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Chess Rating Calculation in FIDE (World Chess Federation)

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You may know the name of the famous chess player Garry Kasparov who hit the highest rating in the history of FIDE at 2849. You may also know that the FIDE rating is calculated by the Elo system. But do you know how?

The Elo System

The system is named after Dr. Arpad Elo who improved the original one developed by Kenneth Harkness. It has been in use in the USA since 1960 and was taken on by FIDE in 1970. fide rating

The system is twofold:

  1. It shows how strong the player is: Player A rated 2400 is stronger than Player B rated 2300.
  2. It also calculates the results of a game, tournament, or event as numerical Elo results. Originally designed as a chess rating system, nowadays it is also being used in a number of other sports and computer games.

The Main Elo Idea

Each chess player has chance to win a game. The stronger player, the more chances to win. FIDE uses a special winning probability table for a game which is based on the rating difference between the two opponents. If the rating difference between the two is 0, each player has equal chances to win, and his or her winning probability is 0.50. If the difference is 100, the stronger player has the winning probability 0.64 while the weaker 0.36. Please remember 100, 0.64, and 0.36. fide rating calculator

Let's imagine that Player A rated 2400 and Player B rated 2300 are to officially play 100 games. The rating difference being 100, the expected result for Player A is therefore 0.64 and for Player B 0.36. And now the main idea... If Player A is really playing as strong as 2400 and Player B as 2300, at the end of the event Player A will score 64 and Player B 36 for sure. If Player A scores only 55 (but not expected 64) and Player B 45 (more than expected 36), the Elo system will change their new ratings. The system uses the K-factor which is necessary for rating calculation.

View More: fide ranking

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