21-12-2011, 04:09 PM
Quote:How many young players go abroad and consistently smash players well above their own grade?
Firstly, not as many as go abroad and consistently lose to players well above their own grade. We don't spend nearly as much time focusing on the disappointing results and lower-scoring tournaments, for obvious and excellent reasons, but there's no point in pretending they don't happen (as they do to every other nation).
Secondly, the thing about that is that if you do it, your grade goes up. So, for instance, Kai Pannwitz pretty clearly isn't a 1230, just as Clement Sreeves is seriously undervalued by his grade of 2148 - but this is reflected by the fact that both of these players are seeing large rating rises this year. Grades aren't destiny, of course they're not, and players can improve rapidly, but a grade is an accurate barometer of how well a player has previously performed. By and large, our players are not seriously underrated - I've heard before that the Scottish system is on the parsimonious side, but that would mean more that a typical Scottish 1200 might be a 1270 elsewhere, as opposed to meaning that they're really 1500-strength.
Incidentally, this thread has really gone for a walk hasn't it?
