It gets lower the more games finished lately, and affects the size of rating gains/losses:
- the higher your RD, the more your rating will go up or down (to quickly get you to the right rating), the lower the less (to keep you at the correct rating).
- The higher you opponent's RD, the less your rating will change (to protect players from people who haven't gotten to their real rating yet), and the lower your opponent's RD, the more your rating is affected.
What is the Glicko RD number that appears on our complete stats page?