Club ratings

[KeithAmmann]

Glancing at the features of WinTD, I noticed something interesting (to me, anyway): It allows the user to pair either by USCF rating or by “club rating.”

Our club runs a ladder, but it never occurred to me to try maintaining club ratings. How would this work, exactly? Would one seed the system with the ratings of those players who are USCF members, then apply the formulas in chapter 8 of the Official Rules of Chess? What K-factor would one use? Would one rate all games or only intramural tournaments? Is there a different formula that works better? Is there software that manages such things?

[nolan]

Why not consider the rungs on the ladder as their ratings (in reverse order if necessary), possibly multiplied by some factor so that the interchange limits come into play?

If you’re going to keep track of club ratings, keep it simple. Perhaps the old USCF formula would work better? (Essentially, that’s what the USCF correspondence system uses.)

[LaughingVulcan]

If you’re looking for ratings calculators, you can find USCF’s new calculator at:

main.uschess.org/content/view/7875/400/

It has a listed link to the old calculator at:

main.uschess.org/content/view/8508/400/

But that bombs out for me saying I have to be a USCF member to see it - even though I’m logged in. I thought that might be because my PIN just changed with renewing my membership, but that didn’t seem to do the trick.

If you wanted to use the FIDE system, try ratings.fide.com/calculator_rtd.phtml .

All of the below is not based on experience, just personal opinion.

Me, given my druthers, I’d use USCF ratings as initial seeds, and club rate any game two club members agree is a rated game beforehand - at whatever time controls the club allows for club rated games. And possibly play with a TD present, depending. (Or you could strictly run it intramural ladder nights only ,which would make it easier on the calculator! )

Perhaps that’s an issue for the membership to decide.

At any rate, MVVVVVHO is that such systems should be run as closed - no rating games outside the club ranking system played between club players, aside from the initial USCF club rating. How to handle players new to the club, and unrated players, is a different kettle of fish. And also how to handle rated tourneys sponsored by the club when outside players come and play. So I might be wrong.

I wonder if such a system, given enough times and games, wouldn’t roll down higher rated players / roll up lower rated players, until the system reflects an accurate ladder ranking.

Cool topic, though!

[Ron_Suarez]

You can use WinTD to keep our club ladder. I purchased WinTD for the club I run in the LaSalle-Peru area of Illinois. For the small group we have, I did find SwissSys easier to use. So, I paid for the upgrade of my latest version of that and now use SwissSys 8.

In either one, I set up a separate account of the club and calculate the ratings with the program. I use the standard USCF rating setting.

In the Peoria club and the LaSalle-Peru one we use a fun ladder system. At the beginning of the year and each time a person first starts to play in the club, we start off with a set rating. In Peoria everyone starts at 1600 come January 1st. In LaSalle-Peru it is 1300 because the few experienced players there are all weaker and felt wrong at 1600

Anyway, each club night the players that participate receive 15 points added to their rating at the beginning of the night as a bonus for showing up. About 9 years ago in Peoria we had one young guy choose very carefully which activities he would play in to keep his ladder rating high. Wayne came up with the participation 15 points and that rewards playing versus not playing.

At the end of the year the ratings do get high, but heck that’s fun too. And we just restart again at the beginning of the year equal again.

We also have the time controls weighted. The longer time controls have a higher k value and affect the ladder ratings more.

In the USCF rated events we run on club nights, both the USCF and club ladder rating are affected separately.

[nolan]

An interesting ladder system, Ron, especially the ‘15 points for showing up’ part. I assume they actually have to play in the ladder to get those 15 points, not just sit there and kibbitz?

[wzim]

@nolan

An interesting ladder system, Ron, especially the ‘15 points for showing up’ part. I assume they actually have to play in the ladder to get those 15 points, not just sit there and kibbitz?

Ladder ratings start fresh at the beginning of each calendar year. Players enter the Ladder with a rating of 1600. Ladder games are weighted so that games with time controls up to Game 20 are rated normally. Between Game 20 and up to 40 are double weighted. Between Game 40 and 60 are triple weighted. All time controls over game 60 will be 4 times the regular weight. There will be no double or nothing play. Players who participate in the majority of the evenings scheduled event or at least the equivalent of 4 speed games shall receive a bonus 15 points added to their Ladder rating after that event has been calculated.

Maybe it is because we almost always have an organized Ladder event of some type every Monday night but we don’t get individual match challenges at all any more. The inflationary factor is cured by the fact that we restart the Ladder every year. Plus you still have to hold on to your inflated points. The higher you go the harder it is to win points. Without going and checking I think the highest anyone has achieved is 2600 something.

Even though it isn’t really meant to be a rating system the good players still climb to the top. The other nice thing about this method is that a good player can come in say September and have a chance to reach the top.