Author: margolies,marc
Date: 21:30:53 05/12/03
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the basic problem with USChessFederation rating chess computers (as a means on accurate understanding of the products abilities) is that the USChess also sold computers ; their ratings were essentially a marketing tool and the marketing executives who have run the USCF have looked upon their membership rolls as a targeted marketing list who should be induced to buy things ( in contrast to say, a form of political constituency which could advocate our sport and further chess education in the public sector.) (As an example chess is one of the cheapest subjects to teach hence its popularity in the communist world but ask most educators and school system administrators who will say that they can't afford frills like chess in an age of budget cuts.) While I am sure that many of the relative comparisons of machines which USCF elected to sell (eg. recieved monies from the manufacturer) were pretty fair, we should not doubt that the general abilities of these devices were exagerated to generate excitement about them. If a 1900 rated player does well against these machines, it still does not account for ratings inflation like grade inflation as these machines were competing against a pool of less sophisticated players in past times before good chess knowledge was widespread.
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