current arbitration applications to make a new application more powerful, simple and where there is no need to use an instruction manual to learn how to use it.
The first thing a user encounters in any application is the design. And at Champion Swiss we have developed it with great care. After two years of intense analysis, we believe we have achieved a balance between functionality and simplicity.
It is true that we all find it difficult to change our habits, our working methods, even if they are deficient. Whenever a new way of working comes out, it can cause reluctance. But for those who are fed up with having to fight against traditional arbitrage programs, from now on they can welcome a new way of managing chess tournaments.
Player registration is one of the first things you do when organising a chess tournament. At Champion Swiss we have thought of giving a twist to the way it has been done so far. Moving away from methods of entering players based on cumbersome excel tables has been fundamental. When using a program for the first time, there is nothing more frustrating than finding an empty screen and having to search through menus to find the option we want. Champion Swiss gives us the possibility of multiple player registration options in an easy and intuitive way. It is impossible to get lost.
A player data card to the right of the list of registered players helps us to quickly access all the data of each player, without having to navigate left and right in a sea of endless columns. In a short amount of screen space we can add or modify all fields. There is even room for the player’s photo.
At Champion Swiss we know how many hours a referee spends in front of a computer screen. That’s why we went for a pleasant colour palette with gradient shades that minimise eye strain, using dark backgrounds over white lettering. Each group of screens will have a different background colour, so that the user will know intuitively when they have passed from one stage of the tournament to another.
For a referee it is essential to have easy access to the statistical information of the entries. Total number of players, number of men and women, average ELO, how many titled players there are or how many players have no ELO (to be able to plan the type of tiebreaks to use, for example.) In a preferential place on the screen, we will enjoy an information bar with the statistics in real time, which will be very helpful at certain times.
How easy it is to get lost among so many options! In an application of these characteristics, it has always been missed some coherence in the organisation of the menu options. Especially when, in the midst of the stress of a tournament, you can be carrying out various tasks while a player or part of the refereeing team is talking to you at the same time. Finding the right option quickly becomes more necessary than ever. At Champion Swiss we have taken the time to organise the options in a clear and accessible way in a sidebar that will delight any referee.
We all know that in tournaments there can be cases and situations that are difficult to manage when the refereeing software does not help. Stopping the normal course of a tournament is not to anyone’s liking, especially not that of the players and the public. Now we have in front of us a software that can eliminate a lot of headaches when something goes wrong in the middle of a championship. An application designed by referees for referees.
