Ratings

Since two weeks ago or so I have been noticing how those ratings number behave. And this question means I quite didn't understand.  Some time ago I played with a guy four times in a row and his ratings went from 1200 to 1375 then to 1442 and end up with 1275. While mine was from 1193 to 1205 or so. Yesterday I saw the same thing playing with another guy. His ratings was floating crazily and I asked him through chat why was that and he didn't know. My rating now is 1218 and my best was 16?? but never floated like that. I usually win  from 3 to 15 and lose the same in a game.

Why is that?  I would appreciate anyone kindly enough to clarify this to me and to those who have the same question.

Regards,

Reginaldo

I think I know what you're asking. When you're new on the site, your rating goes up and down very quickly when you win and lose - the 1200 you have at the start is provisional, meaning that they "assume" you to be at that value when you join and you can gain/lose points quickly, which targets your real rating quickly.

But once you have a lot of games, your "ratings deviation" (the number that defines how much your rating changes when a game ends) becomes lower, so you gain/lose far fewer ratings points. This is because after many games, the system has narrowed your real rating down and it assumes that you'll fluctuate only a little.

Hmmm.. that makes sense but not much. I mean. Suppose your 1200 at the start is too low then you beat someone whose rating is 1600 so your rating will go up quickly trying to assume the real value. But if you at the start with a 1200 rating beat someone with a rating equal to 1193 that value will not flutuate too much. You will win something like 8 points or so. But that guy in this situation won something about 100 points. 

Dont get so hung up on ratings...play chess because you enjoy it, and all it has to offer.

I don't CPawn. Really. I just would like to understand if possible. I agree with you.

Hi, I know it is confusing to me too. Especially because it is more complex than I am. LOL, However, I understand that you start out at 1200 and you are rated differently depending on the level of your opponent, just like the previous respondent suggested, but also, the number of points you collect during the game is considered. Since the pieces all have value, if you win a large number of pieces of greater value, your score will be reflective of that as well. If I am off my rocker please let me know.regards,

jbell35

ratings are like golf handicaps; no one understands how they're arrived at, no one can figure it out themselves, no one believes them anyway, but everybody brags about a good one.  Let's have a beer and toast our ratings!!

What? I think you left a hole in the wall on your way out

I have a friend with an opposite kind of problem - his rating hasn't changed for over 2 weeks (and he's playing rated games). Anyone know why that would be??