VCT 4 Opinion

First of all, a big thanks to you all for your support and sharing your opinion on VCT 4. This time we got the opinion from all 24 players, and well within the stipulated timeline, and that shows the superb enthusiasm among you all. Kudos!

I hope we could provide utmost entertainment in this new format of VCT and also helped you grow more interest in the game of chess and enhance your skillsets.

So without further ado, let us see the results of the Opinion Poll - 

1. Which of these would you vote for the best comeback of the tournament ?

With 9 votes, Sayak's (sayak23) win against Matcho (hopelessindian) in Gameweek 4 is voted as the best comeback in the VCT 4 tournament!

Congratulations to Sayak for winning the VCT 4 Auxiliary Prize for the 'Best Comeback'!

There is a very close contest between the rest of the candidates as you can see!

2. Whom have you loved to watch to play in the entire tournament ? (People's choice award)

Irfan (irfanraza_6) remains one of the most popular and respected player in our VCT family. Irfan emerged out as the clear winner in this category with 7 votes.
Congratulations to Irfan for wining the 'People's Choice Award' in VCT 4 Auxiliary prize.

Arkadip (Rkdpgupta) and Sandy (buhu_s) came second with 4 votes each, followed by Sudipta (sudiptadebnath2020) with 3 votes. Souvik (Nitrozz), Nandita (nandy111), Avik (champ2w), Jongs (shayon62), Matcho (hopelessindian) and Sayantan (sayantanduttagupta) acquired 1 vote each. 

3. How often would you like to have another format of Clash of Clans? This just an opinion and actual actions will be decided considering many other points.

Honestly, we are overwhelmed by your response to this question. It is clear that most of you have enjoyed playing this 'Clash of Clans' format of VCT and certainly another edition of the Clash of Clans is on the cards. 

Almost half (11) votes are demanding the Clash of Clans format to be in every alternate editions. We will take into consideration many other factors, including some feedback below, to formulate the next Clash of Clans edition. To give you a heads up, VCT 5 will be of different format, but we may very well come back to Clash of Clans in VCT 6. We will confirm you back on this.

Interesting to see that 25% (6) votes are in favor of making it the trademark of VCT. :)

4. Which color do you prefer to play in? (This data is collected for VCT research purpose and will remain confidential)

This was a very sensitive topic during VCT 2 and even start of VCT 3. However after VCT 3, the data  established was that 33 matches were actually won with black pieces and 23 matches were won with white pieces in the Group Stage. Even in Finals, more matches were in black than white.

In VCT 4 as well, 36 matches were won in black, and 33 matches were won in white. 3 matches were drawn. So in two consecutive editions of VCT, more matches were won by players playing in black.
With more and more practice, VCT players have now become confident enough to play in any color. 

Our opinion poll shows that more than 50%, i.e, 13 players are fine to play with any color.  
Off course, sometimes it depends on opposition (3 votes), and that shows how some (or all?) VCT players have started preparing their games against specific opponents.
There are 8 players who still prefer the first move advantage playing in white. That is their personal choice and is respected, but I was a bit amused to see that no one prefers to play specifically in black. Maybe we would try to do a workshop later on, on gambits and defenses for black.

5. Would you like to be a part of VCT 5? (Tentative timeline is June, format will be different)

18 players have already confirmed that they would be part of VCT 5, while 6 players have said they would confirm back to Coordinators later . I have not gone through the list and leave it to Coordinators to start registration for VCT 5 when the time comes (tentatively June).

It is a great pleasure for me to see that there has not been a negative vote in this segment, which gives us tremendous encouragement to continue with VCT tournaments. Also in VCT 5, we are looking forward to grow to 32 players. We will confirm you back on that in few week's time.

6. Would you like to play with higher rated players in tournament? (This data is collected for VCT research purpose and will be used to formulate future editions)

A staggering figure of 15 players out of the current 24 are eager to play against players of any ratings. Another 5 votes from players who are very eager to play with at least 200-300 higher rated players. It is quite a bold statement and shows the confidence the players have gathered playing VCT matches. Looks like your wish may well be granted in VCT 5 format (to be published in a few week's time).

7. Which other format(s) on chess.com do you prefer to play apart from 15|10? (This data is collected for VCT research purpose and will be used to formulate future editions) You can choose multiple answers here.

Although the trademark for VCT tournament matches has always been 15|10 rated games, VCT committee was thinking of potential experiments with other formats. We just collected your opinion here and any decision will be communicated well in advance of a tournament.

Now coming to your most valuable feedbacks - 

It was very nicely designed format and enjoyed playing a lot. Looking forward to play such formats again. Also just an opinion from my side, if we are having clash of clans again would like the clan leaders to change, maybe by random selection out if the interested players, just so others might also get a chance in bidding and team selection. Thanks to all of you for your efforts amidst such difficult times...

Answer : Absolutely agree. It will also help us within VCT committee to share some workload. We would take nominations for Clan Leads before the next Clash of Clans edition. However it is recommended to be a volunteer of VCT first, maybe in the next edition, to understand the underlying process. :)

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Marvellous

Answer: Thank you! I hope you continue playing in VCT and do let us know how we can improve.

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This was an amazing format, touching upon aspects of team plan , strategy over and above the intricacies of chess tactics.. Matches were exciting and yes kudos to the organizers

Answer: Thank you! We will try to keep on improving with each editions.

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Frankly, I am a completely addicted to chess because of VCT. Thank you so much for returning this game to my life. Congratulations to the organizing committee! Job well done. 🙏🙌

Answer: Thank you! We hope to bring more fun and learning in the upcoming editions.

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Awesome. Wish it was longer 🙁

Answer : Thank you for your kind words. We tried as much as we could. Definitely there will be further editions. If we get some help (volunteers), we can look to make the future editions longer.

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I have been losing interest as I see players' rating and quality of game play do not match. Although it is difficult to govern the integrity of players but that kills the purpose of a tournament.

Answer: We understand your concern, and that is why we are discussing to introduce proctored matches in future editions. We will confirm you back on this.

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Great tournament!!

Answer: Thank you! With your support and encouragement, we are trying to constantly improve.

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There's a wat to stop proxy play by another player. Ask each player to stream their screen and themselves through a different device. More like a proctored exam just from a different device.

Answer: Agree on this point and thanks for highlighting. We are discussing within committee to introduce proctored matches in the future editions. This will be an improvement point for VCT. We will confirm you back on this point.

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It is much appreciated! O Lovely !!

Answer: Thank you! We also appreciate your participation and encouragement.

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Appreciate the organizers. Super show by them. Kudos.

Answer: Thank you for your kind words. :)

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For more transparency and trust, we can play on matches on video. Will eliminate rule for foul play and doubts both.

Answer: Agree on this point and thanks for highlighting. We are discussing within committee to introduce proctored matches in the future editions. This will be an improvement point for VCT. We will confirm you back on this point.

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Its too long to type in here. Will request the committee members to call incase they want their feedback

Answer: We will take it as a compliment. :)  All votes are anonymous to me, however on this request, our coordinators can check your name (if mentioned) and can certainly arrange that.

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While VCT as a whole has played a vital role in keeping people engaged and sane during the pandemic, the 4th edition of it has been a pure learning experience for everyone. The concept of having people of varied skillset within a clan has facilitated unadulterated and unbiased interchanges of tactics, strategies and chess theories at large thus leaving each and every member enriched at the end of it.

Answer: Thank you for your kind words. As stated above, we will definitely arrange Clash of Clans edition again in future and we are open for any suggestions on what other features can we bring in.

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Please keep this format for at least one more edition of VCT

Answer: Thank you. As you saw the opinion poll, we surely will organize Clash of Clans format in future editions as well, not just one, but perhaps multiple times.

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It’s just getting better every edition .. keep going

Answer: Thank you. Your support and words of encouragement are our fuel to keep on organizing more and more VCT tournaments.

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One minor but annoying trend I have observed....many people tend to choose weekends to play cause of the workload on weekdays....but sometimes when I log in to chess.com I can see them play a number of games on a daily basis. I understand that they need to be in a proper mindshape to play a tournament game....but I think it's same for everyone...just my 2 cents...

Answer: This is a good point. Specially it becomes tough for the Coordinators to manage 6-8 games a day on weekends. We request players to play matches whenever possible in the weekdays. Please note, all matches played in VCT are monitored and recorded. So sometimes, it becomes a bit overhead for the Coordinators. This is certainly a point for improvement, and we will discuss this after VCT 4 completion. Alternate way is to have some volunteers to share some load with the current Coordinators. Volunteers can also be considered for future Clan leads.

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Need more volunteers

Answer: We had similar feedback in VCT 3 as well. We need more Volunteers if we want to grow VCT family and improve the level of tournaments. Volunteers can get promoted to Clan lead role if they can successfully conduct an edition of VCT, along with the current Coordinators.

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As we are growing more, we need volunteers. Volunteers if performed well, can be promoted future Clan Leads. Also another person required for the Tech part, so that it does not become dependent on one individual.

Answer: This was actually my feedback! :) We need more Volunteers if we want to grow. We will discuss this after VCT 4 tournament is completed.

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Very well organized as always. Thoroughly, enjoyed it and it helped me to improve my game, I have achieved my highest ever rating while practicing for this tournament.

Answer: Glad to hear that. And with more VCT tournaments coming up, I hope your rating will keep on improving! Thanks a lot for the generous feedback!

Overall, thanks for your feedback.  We will try to work on some of the points as mentioned above. Be rest assured, we want to grow VCT as much possible and improve wherever possible. All your feedbacks are very valuable to us. Cheers!