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How long does a FIDE rating remain valid?

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 9:14 pm
by John Upham
Can anyone clarify the rules regarding players who have a FIDE rating but have not played any FIDE rated games for many, many years?

Thanks for any enlightenment!

Re: How long does a FIDE rating remain valid?

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 9:33 pm
by Jonathan Rogers
I'm 99% sure that it lives on, even if one is inactive for 20 or more years. And it remains valid today - it is not deflated, as it probably ought to be (no reason why one should not lose 10 points per whole year of inactivity). Tracking it down and proving it may be a different matter.

Re: How long does a FIDE rating remain valid?

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 10:03 pm
by LozCooper
Jonathan Rogers wrote:I'm 99% sure that it lives on, even if one is inactive for 20 or more years. And it remains valid today - it is not deflated, as it probably ought to be (no reason why one should not lose 10 points per whole year of inactivity). Tracking it down and proving it may be a different matter.
Easy enough to check: http://ratings.fide.com/ type in the name and see if they appear. I tried names of players who haven't played for probably 20 years or more and they still appear. Deceased players seem to be removed although obviously I can only claim to have checked a couple.

THis link can also be useful for searches by country, year born, title etc http://ratings.fide.com/advseek.phtml

Re: How long does a FIDE rating remain valid?

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 10:09 pm
by Matt Mackenzie
There are different sorts of "inactivity", of course.

Plenty of English players remain *very* active, just not in FIDE-rated events :wink:

Re: How long does a FIDE rating remain valid?

Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 7:41 am
by Simon Brown
I played my first FIDE rated game for about 16 years last year, to avoid a junior team I coach getting a default. Despite losing, I suddenly became "active" and am currently ranked 71 in the country, though it may well be another 16 years until the next game.

Re: How long does a FIDE rating remain valid?

Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 9:00 am
by Roger de Coverly
LozCooper wrote:I tried names of players who haven't played for probably 20 years or more and they still appear.
The BCF did however threaten to remove the international ratings of anyone who didn't become an individual member. Do we now agree this was an empty threat?

see http://www.sccu.ndo.co.uk/0102/bcf.htm

from which
BCF MANAGEMENT BOARD MEETING
in London, Saturday 9th March 2002

......

(1) FIDE registered players. FIDE now requires all rated players to be members of their national federation. This was one of the reasons the BCF launched its new, cheaper, membership structure. It had already been decided to write to all the BCF's rated players inviting them to join. However, this has not been done yet and the MB agreed to ask the April Council meeting to ratify the decision to do it. Anyone not joining by September would be removed from the FIDE list.

Re: How long does a FIDE rating remain valid?

Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 9:42 am
by Sean Hewitt
Roger - I'm think we can assume that it was. I guess they replaced this threat with the requirement that active players must be a member of the ECF to play in FIDE rated events although they used the same FIDE requirement to (wrongly) justify it.

Re: How long does a FIDE rating remain valid?

Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 10:58 am
by Gavin Strachan
A couple of games v Penrose may boost your grade as he 77 and not played for a while