Tactics trainer rating percentile (requested feature)

Hello,

I know that different rating can't becompared directly, but I do think that one can always compare the percentile to study your relative strengths or weaknesses.

I have about 1950 rating in online chess (98%), and 1400 (90%) in live chess. That shows that I tend to be stronger in slow games.

Now I'm using the tactic trainer (1550 aprox.) but I can't see the corresponding percentile. I thinks it's a very easy data to add to the page and it would be very helpfull. For example, if my 1550 rating corresponds to a 70%-percentile, I would know that something is wrong with my tactic performance compared to my overall chess performance.

What do you think? Wouldn't it be a usefull and easy-to-add feature?

Regards.

Jorge

You can see a graph of the distribution (and hence infer the percentile) by looking at the "Players" stats

Seeing the ranking could also be cool, i.e. x out of y players. Brings a competitive element into the game.

Yes, that's what I do currently, but it isn't very precise. Adding the exact number should be rather simple.

And it would be even nicer if they add the ranking, as Natalia_Pagonia says :)

It wouldn't be so nice for the person who saw You rank 36224 out of 36224 players.

Perhaps a couple of friends though could tell each other "Hey I'm 6 people ahead of you!".

still hasn't be implemented? why? because technically shouldn't be hard at all, since they have already done it elsewhere. I wonder what is the reason for not implementing it...

agree with dk-Ltd. why hasn't this been done already?

It would be nice to see the ranking and percentile +1

I would love to see this feature. There have been a lot of upgrades in the last nine years...could we add this one?

It´s simple math people! Just look at the distribution on the tactics leader board page and calculate it manually.

Tactics rating of 500 = 31st percentile

Tactics rating of 1000 = 57th percentile

Tactics rating of 1500 = 67th percentile

etc..

I get furious when I make a move that's perfectly valid and will cause mate without any recourse but it's deemed a mistake because it requires an extra move. I.e. I just solved a tactical puzzle which, had  I used the solution deemed correct, would have required one less move. (The opposing rook would have blocked the mate and have been captured by my queen on that extra move. What prompts this writing is that this has occurred several times in the past and it irritates me because I consider myself little more than a "wood pusher". So when I solve problem and it lowers my score, I probably get more upset than a really good player. I'm sure there must be other cases where an alternate solution is correct but may be more complicated than the simple one. I wish there were a program that would consider such cases!!!

Hi TKOTWC,

I know where you are coming from and what you wrote definitely resonates with me. There are a couple of things I wanted to share, which I hope will be of use to you..

1. What you mentioned about alternative moves is a valid point but the tactics engine looks for the best move rather than a good move. It took me some time to actually understand this and it is a good mindset to always think about the best possible move (i.e. requiring the smallest number of moves to give the maximum result).

2. Even though the algorithm rewards more points for solving puzzles as quickly as possible, forget about the time factor for now... Instead, take your time on examining the puzzles in a reasonable amount of depth before attempting to solve them.. I usually find that slowing the brain down but maintaining a steady focus can really help.

3. Avoid solving tactics puzzles when you are tired. I know this is stating the obvious but it really is important to have a productive chess workout when your brain isn't sleep deprived.

4. There is an excellent book called The complete chess workout by Richard Palliser. It basically contains 1200 puzzles but divided into different sections. The first section is called Warming Up and consists of 100 puzzles.. I printed out these 100 warm up puzzles and solved them on paper (it took me about 3 hours spread over 24 hours). I got 74 of them right and studied the 26 that I got wrong.. After doing this, I went back to tactics online and was able to improve my performance.

I know my stats are not great, but I was happy to cross the 1500 barrier and I'm certain that I can make significant progress the more I study and learn.. Let me know if you are interested in the aforementioned book and Ill send it to you via email as a pdf.

Just remember that tactics puzzles can be really difficult, but keep at it and learn from your mistakes. Also, don't forget to review the ratings of the puzzles that you are getting wrong.. Its a nice feeling when you sometimes get a 2600 rated puzzle correct.

Best of luck