Martin Brown wrote:


Over the last decade I've been acquainted with at least 30 adults and
children rated below 1000. Maybe 50.

I don't doubt it. But I think they are rare in competitive chess
tournaments (at least on this side of the pond). I'm surprised that the
US ratings pool is calibrated that low.

come to the USCF National Elementary Championships. There, you will
find a KINDERGARTEN section (which I directed for many, many years)
chock full of players. I'm talking about approximately 100 players
(every year) - all with ratings below 1000. I would estimate that, on
average, there will be 2 players in the field who literally do not
know how ANY of the pieces move. This can be a challenge for the
floor directors.

It also offers a wealth of opportunity to watch players who are properly
rated at 0200, 0150, 0100, and (if only the system would assign such
ratings) -0500.

Over the last decade, I've directed events with more than 1000 players
rated under 1000.




--
Kenneth Sloan
Computer and Information Sciences +1-205-932-2213
University of Alabama at Birmingham FAX +1-205-934-5473
Birmingham, AL 35294-1170 http://www.cis.uab.edu/sloan/