I know it is a guess at best, but how do the ratings on this site compare to actual chess ratings (higher, lower, similar??) I saw a USCF Ratings distribution chart http://www.uschess.org/ratings/ratedist.php and was just curious how ratings on this site would compare.
PS - My rating on this site is in an inconsistent (but improving!) 1600's. I only play chess on this site, never OTB, and I don't plan to any time soon. Is anyone aware of any good self-rating tests or programs one could use?
Originally posted by JeffTXThat sounds like that it is a maximum limit, but the real value is likely to be much lower.
Another proxy I've considered is where one would fall as a percentage of players on this site. Say there are 15,000 active playes and you are ranked 1,500th, then you would be in the near the 90% level of all players. Applying that to the distribution chart would imply a rating of around 1800.
For example, there are no GMs here (that I know of) and there are likely to be many more people that stay in the lower tail of the distribution that would never be in an OTB tournament. I think that it's likely that even if the shape of the distribution is similar, it might be shifted to the left (towards lower rankings). Which means that you'd be lower rated than 1800.
(This even without mentioning the fact that CC and OTB are not perfectly correlated, but accepting it as a simplifying assumption)
Originally posted by duecerMy OTB is higher but probably because I play my correspondence games like blitz games. To be honest, OTB play and correspondence are two different disciplines.
most players on this site would have a lower otb rating, as you cannot use data bases for openings, or consult books etc...
My over the board rating has been higher then my correspondence for ages. I feel like I play my best chess when I am concentrating through the whole game and not taking lots of breaks for several days between moves.
Although lately the two have been coming alot closer, they roughly approximate each other now.