Chess rating system

Can u change rating by playing the computer or only by playing live rated games?

Yes, you can do it !!!

I don't agree with people who say ratings don't matter. What are we playing chess for? Apart from the enjoyment of playing chess, it's the rating points, it is for me anyway. Everyone is different. I'm sure some people play just for fun and/or the enjoyment, but most people probably care about their rating. Most chess players have a 'chess ego' and the rating is the barometer of that very ego, so yes, the rating DOES matter, for most players at least.

Too me the ratings don't matter as far as what my value is, or to crow that I'm better than someone else, but I still benefit from everyone being rated properly.  I play only team matches and tournaments, and having the tournament tiers and match board pairings based on ratings almost always results in me getting an opponent who is a reasonable challenge for me.  Sure, it seems like every tournament group has one sandbagger whose rating suddenly zooms to show he should have been in a higher tier, but still, using ratings ensures the majority of my games are fun.

Regarding sandbagging etc note the new site description in matches of 1200 newbies as 'UNRATED'

Since I'm never going to be a grandmaster lol I don't really care about it, but I do find the ratings useful as they let you see how you're progressing and how your game is improving, for example when I started I was regularly scoring in the 600s and now my rating is mostly around the 790/800 mark, which is still bad, but I can see that I've improved since I've been on here and been able to practice. And for someone who was a serious chess player practicing on here, even though it wasn't the equivalent of a real life rating system, would give them a rough idea of how they were doing against similar opponents I guess. So I think that the rating system on here is useful.

hi im new to this site also, can some one tell me how to pick and choose players that will actually move,im playing 2 games right now the other person has not moved in 2 days, also i would like to chat with other players from time to time please help

 chess is more like a midevil war game,u have to think very strategically about every move

The best way is to read what the parameters are for the game.  If you accept a game that says 3 days per move, your opponent might (gasp!) actually take up to 3 days for each move.  If you don't like that, accept or create game seeks with 1 day per move limits.

If you're going to spam your crappy company, you ought to at least learn how to insert active links.

I like blitz games also

I endorse this precise obsevation!! on the subject.

Furthermore,your rating often defines which tournaments you may enter  and therefore the level of competition you  encounter.

Well said!!

Its just starting point.

In fact,Chesscube starts with 1500.

Well,Eriks' dictionary is there!! Please read that!! Full descriptive too.

I'm sure this was already brought up, but I don't intend to read the 46 posts on this topic to find an answer... I recently started playing, and played a friend of mine who also just started. We both played our first game against each other, and it was a draw by mutual agreemment. The catch, however, is that I got the standard 1200 points, and he got nothing. Anyone care to explain this?

I'm new here but logic tells me this:

You didn't get the 'standard 1200 points' you already had it. It just didn't show up because you were 'unrated' meaning you hadn't played a game. I'm sure on his next game it will show.