Would You Play a Universal Rating System event to save CFC membership or rating cost?

[Paul Bonham]

This is my first time attempting a poll....not clear how it works so I may screw up.

The Universal Rating System has moved from a proposal to an actual implementation. It turns out that this is being run as a central processing unit for calculating chess ratings using a hidden "black box" formula (or at least they are not yet disclosing a formula). That's the bad news, the good news is that getting a rating will become FREE for all players (not sure who is paying for the service). This appears on the surface to be an attempt to undermine the very foundation of FIDE and all its satellite federations, including the CFC.

Given all of that, would you enter a tournament in which you paid no CFC membership fee or rating fee, and accept the URS rating instead of the typical ELO rating calculated using a known formula by the CFC or FIDE?

[Tom O'Donnell]

Re: Would You Play a Universal Rating System event to save CFC membership or rating c

FIDE = no

CFC = yes

[Paul Bonham]

Re: Would You Play a Universal Rating System event to save CFC membership or rating c

FIDE = no

CFC = yes

Thanks, Tom, I suppose I should have given separate options for FIDE and CFC ratings.

Based on this very unscientific and small poll, the CFC and FIDE do appear to have deep concerns about what this URS entails for them. I really think the vast base of the chess pyramid will be in favor of saving entry fee costs and may flock to this Universal system. The elite will try and resist as much as possible to save FIDE.

[Garland Best]

Re: Would You Play a Universal Rating System event to save CFC membership or rating c

A rating system is only useful when a large number of people use it. Otherwise you cannot compare the strength of player A to player B.

So I wouldn't change unless more people used URS than other systems. Guess i would be a late adopter.

[Vlad Drkulec]

Re: Would You Play a Universal Rating System event to save CFC membership or rating c

What incentive would an organizer have to run a URS event? Seems a bit parasitical in concept since they would likely use FIDE ratings to start with. If they succeed then Kasparov will control everything. Doesn't fill me with warm, fuzzy feelings.

[Bob Gillanders]

Re: Would You Play a Universal Rating System event to save CFC membership or rating c

Thanks, Tom, I suppose I should have given separate options for FIDE and CFC ratings.

Based on this very unscientific and small poll, the CFC and FIDE do appear to have deep concerns about what this URS entails for them. I really think the vast base of the chess pyramid will be in favor of saving entry fee costs and may flock to this Universal system. The elite will try and resist as much as possible to save FIDE.

Paul, please correct me if I am wrong (since I haven’t done any research here), but this Universal Rating System appears to be nothing more than just taking FIDE ratings (of various time controls) and adding some secret formula to generate 1 overall rating.
I looked up my Universal Rating = 1789. There is no tournament history or any explanation of how it was calculated. So why would I care?
Anyway, if that is all it is, it is more precise to call it simply a rating calculation. A rating system includes the collect of tournament data, use of a formula that is transparent and credible, integrity checks, a system to correct errors, and acceptance by the players and organizers.
Don’t forget the old saying: You get what you pay for.

[Paul Bonham]

Re: Would You Play a Universal Rating System event to save CFC membership or rating c

Paul, please correct me if I am wrong (since I haven’t done any research here), but this Universal Rating System appears to be nothing more than just taking FIDE ratings (of various time controls) and adding some secret formula to generate 1 overall rating.
I looked up my Universal Rating = 1789. There is no tournament history or any explanation of how it was calculated. So why would I care?
Anyway, if that is all it is, it is more precise to call it simply a rating calculation. A rating system includes the collect of tournament data, use of a formula that is transparent and credible, integrity checks, a system to correct errors, and acceptance by the players and organizers.
Don’t forget the old saying: You get what you pay for.

Bob, I'm as much in the dark as you are. However, from the main page at universalratings.com there is this statement:

"It is critical to note, however, that the URS™ does not incorporate Elo ratings anywhere within its actual calculation."

It does make one wonder how then the numbers come out so similar to Elo ratings.

Therefore the FIDE ratings are supposedly not being used at all. In fact, in the FAQ section there is a question about what initial rating does a new player start out with, and the answer is that there is NO initial rating. And there are no provisional ratings. They say that as soon as you've played a single game with a time control >= game in 5 minutes, you will get a URS rating. Just how "accurate" such a rating would be is another matter.

Whatever they are trying to do -- and it does look like it is an attempt to subvert the entire FIDE organization -- I think it is a huge blunder to keep the rating formula hidden. This alone will keep most people from adopting it or trusting it. How would you ever dispute your rating?

But if they make the formula public and still offer to do the service for free, that is a game changer. The base of the chess pyramid is notoriously money-conscious. There could be a gradual snowball effect until the movement to URS reaches critical mass.

At such time, the next step for this organization would logically be to start awarding their own titles based on URS ratings.