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| Kenneth Sloan wrote:
quote:
> Ange1o DePa1ma wrote:
>
> No, they don't.
>
>
> False. Mathematically, someone who loses all their games
> should have a rating of -infinity. Do the math.
>
> Once again: 0000 is not special. There is zero significance to zero.
> The only number on the Elo scale which has any absolute reference is
> 2000. Elo specifically describes what a 2000 player is, and says that
> he choose that number to represent that class of player partly so that
> there was enough "ballast" to prevent ratings from becoming negative.
>
> It turns out he was wrong about the second part - he didn't anticipate
> the scholastic chess movement. But, until roughly 1970 he was largely
> correct. USCF has historically had several "magic numbers" and strange
> start-up or racheting procedures that involved ratings in the 0900-1200
> range. (but not anymore).
>
>
> From long years of observation. You know - facts?
>
> And, if you are going to question my claims, please have the courtesy to
> quote me correctly. I included a caveat about being an adult, of normal
> intelligence. The 1000 number does not apply to children, or dummies.
I have no particular interest in a USCF rating dispute.
For whatever it's worth as one data point, however, I present the
case of one USCF member, a former writer in rec.games.chess.*
Here's the USCF member record for Donald A Mihokovich
(who wrote as 'KidDon' in rec.games.chess.*):
http://www.uschess.org/msa/MbrDtlMain.php?12868376
Don Mihokovich, an unrated adult player, entered the 'Under
1200' section of the 2003 Florida Class Championships.
Don Mihokovich scored 2 / 5 for a provisional rating of 997.
(I don't know how long Don Mihokovich had been playing
chess before he entered his first USCF tournament.
I don't know to what extent Don Mihokovich may have
understood more than simply how to make legal moves.)
With regard to his intelligence, Don Mihokovich has written:
"To be honest, I keep my Mensa membership in place to
pad my resume--as do a majority of Mensans I know.
I never tested into Mensa, but also qualified based on
one or more of the standardized tests (ACT, SAT, or
LSAT) in which I finished in the top 2%."
--Don Mihokovich (19 September 2003, in the RGCP
thread, 'How smart are you?')
So Don Mihokovich (an adult member of Mensa)
entered his first (non-quick) USCF tournament
and emerged with a 997 provisional rating after
five games in an 'Under 1200' section.
I shall leave it to USCF members to argue about
how the facts in this case should be interpreted.
--Nick
quote:
> Take a look at the distribution of INITIAL ratings for adult USCF players
> sometime. There's a very nice, and fairly sharp, peak around 1100.
>
>
> But, were you an adult of normal intelligence?
>
> --
> Kenneth Sloan KennethRSloan@gmail.com
> 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/
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