Rated and unrated games listing!

Can chess.com create two listings one for "Unrated Games" and one for "Rated Games"! Most unrated games are used for training and so their appearing along side our rated games does us no good! Plus may encourage players to play more rated games then they do unrated. I play a few unrated games mainly for assisting to train new players as well as welcome new players with unknown rating strength!

I know in the archive games we can see live games, turn-base and by player but nothing by rated game or unrated games!

Is this doable for chess.com!

What does an unrated game mean?

Aloha Arthur,

Here at Chess.com there two types of games, rated means the game is counted as an official game at chess.com and so the rating formula is used to determine the opponents new chess rating. As a new member we are normally give a start rating of 1200, if you and depending on how strong or weak a players you play if you win you rating goes up, if you lose again depending on the rating of your opponent your rating goes down a bit or allot. Check out the rating section here at chess.com to look up the rating formula's that are used. The formula's are complex but rest assure they work.

Now as to what a "chess rating" means if your above 2000 your consider an Expert, 2200 Master, 2400 GM, but only here at chess.com. The reason I say this is that when you play OTB - over the board games there different factors involved such as a chess clock and the fact you can't use any assistance such as a chess book or notes, plus the venue could be a factor as well. Most Chess club games are unrated as well which means your games gain or lose you no rating points to your chess rating. Unrated games are used as casual fun games and for training, and most players know this but so see as a way to gain bragging rights of winning or losing against another player without and effect on their rating (win or lose).

Here at chess.com i believe they just added another type of game "takeback" in which your allowed to take back moves while playing (I believe these games are unrated as well). The use of this type of game is for training purposes mainly and allow a player to take back moves and see how a game would have continued if they had made another move.

I personally use "unrated games" for welcoming new chess.com players as well as for working with beginner chess players, and now with take-back games that will also assist chess coaches to use these type of games as training tools in chess games. These games are also unrated so it has no effect on your rating, so in sense these games are not normally played at the "stronger players norm" so as to test their weaker opponent or for what reason they are using the "unrated game" for.

Now I like to say one more thing here about a chess rating, these ratings are dynamic, what I mean by that as we get better at chess we normally also have our chess rating go up as we win more games, but that does not always happen as we may be playing the same stronger friend who always wins, but in the background your learning and so when if you play a different person you may win against a stronger player or vice verse lose to weaker player and so that would either raise or lose you rating points. So say you finally reach the "2000 chess rating", and you stop playing rated games and only play unrated games, yes your rating will remain at 2000, but it will become static as you no longer play in rated games, so your true rating will not be known for sure any longer. So as you look at other players and your own ratings you'll see ups and downs in the rating graphs that chess.com offers and if take a closer look you see trends that may help you to find ways to improve, such as you lose more with white then black or you can't win against a friend who 1800, but a rated stronger you can beat them, there is many reason that can happen, but these are the trends that your rating and stats area of chess.com can help you in. If you only play unrated games you may be winning or losing but it has no effect directly on your chess.com rating so you can only guess what your curret rating really is.

In the old days when we only had "chess ratings and no stats" (for over the board games to see these how we rate against other players, but like in baseball and football and other games coaches and players who use stats to determine what needs to done to improve, so here at chess.com they have some helpful stats. OTB games have continued to only use ratings, but recently FIDE  www.fide.com and USCF www.uschess.org have added graphs as well, but very little other stats, such as how you do with white or black or against weaker or stronger players, etc.

Only one chess rating service offers that currently and that is CXR www.cxrchess.com, its unofficial chess OTB rating but as more clubs use it and in  tournaments around the country and Internationally it may help us see a new trends and what ist tells you is not only a chess rating it tells us our other stats that CXR offers as well.

Well I hope this has helped a little as to what a chess rating is and what is lacking in a "OTB chess ratings: without the others stats that chess.com and other OTB rating systems have, check them all out to better understand chess ratings and stats.

Mahalo,

Frank

Thanks Frank, well said.

I have just joined and would like to play rated games but for longer games (i.e where you have 3 days limits to move). Is that possible?

@Tucloc, yep :) If you'd like to create a new rated game, go to online chess, click new game, and then click on random for a random opponent.  Make sure that the drop down option says rated. 

It should look something like this:

http://grab.by/lmAG

Thanks I will

tnx for the insight Frank.   i'am jst learning how this all works and been thinking about playing live-chess on here . . .  this really helps :) 

I have played many 30 min games (rated) still unable to participate in tournaments.

When i try to join a tournament it says "Minimum number of completed games to compete".

The minimum number of games is for Dialy/correspondence tourneys. You must complete a sufficient number of games in that format, based on the tourney requirements, to play in them. The default is 5 but TDs can define more.

What does the it mean "I play as and then numbers come up 25, 50, 100, 150, 200, 400 that Is in one side and then my original rating appear in the middle and then again numbers come up 25, 50, 100,150, 200, 400 what is that? Does this plays the level of game I'm choosing or what does this mean ?

The number on the left is the max number of rating points below your current rating and the number on the right, the amount above and is the range that your opponents will be in.