Originally posted by ivan2908
But doesn't that mess everything up ? I supposse that is pretty easy to break say 1700 even if you objectivly aren't that good..? Does that make inflated ratings ?
No. You cannot possibly compare those ratings because the systems differ. You could say that some ratings are higher THAN USCF but not inflated. In my country, a novice is rated 1500, 4th category player 1650, 3d category - 1750, 2nd category - 1850, 1st category - 1950. Then follows candidate master, national master, FM, IM, GM (their rating is independent from their title. You just fulfill the norms to get a title, but you don't get higher rating then). However, until you are not 1st category, your rating stays the same (except when you climb to a higher category) no matter how much you play, it is just used to calculate your opponent's rating.