New Article: Chess Ratings

Welcome to my discussion of chess ratings. Today, I want to take a look at a number of ratings systems.

Firstly, what is a chess rating? I am often compelled to explain this when I talk to my non-chess-attuned friends. Chess ratings are a way to judge the strength of a player; the rating is comprised of a number, and the higher the number, the stronger a player is estimated to be.

FIDE Rating

The FIDE rating (also known as Elo, after Arpad Elo, creator of the rating system) is the international standard for judging the strength of a player. In Australia, where I live, this is the only rating that technically "matters", as it is the only system that can earn you titles.

The highest rating ever achieved under this system is 2851, by 13th World Champion Garry Kasparov. At the time of writing, only five players have ever broken the 2800 barrier.

I was already quite experienced when I acquired by first FIDE rating, which was 2029. Some players only get a FIDE rating when they are already grandmaster standard, whereas others get it very early and annoyingly, very low... (Click link for the full article)

Click here to access the rest of "Chess Ratings".