06 October 2015

'Good evening, Baku. This is Brussels calling!'

This post is a note to all those responsible for the organization and production of the just concluded 2015 World Cup in Baku. Great job! Well done! I can't possibly exaggerate how much I enjoyed watching the event.

As I mentioned in That's Not Bobby!, I missed the first three++ rounds and have been catching up with them in the official site's video archive. The 'Bobby!' post mentioned that 'I found the broadcast format somewhat clumsy', but it turns out that it was mainly an initial impression. What was I talking about? Here's a screen capture from the first day I started watching.

There are four blocks of information on the screen:-

  • Two menu bars
  • A game that I've selected to watch
  • The broadcast (red 'WATCH LIVE' button)
  • The chat room

That represents a ton of input for me and although it doesn't quite fit together on my screen, I can live with that. My main problem was that 25% of the screen was taken by those menu bars and I couldn't see how to remove them. Do I really need to be constantly reminded that the final round will start at such-and-such a time?

Since I don't want to end this post on a negative note, I'll add a big THANK YOU! to everyone responsible for showing how chess can be covered.

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