20-06-2014, 01:26 PM
>>>1/ Are we underrated on a European and/or World level? (no criticism whatsoever of our grading system).
Does the question mean - is a Scot with a FIDE elo of 1800 underrated compared to say a French player of that same FIDE grade? In the case of our junior players then many will be underrated since our players have so few FIDE rated games compared to our continental cousins. The published FIDE grade will lag the improved quality of play if there are no results to process - whereas in France everything is FIDE rated.
With established adult players then I dont see why we would be underrated.
Or are the few adult players who venture abroad a biased sample of players who are still ambitious and improving - and thereby underrated.
***
If the question means does a CS grade of 1800 make a player underrated compared to a FIDE of 1800 then it does at the moment but may not in the future. Above 2200, FIDE and CS are pretty close in value. From 1800 to 2200 then most adult players with a FIDE it will be higher than their CS. However that could just be the arithmetic of how FIDE added these players initially to the list ie the system had various minimum grades as it worked its way down to 1001. The arithmetic waited till you performed above that minimum level before listing which might explain the higher numbers. With grades at minimum 1000 this should all be worked out over time but again with so few FIDE games played here it could be many years before the transfer of points to true strength takes place.
Does the question mean - is a Scot with a FIDE elo of 1800 underrated compared to say a French player of that same FIDE grade? In the case of our junior players then many will be underrated since our players have so few FIDE rated games compared to our continental cousins. The published FIDE grade will lag the improved quality of play if there are no results to process - whereas in France everything is FIDE rated.
With established adult players then I dont see why we would be underrated.
Or are the few adult players who venture abroad a biased sample of players who are still ambitious and improving - and thereby underrated.
***
If the question means does a CS grade of 1800 make a player underrated compared to a FIDE of 1800 then it does at the moment but may not in the future. Above 2200, FIDE and CS are pretty close in value. From 1800 to 2200 then most adult players with a FIDE it will be higher than their CS. However that could just be the arithmetic of how FIDE added these players initially to the list ie the system had various minimum grades as it worked its way down to 1001. The arithmetic waited till you performed above that minimum level before listing which might explain the higher numbers. With grades at minimum 1000 this should all be worked out over time but again with so few FIDE games played here it could be many years before the transfer of points to true strength takes place.