Author: Mac Moss
Date: 19:21:31 11/19/97
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On November 18, 1997 at 21:06:35, Peter W. Gillgasch wrote:
>I thought if you know how the pieces move you are at 800 or so ? Is
>there any nice rating formula that can handle such low ratings sensibly?
Actually, I suspect there are thousands of sub-1000 official USCF
ratings (it would be interesting to hear some relevant statistics).
Although the USCF publishes the exact specs on their Elo rating
system, they can be oversimplified to something like this: your rating
for a specific game is either the same as your opponent's (in the case
of a draw), your opponent's rating + 300 (if you win), or opponent - 300
(if you lose).
Based on these approximations, you can deduce the likelihood of
winning against an opponent rated within 300 points of your rating.
The outcome of games where there is a separation of significantly
greater than 300 points is usually a win for the stronger player.
Although the actual system used for calculating ratings is far more
complex than the above, I used these formulas for rating over 70
kids in a local chess club, and posted new ratings after each round of
playing. The kids enjoyed it, however imprecise.
A brute description of play, based on my observations, might go
something
like this:
300-500 Knows how pieces move, little recognition of threats by either
side.
500-700 Often threatens captures, check, or mate, but also throws
pieces
routinely.
700-900 Shows consistent aggressive, threatening patterns of moves.
Some
short combinations and mate threats. Still throws several
pieces
per game.
900-1100 Basic positional knowledge, some opening knowledge. Often
throws only a single obvious minor piece per game.
-Mac
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