True estimate of ones rating...


I think the best method is to find another player who will give you an accurate rating (for example, my USCF is in the mid 1500's), and then play them 5 games or so. Like any scientific study, you would want to get a spreaded sample, so maybe 5 games against a few different players would give you a better feel for where you are at. A lot more of chess has to do with how you feel about your own form though. I've had times where I felt I was playing good chess, but the rating wasn't there, say if I played a solid game but made a blunder or something. Then there would be other times where I didn't really think I was in tune with the games I was playing, but they would find themselves to a win for me. So I would suggest a mixture of playing games against opponents who will give you honest ratings, and your own assessment of your chess feel for the game. I hope that is not too confusing.
Mr Mike
Hello all,
I am new to this site so please forgive me if this topic has been discussed recently...
I am a novice player but I love the game. I have played many online games in the past (mostly on yahoo) and i have recently gotten back into the chess thing. I have noticed that my rating is not as strong as it was a few years ago. This could be partly because I've been away from the game but I get the feeling its more than that. From the games I've played recently, it seems that people are just better than they were a few years ago. I used to be able to compete in the 1450-1550 range and now i do good to win against any 1300's. I've been back in the swing of things for a while so i don't think this is just being rusty. I've gotten the feeling that I was being progged a few times and I wonder if online cheating is more rampant these days. There is also the problem with mouse slips and disconnects when it comes to online chess. I don't really care what my Yahoo rating is so much as I would like to know what a REAL estimate of my rating would be.
All this background is irrelevant really... I was just wondering this:
Is there a way (without doing actual OTB tourneys) that a person could get a fairly accurate estimate of their rating? Perhaps some software that would map this kind of thing?
Thanks in advance......