hey, how exactly does the rating system on chess.com work?

 i thought that it was identical to the USCF method (isn't the max +- 32 points for USCF games?)

 but i'm finding that i can jump or drop more than fifty points a game.  how is the rating calculated?

thanks,

 Steven

it uses the Glicko method, which is more accurate:

http://math.bu.edu/people/mg/glicko/glicko.doc/glicko.html

that's really cool.

 so, does it include the threshold that the article mentions (to not penalize frequent players)?

 one more question: is there any way you could show the estimated rating range?

The default starting rating here was 1200 rather than 1500?

On other sites the 32 point spread kicks in gradually. If two new members meet each other in their first game on site, they each start with 1400 provisional rating. The winner of this game would immediately jump to 1800 and the loser drop to 1000. Subsequent games would see less spectacular gains and losses, until the provisional rating drops out at 50 games. From there on your rating is related to your performance over the most recent 50 games, and the maximum spread is, as you said, 32 points when both players have non-provisional ratings. In reality, after about 8 or 10 games, the provisional rating has settled down to something akin to the sort of rating that will kick in after 50 games. So a game between two fully rated players has a zero sum in terms of rating points, but a match involving a provisionally rated player won't .

 

The snag in that system occurs when, as happened to me, you begin on a site without having played for years, and lose several early games, the rating drops vertiginously. Then, after 15 or 20 games, when it all comes back to you, the maximum benefit from a win tends towards 32, and it takes forever to get back to square one, let alone further up where your underlying strength belongs.

I totally agree with Aleckeen.When I first started,I was kind of on a losing streak as i was finding it hard to find my rhythm,but when I finally did,it took like ages to start getting good points out of games.Luckily for me I started to find my feet and began on a winning streak,I think that helped boost my ratings.Anyways,I generally conclude that here when you play a higher rated player,you tend to gain higher points if you win,while if you play a lower rated player than yourself,the points gained is minimal due to the fact that you are expected to win the game.

HOW CAN I HAVE POINTS AND WITH WHICH METHOD

fman-2-GOOD wrote: I CAN IHAVE POINTS AND WITH WHICH METHOD

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I WILL LOVE TO PLAY CHESS WITH KASPAROV ONE DAY