I was just wondering on what people have seen as the difference between a persons ICC standard and or 5 minute rating and USCF rating, My rating in the USCF (1582) and ICC standard(1614) are pretty similiar but the 5 min varies between 1400 and almost 1700. Just wondering what other people see.
I’m not aware of any formal study comparing ICC ratings to USCF ratings.
A long time ago, it was a rule of thumb that an ICC rating was about 200 points higher than a comparable USCF rating. (In other words, a 1400 USCF should end up with about a 1600 ICC rating, after playing enough games on ICC). And remember, it was only a rule of thumb that the regular members of ICC would say.
But that was many years ago. ICC has changed much in the last 5 to 7 years, and would have no idea how similar thier rating are to the USCF.
-From what I understand, the membership of ICC has gone down precipiously since its peak around 2000 to 2004, and for a long time, you would log on and find many more chess engines than humans seeking rated play. (I don’t know if this is still true).
I haven’t really followed what ICC has been doing since about 2007, so it may have changed since then.
My USCF rating is about 2250. My USCF quick rating is about 1900. My blitz rating and 5-min ratings are both right around 2100 on ICC, while my standard is about 2200. This seems about right for me as I’m not a terrific blitz player and two of my best assets are grinding/wearing my opponent down and raw calculation, which don’t show up as much in blitz games.
I’ve also seen players who are about 2000 USCF and are 2500+ in ICC blitz. I think there’s a loose correlation to rating, but nothing more than that. You’re not going to find a GM with a 1400 blitz rating, but you’re also not going to find a 1400 with a 3000+ blitz rating.
Scott, you’ve only played in one USCF QR (or dual rated) event since May of 2008 and of the 166 events on your MSA record only around 24 were quick/dual rated, so your USCF Quick Rating is likely low compared to your actual strength at faster time controls.
Of the various approaches that have been suggested for ‘fixing’ quick ratings, I’m not sure which would work best for you, especially since you haven’t played any QR events in nearly two years.
I suppose I could break 2000 or do even better if I played in more quick events, but in general I don’t really care about that rating or my ICC rating as much as my main USCF rating or FIDE rating. That could also explain the difference between the two ratings. I view quick/ICC games as more of a test lab than serious games.
Approximate formulae to convert ICC ratings to USCF:
USCF = 3/4 * ICC_5minute + 500
USCF = 6/5 * ICC_Standard - 500
I compiled these from about 100 players that I know, mostly from California. My estimates are valid between 1200 and 2400 USCF.
Michael Aigner