Mysterious Spectators' Crowding from Nowhere • page 1/2 • General Chess Discussion • lichess.org

Recently a friend of mine on Lichess was playing a very normal Classical game when suddenly he had 16 (!) spectators watching his game, including five (!) anonymous players. And they became more after a while (21) and actually stayed there the whole game. Some left and came back again, but also new players joined. Neither were they his friends or had he ever played with them, nor is my friend a titled player that could appear at the top ranks, nor had they do anything with his opponent (according to his chat messages). How come they all found this particular game among 61.755 players and 26.333 games in play? I checked if this game appeared on Lichess TV when I saw it, but it didn't.

How might that happen? Which paths could they all possibly have followed on the site to find this particular game and where might they have found it simultanously - both the registered and the anonymous players?
I'm somewhat puzzled. I know Lichess is a parallel world (though luckily still not metaverse...) with many secrets, but somewhere out there might be a wise man or even Lichess dev who is able explain to me this little mystery. Thanks!

PS: Love you so much, Lichess! :)

Recently a friend of mine on Lichess was playing a very normal Classical game when suddenly he had 16 (!) spectators watching his game, including five (!) anonymous players. And they became more after a while (21) and actually stayed there the whole game. Some left and came back again, but also new players joined. Neither were they his friends or had he ever played with them, nor is my friend a titled player that could appear at the top ranks, nor had they do anything with his opponent (according to his chat messages). How come they all found this particular game among 61.755 players and 26.333 games in play? I checked if this game appeared on Lichess TV when I saw it, but it didn't. How might that happen? Which paths could they all possibly have followed on the site to find this particular game and where might they have found it simultanously - both the registered and the anonymous players? I'm somewhat puzzled. I know Lichess is a parallel world (though luckily still not metaverse...) with many secrets, but somewhere out there might be a wise man or even Lichess dev who is able explain to me this little mystery. Thanks! PS: Love you so much, Lichess! :)

Rookitiki edited

#2

if your friend didnt know how they got there, maybe it was coz of his opponent.
but it could be unrelated to either of them (chess class: lazy teacher tells students to write down the complete game in SAN and goes for a smoke or something).

didnt he try to ask the visitors themselves? in classical you can waste a couple seconds to say hi.

@ChunHoLum said in #4:

but the visitors can't see the chat between the 2 players

true, i forgot about that

if your friend didnt know how they got there, maybe it was coz of his opponent. but it could be unrelated to either of them (chess class: lazy teacher tells students to write down the complete game in SAN and goes for a smoke or something). didnt he try to ask the visitors themselves? in classical you can waste a couple seconds to say hi. @ChunHoLum said in #4: > but the visitors can't see the chat between the 2 players true, i forgot about that

CaseyReese edited

#3

@sorinnakichku said in #1:

How might that happen? Which paths could they all possibly have followed on the site to find this particular game and where might they have found it simultanously - both the registered and the anonymous players?

The game was on Watch: Current Games when it was being played.

I don't know why a group of people took interest, but, as Rookitiki suggested, a chess coach conducting a class could have picked it to analyze with his students.

@sorinnakichku said in #1: > How might that happen? Which paths could they all possibly have followed on the site to find this particular game and where might they have found it simultanously - both the registered and the anonymous players? The game was on Watch: Current Games when it was being played. I don't know why a group of people took interest, but, as Rookitiki suggested, a chess coach conducting a class could have picked it to analyze with his students.

ChunHoLum

#4

but the visitors can't see the chat between the 2 players

sorinnakichku

edited

#5

@Rookitiki said in #2:

if your friend didnt know how they got there, maybe it was coz of his opponent.
His opponent said he did not know those players
but it could be unrelated to either of them (chess class: lazy teacher tells students to write down the complete game in SAN and goes for a smoke or something).
Haha, why not...?
didnt he try to ask the visitors themselves? in classical you can waste a couple seconds to say hi.
I happened to watch the game too, so I asked in the chat - but there was no reaction

@CaseyReese said in #3:

The game was on Watch: Current Games when it was being played.
How did you find out this game was on Current Games?

@Rookitiki said in #2: > if your friend didnt know how they got there, maybe it was coz of his opponent. His opponent said he did not know those players > but it could be unrelated to either of them (chess class: lazy teacher tells students to write down the complete game in SAN and goes for a smoke or something). Haha, why not...? > didnt he try to ask the visitors themselves? in classical you can waste a couple seconds to say hi. I happened to watch the game too, so I asked in the chat - but there was no reaction @CaseyReese said in #3: > The game was on Watch: Current Games when it was being played. How did you find out this game was on Current Games?

sorinnakichku

#6

@ChunHoLum said in #4:

but the visitors can't see the chat between the 2 players
That's right @ChunHoLum

@ChunHoLum said in #4: > but the visitors can't see the chat between the 2 players That's right @ChunHoLum

CaseyReese edited

#7

@sorinnakichku said in #5:

How did you find out this game was on Current Games?

All current games are there. Click on the hamburger menu, click on Current Games, click on a game category, and start scrolling.

@sorinnakichku said in #5: > How did you find out this game was on Current Games? All current games are there. Click on the hamburger menu, click on Current Games, click on a game category, and start scrolling.

sorinnakichku

#8

@CaseyReese said in #7:

All current game are there. Click on the hamburger menu, click on Current Games, click on a time control, and start scrolling.
I can't scroll there - I only have two boards with finished games there (Previously on Lichess TV) and only 3x5=15 boards on the main "Current games" site.

@CaseyReese said in #7: > All current game are there. Click on the hamburger menu, click on Current Games, click on a time control, and start scrolling. I can't scroll there - I only have two boards with finished games there (Previously on Lichess TV) and only 3x5=15 boards on the main "Current games" site.

NM ThunderClap

#9

Big Brother is watching you ... hehehehe

sorinnakichku

edited

#10

Thanks for your suggestions, I'll follow the "smoking teacher" path first of all to investigate...

By the way, I recently had some interesting ideas about how to improve spectator's / kibitzer's experience (maybe you are interested): https://lichess.org/forum/lichess-feedback/suggestion-coffeehouse-mode-eg-friends-tv--customized-tv--streamer-team-leader-dashboard

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks for your suggestions, I'll follow the "smoking teacher" path first of all to investigate... By the way, I recently had some interesting ideas about how to improve spectator's / kibitzer's experience (maybe you are interested): https://lichess.org/forum/lichess-feedback/suggestion-coffeehouse-mode-eg-friends-tv--customized-tv--streamer-team-leader-dashboard I'd love to hear your thoughts!