On 28 Apr 2005 06:51:51 -0700, "Larry Tapper"
wrote:


Sam Sloan wrote:
...So, her playing strength has suffered a 300 point drop. I think we
all
can realize the real reason for this, and it is not because she
became
an organizer.


Sam Sloan

Note that Sam Sloan posts this the day after Mike Nolan wrote:

"I ran a test rerate of all her events from 2002 on, at which point she

was still above 2200, and without the floor her rating would drop to
about 2155."

I think "we all can realize the real reason" for Sam bringing up this
rather tangential topic, and it is not intellectual curiosity.

LT

That is a diferent subject which I was getting ready to address
anyway.

Under the old formula dating back to the beginnings of the Elo System
in 1960,, Beatriz would have lost 55 points in the 2004 Florida
Championship alone. Under the old time-honored formula her rating
would probably be down around 2000 now, because all of her results
since 2000 have averaged around 1950.

However, under the new formula, rating changes take place much more
slowly. In her case, she played 50 tournaments at the 2250 level
between 1990 and 1999. Suddenly, in 2002 her results got much worse.
However, because of her long established 2250 rating over many
tournaments, even her poor results did not bring her rating down much.

For example, in 2004 she lost a game to a player rated 1902. Under the
old system, that one game would have cost her the maximum of 30
points. However, under the new system, that loss would have cost her
just a few points, even if she were not already on her flor.

Lets us take my own case instead. Like Beatriz, my recent results have
been much worse than before. I have lost nearly 200 points. However, I
am not on the floor so if I have a bad tournament my rating will go
into free fall. The problem I have is that because of changes in the
rating system, even if I have a very good tournament, my rating will
not go up much. This makes it almost impossible for me to get my
rating back up to what it was a few years ago This impossibility of
recovering my lost rating points has discouraged me from playing and I
have not played much in recent years.

I think we should discuss whether these changed in the rating system
have been good for chess or not. The new rating system may be
technically more accurate in most cases, but if it discourages people
from playing it might not be good for chess.

Sam Sloan