Rating Chess tempo and FIDE....

[hurtedking]

Hi all,

it is clear to me that there is'nt any math that can relate Tactics rating with FIDE rating. But it would be useful to know if the average of FIDE players with my rating do tactics better than me or worse (I don't think so...). What do you think about it? We can start here, just to exchange ithe information, and if it is found useful by several users maybe Richard can start to think how to implement it.

That's me:
FIDE rating: 1854
Tactics rating: 2102

[richard]

Thanks for starting this thread. I'd be very interested in seeing others FIDE versus CT ratings.  I ask for rating information on registration to give me a rough idea of how real ratings rate to CT ratings, however as a number of users enter unrealistic ratings on the registration form it is hard to form strong conclusions (according to registrations we have a few +10000 rated players :-)  ).  Of course users could lie in the forum but I think users who go to the effort of reading and responding to this thread are more likely to be posting legitimate ratings.

I just did a quick analysis of the registration details, looking at users who entered fide ratings >0 and < 3000 and had done at least 50 problems I get the following averages (based on 78 users):
CT Rating:  2142.0769     
Fide Rating: 1977.2949

For standard ratings the equivalent is (based on 55 users):
CT Rating: 1679.1636
Fide Rating: 1825.8727

I'm actually a little surprised that the blitz ratings are as close as they are, I would have expected the CT rating to be even more inflated than that.

Looking at USCF ratings entered during registration shows a pattern more like the one I'd expected (based on 71 users):
CT Rating:1957.9155
USCF Rating:1540.0423

Not really sure how to interpret the USCF versus FIDE difference.

Regards,
Richard.

[saponaro]

My rating on this site is 1940. My USCF is about 1770.

[richard]

My rating on this site is 1940. My USCF is about 1770.

Thanks saponaro,

That seems in-line with the FIDE rating differences (but closer than the average USCF differences). If I have time at some stage I might do a proper analysis and see how correlated the ratings actually are and maybe produce some regression equations to allow prediction (or rather guessing :-)  )   of USCF and FIDE rating from CT rating.

Regards,
Richard.

[mrcm]

Curiously enough is that here I achieved a blitz rating of 2563 !! I never thougth I could get such a high rating, given that my FIDE Elo is 2100, and haven't played any rated game in 10 years...

Its good for my ego, but i dont think is realistic.

[richard]

Blitz ratings are certainly a long way off from FIDE ratings, Standard a little closer.  It hasn't really been a goal to match FIDE ratings too closely as the ratings system is more a way to match users and problems and give users some feedback on progress on CT rather than a measure of how they compare to FIDE players.  Having said that it would be nice if there was a closer relationship, so I might consider some ratings tweaks in the future which deflate the blitz ratings a bit more.

Regards,
Richard.

[slacker00]

I'd like to contribute to  this thread, but I'm  afraid my personal data isn't very reliable.  I haven't been very active in live tournament chess.  Even my activity on FICS hasn't been very consistent lately.  But, I'll toss some numbers out there, and you guys can interpret it however you can, even if it's to toss my numbers out. haha

First off, my  CT standard rating is 2000.  Total, I've got 360 problems correct and 72 problems incorrect for a 83% clearance.  But, I'm improving steadily.  Over the past 100 problems, I got 94 correct.  Of my last 59 problems, I only got one wrong.

I've only done one USCF rated tournament,  but I did very well,  beating a 2100 and a 1900, but losing to a player  rated 1600, as well  as beating a 1400 rated  player.  My math gives a performance rating of 1950 USCF based on that outing.  But, I'll admit that I was having a good day.  I beat the 1400 guy first, fairly easily, he got caught with his pants down in my  favorite opening as White.  Then I beat the 1900 guy in my other favorite opening as Black, I think he  totally overlooked me because I didn't have a USCF rating.  Next I was matched up against the 2100,  which was the highest rated guy in this small local tournament.  I played the game of my life.  Somehow I got  him into time trouble in a very complicated & bitter battle.  He survived to  move 40,  but in his time trouble, I was  able to squeeze the position into  a winning endgame.  I'm confident that if he wasn't in time trouble,  he could have easily drawn.  Finally, the 1600 guy was for the tournament championship, but I gotta admit that beating the 2100 guy took everything I had, I was wiped out mentally by the time I took the board against the 1600 guy.  Not to mention, the 1600 guy played the style that gives me headaches.  He was a positional grinder, and I was already suffering right out of the opening.  Oh well, I got the scalp of a 2100 which will probably be my crowning lifetime chess achievement. lol.

As for club-level play, I seem to play 1600 level guys fairly evenly.  Unfortunately, my clubs never had anyone rated much higher than this, so I rarely get to test  myself against much higher players in live play.  Often, I'm simply faced  with torturing lower rated players.  Hey, I try to help them learn why they lose, but I'm sure it's no fun for them to lose so often to me. lol

As for FICS or ICC, I tend to  fluctuate  in the 1600-1800 range if  I make sure I'm well rested and alert.  But some nights, I'll  play as bad as 1400 level if I'm tired.  On FICS, it can make a big difference if you are careful picking certain time controls.  I never play 1 0 or any of the super blitz speeds.  But I never play standard either.  Generally, I play 2  12 because that's the default and  it seems to work out for me.

Also, on CTS I'm around 1500-1550 based on 2500+ problems.  But that place is largely based on super-blitz speeds, so I'm not sure how to interpret that data.

[richard]

Thanks for the interesting report slacker. Sounds like the recent tournament was fun, congrats on the 2100 scalp :-)

I'm quite excited about the new "USCF/FIDE user id" option in the preferences (and now registration).  This will allow me to create a model for mapping CT ratings to USCF/FIDE ratings.  More interestingly it will also allow me to look at how certain patterns of CT usage map to changes in OTB ratings. Obviously I'm hoping to see some positive correlation :-)

Regards,
Richard.

[angrypirate]

Hi Guys,

I'm very interested in this thread...So I will try to contribute

I am just starting in the USCF...and my rating is still provisional although I have played 19 games, so it is almost normal.


Here goes:

My rating here is about 1600-1700...tending towards the lower 1600's on standard.

I don't play blitz here for the most part.


My ICC rating on standard is in the mid-high 1500's close to 1600 as well and my 15-minute pool rating is about 1550.

My uscf rating is about 1400 provisional, although it has gone up in every 4-5 game tournament I have played in and is still provisional.

I am playing a 5 game tournament next month so I will let you know how it goes....Like slacker I have had very wild games...I have beaten two 1700+ players....then I will lose to 2 1300 players, draw a 1500...etc....my problem is getting used to over the board situations...I am kind of clumsy with the clock, and score sheet still...and I get really nervous when I achieve a winning position against a 1500+ opponent because I want to win so badly LOL.

Anyhoo, thats where I am now....I will post again when my provisional status is removed so the data is more accurate.

Thanks for the fun thread

[tama]

Hello all,

Well my rating on chesstempo on standard is 1900+ and on icc my rating is around 1750 in the 10 min pool. ive never played in a tournament in my life or realy with any human in real life lol. I only play online.

Do u think online play and tournament play to be completaly different?

Btw ive bin plaing chess for 1 year now.

[slacker00]

Hello all,

Well my rating on chesstempo on standard is 1800+ and on icc my rating is around 1750 in the 10 min pool. ive never played in a tournament in my life or realy with any human in real life lol. I only play online.

Do u think online play and tournament play to be completaly different?

Btw ive bin plaing chess for 1 year now.

tama, there's only one way of knowing the difference between online and live play.  Play some live games.  It's definitely  a different feel, having the option of looking your opponent in the eye.  Some players  in live games  will actually do some sneaky stuff to throw you  off, they  might kick the table or make funny noises,  one guy would adjust his pieces one by  one saying "I  adjust", which  I guess  is legal but annoying.  It can be a zoo.  Otherwise, the longer time controls is the main difference.

[tama]

wOw That sounds like a pain... U mean during your time he will ajust the pieces? what a disraspecfull person. Well i feel like standard mode on chesstempo is like a 2 hour game were u got to evaluat the position every time your aponent makes a move.

[slacker00]

wOw That sounds like a pain... U mean during your time he will ajust the pieces? what a disraspecfull person. Well i feel like standard mode on chesstempo is like a 2 hour game were u got to evaluat the position every time your aponent makes a move.

Well, not all players are bad like that.  I've met some very nice chess players in real life as well.  Some guys will be very happy to re-examine a game afterwards, talk chess, discuss strategies, etc.  Heck, after the mentioned chess tournament above,  I went to the bar with some of the chess players and drank some beers.  Just  like real life,  I guess, there are all types of people in the chess world.  Some players can be annoying or flat out unlikeable, but there are some really cool chess players too.

[tama]

I feel like this topic can give a little more, My rating on chesstempo standard now is 2000+ but on sites like Fics my rating in blitz is a horible 1500, when ever i loss i feel so week like a newb its extremily depresing.

Can i get advice on how to improve? Ive bin told to play aroud 10 games a day minimim, is that enough? what else can i do? i also loss a huge amount of my games because my aponents catch me it positional traps or i simply suck at positional play, how can i improve positional tactics?

[tacto]

lol positional tactics... I dont think that exists.

Strategy is something you learn just like tactics. You have to play a lot though. Like when we played that game on chesscube in the english you allowed me to double your pawns with a fork. Small things like that combined can get you either a great or bad position depending on who it favours.

I recommend using fritz or some program to go over your games and to also study openings. NOT MEMORIZE.... that useless. If you know why and when you will be able to apply those things studied in all games and openings.

It is important to note that if you do a lot of tactics per day like on CT or CTS you WILL have a temporary decline in rating becuase your thoughts are UNBALANCED. ex. you concentrate more on your plans than your opponents....etc

I suggest 10+ games everyday(blitz but nothing below 5 min counts)

Your rating for now is better than myne on here but I take it my advice has some merit becuase my fics and chesscube ratings are much higher than yours. My cts is also somewhat higher.