English Chess Forum

I thought a new player needed at least 10 games to get a grade but someone thought it was now 9. Anyone know for sure? We have a keen new player this season who will be playing his 7th game this week. It would be nice to get him enough games to get a grade in the new 6 monthly list.

Hi Michelle. It's at least 9 games in the last three year period, with at least 1 game in the last year.

Are the new rules up anywhere? I'm interested when the list will be published?

In the same sort of area, is the grading website under new management yet?

The issue surfaced briefly under the Manager of British Championships thread starting below for the next handful of posts
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3693&start=155

The answers being mid to end January and not yet. The rules, we suppose, are those on the SCCU website.
http://www.sccu.ndo.co.uk/grad.htm

Thanks Sean so 9 was correct then. Good we just need to find our player a couple of more games before Christmas and he will have an official grade.

They have to be in competitions being graded for that list, of course.

I'm dreading trying to work out which of the 30+ games I've played so far since June 2011 will be graded or not, and which will roll over to the end-of-season list. It will mean players (who chose to do this sort of thing) will have 3-5 figures that they can keep track of: the grade from the July 2011 list, the grade from the January 2012 list, and the 'live' grades from one to the next (that will be three 'live' grades: (i) from July 2011 to July 2012; (ii) from July 2011 to January 2012; (iii) from January 2012 to July 2012).

What I'm not clear on is how games played in (say) a league in September will be handled when sent in for grading for the July 2012 list, and whether the calculations will be redone from scratch for the whole year (with the January 2012 list being an interim figure), or whether the calculation will build on the grade issued in January 2012.

Notwithstanding statements here and there to contrary, I believe the position to be that the July 2011 grade will be discarded for calculation purposes even though it will continue in use for eligibility and perhaps board order and pairing purposes. So results for July to December 2011 will be done and dusted. Be wary though, if they use the date based method of topping up the game count to 30, it will retrieve games and events going backwards in time from December 24th/31st. So a poor performance in the London Classic could damage your grade for two grading periods running. Contrawise a good one could leave you over-graded.

You will only get the September 2011 result in the January 2012 grade if the league sends interim results. Many have indicated their intention to do so.

He or she could play a couple of internal graded friendly games if you wanted. They cost 39p per game to grade if you're interested.

Has anyone explained the reason for the change to counting back exactly 30 games, rather than topping up at the grade from the previous season?

It will benefit me a bit in January, but I think there are other ways to adjust fast improving players without making most peoples grades less stable.

(I realise I'm hijacking the thread. But since Michele has her answer already I hope she'll forgive me.)

Yes, but probably not publicly. I can't remember the answer. E-mail Richard Haddrell and Howard Grist.

_________________
February 16-17: 2013 BUCA Team Championship
April 20: 2013 British Blitz Championship
July 27-August 10: 100th British Chess Championships

I suspect that only 4 of the 15(or 16) games I have played between sep and dec will be counted as most of the games I play are in an all plays all season long tournament (unless the grader for my club is sending the results in halfway through the season, which I doubt, tho I will be asking him, of course).

This will result in my grading dropping despite the fact my actual performance has improved.

_________________
AKA Scott Stone

"Give a man fire and he's warm for a day, set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life."

That's Mr Stone to you, f**kface.

I think we should be able to find him another couple of games as we have several league matches before Christmas.
If we do and he gets a grade and makes himself available for selection for County games would prospective Captains be able to select him on the basis of this January grade as he didn't have a grade at all at the start of the season?

I'll leave that to the controller of the county championships to answer. I think you might know him

O hi there!



I assume he has never ever had a grade? If that assumption is correct, then yes.

_________________
February 16-17: 2013 BUCA Team Championship
April 20: 2013 British Blitz Championship
July 27-August 10: 100th British Chess Championships

My interpretation is that if a game is played in, say, September, but not sent in for grading on the January list then it will be included in the June list, regardless of the number of games played subsequently. So if, say, a further ten games are played between September and December (and are included on the January list) and then 30 games are played between January and June, then the game in September will count towards the June grade, but the other ten (later) games will not. It seems to me that this is a nonsense making a mockery of the whole point of the revised arrangements. (I would guess that there is even a danger of any basic software used to "backfill" games based on dates actually counting "delayed" games twice!)

Surely if the graders are serious about the six-monthly lists then they should treat the games in strict chronological order, regardless of when they are submitted. If the result of this is that games such as the September game cited above NEVER get graded, then so be it (and it would provide a strong incentive for league graders to get their results in early). As a compromise the September game could feed into a recalculation of the January grade, prior to calculating the June grade. But i don't see how it can be justified including a game which pre-dates an omitted game.