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Ratings & formats

Elo rating

A number measuring playing strength; you gain points for beating higher-rated players and lose them for losing to lower-rated ones.

Named after physicist Arpad Elo, the system predicts the expected score between two players from their rating difference and adjusts both after the result. A 400-point gap means the favourite is expected to score about 10 to 1.

Ratings are relative and pool-specific: a 1500 on one site is not exactly a 1500 on another, but within a pool it is a fair measure of who beats whom.

Why it matters

Your rating is the honest scoreboard of improvement, and it decides who you get matched against.

The mistake everyone makes

Obsessing over rating points move to move instead of playing good chess and letting the number follow.

Related terms

Glicko rating
A refinement of Elo that also tracks how certain your rating is (your 'rating deviation').
Bullet, blitz, rapid, classical
The time-control categories, from a minute a side (bullet) to hours (classical).
PGN
The standard text format for recording a whole game — its moves, players, result and comments.
Strategy
The long-term plan — where pieces belong and which structures to aim for — as opposed to tactics.

See Elo rating in your own games

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