US Chess to Release Online Regular Rating

US Chess to Release Online Regular Rating

With demand for online play increasing, the US Chess Executive Board, in conjunction with the Ratings Committee, authorized the creation of a regular rating system for online play. The new rating system will be for online rated games of 30 minutes or more. The new rating system will be available for use starting Friday, June 12. Individual member ratings will be seeded from a member’s Over-the-Board (OTB) regular rating, provided that the member has at least 10 regular rated OTB games. The Member Services Area (MSA) already features this new rating, which will start populating when online games begin to be played later this week. The US Chess regular OTB rating system will continue to be used only for OTB events.

Revised 06.10.2020

Comments

please include simple instructions on how to obtain a rating in order to play in tournaments. Thank You
jwbeshaw@hotmail,com

You don’t need a rating to play in tournaments; rather, you play in tournaments to get a rating.  To play in a US Chess rated tournament, either over-the-board or online, you just need to have an active US Chess membership and pay the tournament entry fee.  Some events only allow players of certain rating levels to enter.  Please contact the tournament organizer before signing up for the event if you have questions about that.  You are considered unrated until you play four rated games.  You obtain a provisional rating after you play four rated games.  You obtain an established rating after you play 26 rated games.  The difference between “provisional” and “established” is that your provisional rating can change more rapidly, as the rating system gathers your results to develop a better understanding of your approximate strength.

So, does online uscf rating impact the otb rating once the pandemic's over, or are they just 2 different rating systems now? I'm just concerned that if I participate in online tournaments, I wouldn't be doing anything for my regular rating.

Will the online rating system end after the pandemic? Or will it continue forever along with OTB rating?

Should online regular ratings be used for OTB regular tournaments when the player is unrated for OTB regular?

This is a great idea for players who have never competed in OTB tournaments and/or are looking to find some sort of official competitive play. For those players looking to improve their OTB ratings, this is not the path.

I've also noticed for that some OTB tournaments, organizers are starting to use online ratings as a floor for OTB sections. I can see how this could affect one's OTB rating negatively. If online ratings are truly distinct, why has this been allowed?

Let's say player A achieves an online rating of 2200, but has no established OTB rating. If the rating systems are distinct, then there should be no issues with this player winning cash prizes in much lower OTB sections. Something seems wrong with this.

For those players arguing that online ratings should count towards OTB titles...Let's say player B achieves an online rating of 2200, but struggles to achieve achieve an OTB rating higher than 2000? Titles will be "watered down", if this happens.

Lot's of issues to work out, but the USCF should not allow TDs to use the online ratings as an estimate for strength in OTB tournaments. This contradictory to what's listed on the site and should be stopped now!

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