Feature request: Enable "material odds challenge links" by pre-filling parts of the "challenge friend" UI via URL

[chrisbutner]

Scenario 1: Bots are often too difficult for humans to beat, so it can help to offer "material odds"; for example, allowing the challenger to pick WHITE, then setting up a "From Position" variant with BLACK missing a pawn, or two pawns, etc. However, this is cumbersome to set up, and the exact setup (e.g., kingside vs. queenside pawn missing) that is allowed by the bot may not be clear.

Scenario 2: Bot descriptions often state rules for challenges (e.g. "at most 1s increment", or "at least 3s increment").

Scenarios 1 and 2 could be improved by allowing bot authors to add common challenge types as links within their descriptions. For example:

• Challenge me to |2+1|, |3+2|, |5+3|, |10+5|
• Challenge me to |pawn odds|, |two pawn odds|, |knight odds|

Currently, a link like https://lichess.org/?user=Boris-Trapsky#friend shows modal challenge UI. Augmenting this, or a new URL, with query parameters for time control, variant type, FEN, and color, would help scenarios 1 and 2.

One important detail is that the challenge UI is currently "sticky", remembering the user's latest choices. However, a third party controls the query parameters to these proposed links. Therefore, it may be best to only remember selections made by the user and not those specified by URL query parameters.

[Notproffesionalcoder]

Scenario 1 Good Idea, but the point is every bot is not to hard like if you see Boris-Trapsky has been also defeated by humans who did not cheat and for few more bots too. Of course if you use engines like Stockfish 14 and all it is not possible

Conclusion: Bots can be defeat able

Scenario 2

I dont understand the reason for it

[chrisbutner]

For scenario 1, there's definitely a variety of bots, and some like the maia series are perfect for human play. However, pushing limits against top engines is also interesting, and popular. For example, this video shows Hikaru Nakamura playing with 2-pawn odds vs. Komodo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgnWq9gxyCM

For scenario 2, if a bot is particular in its challenge rules, it can help to give a few example links, rather than force users to be declined multiple times, going back and forth between pages/tabs. For example, a bot that plays atomic chess can have variant-specific challenge links in its description.

This could also help for non-bots, and allow challenge links to be listed in other media. For example, a streamer who is accepting atomic chess challenges can list this variant-specific URL in twitch chat.

[ornicar]

Yes I was thinking of streamers who have a similar use case. We want a way to create challenge blueprints that can be shared. It should be more user friendly than constructing a URL with query parameters.

[timothyha]

Maybe one would either paste a position into Board Editor or edit a position from scratch, then choose "Continue from here" and then challenge Maia9 or another bot or a friend?

[ornicar]

https://lichess.org/@/LeelaQueenOdds could use it too.