I don't understand the difference between ELO, USCF, FIDE, Glicko etc. etc. I don't understand why the chess world can't decide on one universal rating system.

I believe USCF and FIDE use the Elo system.  They are not systems on their own.

Thats right ! its the same system basicaly there is an article on on how it works already if your interested and one for cliko or a link to cliko anyway but i dont have it to show u....

 

So what's the difference between Elo, USCF, and FIDE? Or are they just alternative names?

FIDE and USCF are the names of Federations. Elo is the name of the guy who is credited with inventing a particular rating system. That rating system (with  minor differences) is still used by FIDE and USCF to rate their members.

Ah. I see. USCF stands for U.S. Chess Federation, while FIDE stands for something weird in French. You said they have minor differences. They must be major enough to have 2 different rating categories (USCF and Elo) on your profile page. Why can't these federations agree on a universal system with no differences?

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littleman wrote:

Thats right ! its the same system basicaly there is an article on on how it works already if your interested and one for cliko or a link to cliko anyway but i dont have it to show u....

 

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Alex_M wrote:

Ah. I see. USCF stands for U.S. Chess Federation, while FIDE stands for something weird in French. You said they have minor differences. They must be major enough to have 2 different rating categories (USCF and Elo) on your profile page. Why can't these federations agree on a universal system with no differences?

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Joe, this is a serious thread. Gibberish wasn't the topic.

All valid points, Joe.

Alex_M wrote:

Ah. I see. USCF stands for U.S. Chess Federation, while FIDE stands for something weird in French. You said they have minor differences. They must be major enough to have 2 different rating categories (USCF and Elo) on your profile page. Why can't these federations agree on a universal system with no differences?

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 Even if you use the same rating system, if you have two different pools of players, the rating you have in one pool will be different than the rating you have in another pool. So, people in the US generally have a national rating (based on the pool of US players) and can also have an international rating (based on the pool of players through the whole world).

 

The general idea of the Elo rating system is used by both. Each game you play causes your rating to change based on the rating differential between you and your opponent and the result of the game. You have to have some system parameters that say how much the rating changes and I believe USCF and FIDE use slightly different parameters, but the general formula is the same.

 

The Glicko rating system is a more recent development in how to rate games. It is used on this site and other places on the internet (FICS, ICC). The Glicko rating system assigns a new value to each player in addition to the rating, the RD. This measures in some sense the accuracy of the rating and the value of the RD impacts how the rating is calculated. This is a significant difference from the Elo method used  by USCF and FIDE. 

Thanks Loomis. That helped a bunch.