I pretty much agree, though I think they changed not showing the parameters now because you can only see the seeks of other people you fit the parameters of?
Definitely seconding (very strongly) the players tab coming back, although I thought I heard someone say that they had some problems with it and were working on bringing it back.
A few ideas to improve the experience of Live Chess:
It would be good to be able to ping your opponent to see if they're still online. Lag can be very annoying and it can be hard to work out if it's you or your opposition.
Bring back the parameters of people's seeks. I used to like being able to see the ranges of other people's seeks. Why mask the information?
Bring back the Players tab. Again, why hide this information? It was nice to be able to have a peek and see who was online.
That's all from me for now. Anyone have any other suggestions?