tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post5289485317281869177..comments2023-12-28T02:11:22.501+00:00Comments on The Streatham & Brixton Chess Blog: Letter to the editor IITom Chivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09850710685193416732noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-47915072264354110162011-04-21T19:17:30.325+01:002011-04-21T19:17:30.325+01:00Hello Anonymous,
Not that you would be able to te...Hello Anonymous,<br /><br />Not that you would be able to tell unless you already knew it, but that 'whatever happened to him' was rhetorical.<br /><br />RH remains a well-known figure in London League circles. He was playing on the board next to mine the last time I was at Cavendish.<br /><br /><a href="http://grading.bcfservices.org.uk/getref.php?ref=112124J" rel="nofollow">Ron's Grading Card</a>Jonathan Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00293162543015231439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-71015448801837564382011-04-21T18:02:22.998+01:002011-04-21T18:02:22.998+01:00So what *did* happen to Ron Harman - anybody know?...So what *did* happen to Ron Harman - anybody know??<br /><br />(quite possible he is no longer with us, of course......)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-48944326953523867472011-04-19T20:02:25.070+01:002011-04-19T20:02:25.070+01:00I seem to have had a similar experience to Ron thi...I seem to have had a similar experience to Ron this season. Because I'm on quite a low board for all the teams I play for, only 4 of the 24 people I played were higher graded than me. I scored 148 against them and only 132 against the other 20.Martin Cowleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-83992727376021551722011-04-18T12:50:40.662+01:002011-04-18T12:50:40.662+01:00I knew about the rule for preventing grading gain ...I knew about the rule for preventing grading gain from losses. But it seems you are right and the rule also limits gains from wins. How bizarre! I think this is by accident:<br /><br />" There is a proviso that if your opponent's Grade differs from yours by more than 40 points it is assumed to be exactly 40 above (or below) yours. This is to prevent a player increasing his Grade by losing to a much stronger player, or decreasing his Grade by beating a much weaker player. "<br /><br />I'll ask the ECForum...Tom Chivershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09850710685193416732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-38054854592763178842011-04-18T12:42:57.669+01:002011-04-18T12:42:57.669+01:00@Anonymous.
I'm sure you're right. In Ch...@Anonymous.<br /><br />I'm sure you're right. In Chess for Tigers Simon Webb writes about Uhlmann and how he scored very big against lower-ranked opposition - much higher than his expected score - but did less well against players of his own rating.<br /><br />I'd have put myself in the opposite camp, but I'm not sure that's the full story. More of that on Easter Monday.Jonathan Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00293162543015231439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-82912582372285145312011-04-18T12:41:23.296+01:002011-04-18T12:41:23.296+01:00There's a rule - at least there was, I assume ...There's a rule - at least there was, I assume it's still in place - that for grading purposes the max grading difference is 40 points. This stops you winning points by losing to strong opponents and losing points by beating weaker ones.<br /><br />It also leads to grade deflation in that you don't get the full points that you're due when you take a big scalp.Jonathan Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00293162543015231439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-70334982938313206812011-04-18T12:10:20.940+01:002011-04-18T12:10:20.940+01:00"the rule that counts people higher graded th..."the rule that counts people higher graded than you as being max 40 points above you."<br /><br />What rule is that????Tom Chivershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09850710685193416732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-48143544391115215412011-04-18T11:56:14.837+01:002011-04-18T11:56:14.837+01:00Presumably, the more opponents you play the more r...<i>Presumably, the more opponents you play the more reliable and consistent your grade, provided you make exceptions for fast improvers such as juniors.</i><br /><br />I agree with you about the exceptions... but I think more games will only bring a more 'reliable' grade if the people you play are spread evenly across the range of playing strengths.<br /><br />In my case - mostly due to playing in teams with lots of people above me in the batting order who are only a few points stronger - the largest group of people I play is the "10 points or more less than me". In fact ten of my 26 opponents this season come into this category and the average difference of between my grade and these ten is 24 points.Jonathan Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00293162543015231439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-15651430567429164792011-04-18T11:53:11.206+01:002011-04-18T11:53:11.206+01:00I think that's not quite right Tom - because o...I think that's not quite right Tom - because of the rule that counts people higher graded than you as being max 40 points above you.<br /><br />So if lost 30 times to Michael Adams my grade would be 153 (effectively 30 losses against a 203).Jonathan Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00293162543015231439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-39856559711772013722011-04-18T11:51:27.221+01:002011-04-18T11:51:27.221+01:00Style must come into it. There are players whose l...Style must come into it. There are players whose likely result is a draw against players up to and perhaps beyond 25 points higher. So you have Mr London System with a 150 grade who is more than capable of drawing with 175 opposition but incapable of putting away 125 opposition.<br /><br />My guess on Ron Harman's results was that he suffered at the hands of then young aspiring players (as he himself suggests). He was after all, a well known personality with frequent letters and disputes to his name and there were a lot of aspiring players around in the 60s and 70s.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-4391340576285676432011-04-18T11:41:37.274+01:002011-04-18T11:41:37.274+01:00It's trivially the case that the grading syste...It's trivially the case that the grading system is imperfect in this way. If your season consists of losing 30 rated games to Michael Adams, your grade will be 217. But beat Ron Harman 30 times, and your grade will be 203. Presumably, the more opponents you play the more reliable and consistent your grade, provided you make exceptions for fast improvers such as juniors.Tom Chivershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09850710685193416732noreply@blogger.com