Need an ECF grade estimate

I am entering an OTB tournament in a couple of weeks here in England, and need to choose which section to put in for. There are banded sections by grade, but I am ungraded, because I haven't played a serious OTB game for over 10 years. They ask ungraded players to make a genuine best estimate. The realistic choices I am deciding between are U90, U120 and U150. I want to get it right so I get games which are challenging but not impossible.

You can all see my record here - in the 1500s with a 100% record, although to be honest I think this underestimates my strength a little bit as I've yet to complete a challenge against one of the stronger players. I think a fair grade for me is about 1700 at my current strength.

But OTB is a different kettle of fish. Two of my biggest problems are being tactically dim witted (when you can't look at the prospective positions in advance like on RHP) and having forgotten my openings. Correspondence chess is very forgiving of both these flaws.

I have read the threads which say there is a lot of variation between OTB and correspondence grades, so I know it's not an exact science, but I would be interested in people's views: what would you do?

We had a 180 rejoin us recently after a ten year lay-off - his grade this year looks like it'll come out at 165 or so. So a decade took 15 points off him.

I took three or so years off from the game too, and came back last season. At the end of my first season back, my grade was three points lower than it had been when I quit.

Chess, it seems, is even harder to unlearn than learn.

On that basis - you should be in the U150.

Originally posted by d36366
I am entering an OTB tournament in a couple of weeks here in England, and need to choose which section to put in for. There are banded sections by grade, but I am ungraded, because I haven't played a serious OTB game for over 10 years. They ask ungraded players to make a genuine best estimate. The realistic choices I am deciding between are U90, U120 and U150 ...[text shortened]... it's not an exact science, but I would be interested in people's views: what would you do?

Either U90 or U120 would be reasonable...where's the tournament..what are the time controls...will there be a lot of entrants... all questions worth considering.

The grading system isn't necessarily an exact measure of someones playing strength.

You might find someone rated 120 who used to be a 160 but they are less sharp now they are older...but still a very solid player with a lot of knowledge. You might play a junior with a grade of 50 (resulting from last years tournament games) but they've been training a lot in the last six months so they play a lot stronger than 50 now - and they're quick.

If you are 1700 here then the U120 should be fine but if you're unsure about the openings and working up tactics in your head then you might have a more enjoyable day in the U90. It's probably best to put this first one down to experience anyway.

If you can find a chess club near where you can play a couple of games and they might be able to give you an estimated grade.

Many thanks for all your guidance. I am going to go for the middle point, the U120. I'll let you know how I get on.

In the end I took TommyC's advice and entered the U145 (the bandings had changed a bit due to numbers etc, but this was the closest to his suggestion). The range was 120-145, although a couple of players entered this band with lower grades, I suppose because they felt they had been improving and could handle some stronger opposition. My opponents' average grade was about 130. I scored 4/5, which I think is a 160 grade performance - even higher than my old grade! But I think I was in the right section. All the games were difficult and all my wins required an element of luck.

Many thanks to all of you for your input.

any games worth sharing?