Finally found it again.

[John Saunders]

However, 2370 was an unusually high rating for him and he never again managed a rating above 2300, having zoomed up from 2205 in July 1985 and then crashed back down to 2240 in January 1987 - this became his approximate norm.

It's odd though. If you do a database search on Schiller and look for games in 1985 and 1986 you don't appear to see any results which look good enough to gain that number of points in a short period of time. Results which could lose that number of points, yes. There's a nine round tournament ("Young Masters") where he scores 1.5 from 9, losing to Gallagher, Hebden, Norwood and Whiteley.

You've evidently missed the Reykjavik Open, Feb 1986, where he scored 6/11 in a pretty impressive field. The games are on Mega Database 2011 - the rating calculator in CB gives him 2549 x 10 games (1 unrated opponent). Informator 41 says he played 11 rated games during the period so I guess this must be it.

By and large I think he was a consistent mid-2200s player in his younger days, which probably translates to 195-205 in ECF grade terms.

[Michael Yeo]

However, 2370 was an unusually high rating for him and he never again managed a rating above 2300, having zoomed up from 2205 in July 1985 and then crashed back down to 2240 in January 1987 - this became his approximate norm.

It's odd though. If you do a database search on Schiller and look for games in 1985 and 1986 you don't appear to see any results which look good enough to gain that number of points in a short period of time. Results which could lose that number of points, yes. There's a nine round tournament ("Young Masters") where he scores 1.5 from 9, losing to Gallagher, Hebden, Norwood and Whiteley.

You've evidently missed the Reykjavik Open, Feb 1986, where he scored 6/11 in a pretty impressive field. The games are on Mega Database 2011 - the rating calculator in CB gives him 2549 x 10 games (1 unrated opponent). Informator 41 says he played 11 rated games during the period so I guess this must be it.

By and large I think he was a consistent mid-2200s player in his younger days, which probably translates to 195-205 in ECF grade terms.

Hmm...
He is on the July 1985 list as 2205.
He doesn't appear in the December 1985 list.
His Reykjavik games were:
wins v 2280, 2220, 2395, 2395 and unrated
draws v 2410, 2250
losses v 2405, 2310, 2445, 2470

Even treating him as a new entry (which he shouldn't have been) only gets to 2358 but there may be another game against a rated player somewhere.
In some (4) of his games he is given a rating of 2560 in my database which possibly screws up the CB rating calculator.

[Roger de Coverly]

Even treating him as a new entry (which he shouldn't have been) only gets to 2358 but there may be another game against a rated player somewhere.

I think that explains it. 2205 on a July list followed by non-appearance in a December list implies his rating dropped below 2205, so he was purged from the published list. Whether it was within the rules that he was then treated as an unrated player for the Icelandic tournament would require tracing what the rules at the time were supposed to say. You did lose your rating but whether it was for good isn't known (to me). There's an unrated English FM who has recently started playing again, so it obviously happens.

So Schiller had a good tournament which coincided with his status as an unrated player. This was enough, because of his treatment as a new player to get a rating above 2300 and hence an FM title.

[Ian Thompson]

So Schiller had a good tournament which coincided with his status as an unrated player. This was enough, because of his treatment as a new player to get a rating above 2300 and hence an FM title.

Except that that long ago you needed to have a rating over 2300 based on at least 24 games to get the FM title.

[Roger de Coverly]

Except that that long ago you needed to have a rating over 2300 based on at least 24 games to get the FM title.

The current rules are retrospective, so any appearance in a rating list above 2300 is enough.

The FIDE site doesn't indicate when he got the title, but it would appear to be after October 2001 as he doesn't show as FM on http://www.olimpbase.org/Elo/Elo200110n.html.

So the FM title was just a combination of a "feature" of the then rating system and FIDE weakening the qualification rules. So CM standard then, not FM.

[George Szaszvari]

I don't know how Schiller managed to achieve a FIDE rating of 2370. Having gone through loads of his archived games on chessgames.com I can't see anything which indicates he was ever more than a "strong club player", albeit one with a lot of opening knowledge.

Yes, you do know... it's called "hard work". I don't believe Schiller ever had any illusions about his
own level of talent or creativity in relation to playing chess, he simply (as you pointed out) loves
being able to participate in this great game, whether playing, officiating, or mentoring/coaching.
And the writing? As mentioned, he simply needed to turn a penny, or two...

[LozCooper]

I don't know how Schiller managed to achieve a FIDE rating of 2370. Having gone through loads of his archived games on chessgames.com I can't see anything which indicates he was ever more than a "strong club player", albeit one with a lot of opening knowledge.

Maybe he massively over achieved in his first tournament, a bit like me who came on the list at 2430 before dropping at a rate of knots down into the 2200s

[Roger de Coverly]

I don't know how Schiller managed to achieve a FIDE rating of 2370.

I think we've solved the mystery. It was back in the days when the minimum rating was 2200. If you dropped below this, you were removed from the list and this appears to have happened in 1985. Whether it was fully in accordance with the then rules is unknown, but at his very next tournament in the Spring of 1986, he had a performance in excess of 2300. He was then counted as unrated, so his performance rating became his published rating. After that his rating rapidly tumbled back to the 2200s but he never lost it again.

[matt_ward]

What surprises me is this guy has a mysterious rating, no one has managed to work out what his real rating is.

The Question is:

What is his rating?........................

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

I don't know how Schiller managed to achieve a FIDE rating of 2370. Having gone through loads of his archived games on chessgames.com I can't see anything which indicates he was ever more than a "strong club player", albeit one with a lot of opening knowledge.

Yes, you do know... it's called "hard work". I don't believe Schiller ever had any illusions about his own level of talent or creativity in relation to playing chess, he simply (as you pointed out) loves being able to participate in this great game, whether playing, officiating, or mentoring/coaching. And the writing? As mentioned, he simply needed to turn a penny, or two...

If hard work was all it took for an untalented player to get to 2370 standard then there would be a lot more of them around. Judging by what Roger and John have found it looks like his 2300+ rating was a combination of a quirk in the rating system and one good tournament. Having said that, the last modification of Schiller's Wikipedia entry claims that he first reached 2300+ standard in the 80s and was awarded the FM title in 1998.

I don't think he should be admired just because he admits that the many books he's written are substandard. I can't see any difference between deliberately dashing out a rubbish book and selling a second hand car which you know is going to break down in a few months. I wonder how many beginners have lost interest in the game because the first (and only) book they bought was one of Schiller's? Being a weaker player than most chess authors isn't a legitimate excuse, I can think of three players who are probably of a similar standard to Schiller who have written excellent books.

Schiller's current FIDE rating is quite low, but as someone mentioned earlier in the thread, he has suffered terrible health problems recently.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Actually, playing strength doesn't have *that* much to do with how good a writer is, tbh.

Some ex WCs have written dreadful stuff, for sure

Schiller doesn't IMO write poor books because he isn't a strong player. He does it (as he admitted) to appeal to the "hack" market.

[matt_ward]

Well for Schiller to admit something like this to the public I would find horribly embarrassing. Why on earth would you admit to such a sin.

That would put me straight away of his book, although I do have one. Which is Called Encyclopedia of Chess Wisdom. Don't think I've ever had the courage to finish his book. I can't pass comment on his Fide as I don't know enough about him.

Matt.

[Roger de Coverly]

Having said that, the last modification of Schiller's Wikipedia entry claims that he first reached 2300+ standard in the 80s and was awarded the FM title in 1998.

That's not borne out by the rating lists at http://www.olimpbase.org/, which don't show the FM tag to his name. However it was around that era the title regulations were weakened, so he could then have applied for the title based on his freak 1986 rating.

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

I really don't want this to become a bash-the-Schiller thread, but I can't help giving this example of the care and attention he gives to his books. It's posted on his own website: http://www.ericschiller.com/pdf/pawnendgames.pdf

Have a look at page 6. The font in the position is mangled but it's a simple K+1 vs K+1 ending: White king on c4, white pawn on e3, black pawn on e4, black king on g4.

This is a win for White regardless of who is on the move. 14.Kd5 Kf3; 15.Kd4 would put Black in zugzwang immediately, but even when it is Black's turn defeat cannot be avoided. This maneuver is known as triangulation. Instead of moving to a square directly, the king makes a triangular journey (here Kc4-d4 via d5). Triangulation is only possible for the king and queen, but the mighty queen rarely needs to make use of it. In pawn endings, it is one of the principal weapons of combat. 13…Kg3. 13…Kf3; 14.Kd4 is the familiar zugzwang. 14.Kd5 Kf3; 15.Kd4.

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

That's not borne out by the rating lists at http://www.olimpbase.org/, which don't show the FM tag to his name. However it was around that era the title regulations were weakened, so he could then have applied for the title based on his freak 1986 rating.

Nice site that. Here is a list which gives Schiller's FIDE rating in the years 1980 to 2001: http://www.olimpbase.org/Elo/player/Sch ... 0Eric.html

I've just realised that the Wikipedia article on Schiller, which has been modified to remove all the bad reviews of his books by an anonymous editor in the last week, refers to his "Elo rating" being above 2300, which no doubt means his USCF rating rather than his FIDE rating.

I've just found another very useful site which contains complete FIDE rating lists from 2001 onwards and some excellent searching options: http://www.ferimex.com/icc/frl.php

According to this, the first time that Schiller appeared on the FIDE list as a FIDE Master was in January 2004.