For many chess players, there’s nothing more satisfying than to improve their game and increase their Elo rating. But what is Elo rating by the way? For you may not know, Elo is the system used in giving ratings to chess players. It is the standard system used all over the world. This system is not just for chess but also for golf, football and even computer chess games. The name of the Elo system deprived after a Hungarian professor named Arpad Elo who developed the system in 1978. There are systems used before but then because of its inaccuracy, the man decided to come about with an improved rating system which was until now used to compare chess players.
Elo’s idea simplifies the way of giving ratings to players. The main assumption of the system was to estimate the player’s “true skill”, how he or she plays each game. The system said, that you can’t measure the playing performance of a player despite saying he succeeded against his opponent that’s why he plays better that his foe. Or by saying he drew therefore his skill level is the same as his foe. Or he lost the game therefore he is weaker than his opponent. This system is quite complicated to understand. But then, Elo explained that you can only measure the true skill of a player by computing the quantity of games he or she is projected to win than his or her opponent. Let’s say for instance you’re Elo rating is 2570, then you are playing like an International Champion.
But if your Elo rating is 2450 and you’ve gathered the norm requirements for the IM (International Master) then, you will able the get the standard of an international master. Similarly, if you’re Elo rating is 2600 and get the standard of an international master requirement, then you will get the norm of an IM as well. Elo Rating System also explained the expected results and changes per game. Let’s say for instance, player A is expecting to score 4.50 but then he only scored 4.5 therefore the rating will not change. But then, if player A is expecting to score 5.0 but he scored 5.5 then his rating will move up. Actually, Elo rating system is easy to understand. There are only a few things that you have to consider. These include rating, increase or decrease, performance rating, grandmaster norm, IM norm, opponent’s average and expected result. Elo rating also make use of K-factor (K-coefficient) in computing chess player’s rating. Some tournaments used K-factor combination value of 16, 24 and 32. More often, the K-factor value used is 10, 15 and 25 as it was approved by FIDE.
Now, Elo rating system is also applied for computer chess games. Computer chess Elo rating is similar to how humans are being rated. With the high-rising popularity of the internet today, it’s no longer a surprise to play chess against a computer of the same Elo rating. Computer chess Elo rating is also used in several computer chess competitions. Some computers have low Elo ratings while there are a few which have Elo ratings similar and even better than humans Elo rating.