| Mike Murray 2006-11-19, 9:06 pm |
| On 29 Oct 2006 22:31:04 -0800, "Nick" <nickbourbaki3@yahoo.co.uk>
wrote:
quote:
>Kenneth Sloan wrote:
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>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.*
quote:
>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
quote:
>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.
quote:
>(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.)
In my experience, adults who enter their first tournament have been
playing for some time and are usually among the stronger players in
whatever group in which they've been skittling. That's why they
decide to test themselves in rated competition. I know of *no*
players who entered their first tournament shortly after learning the
moves.
quote:
>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.
So an attorney and Mensa man scored about 1000 in his first
tournament.
quote:
>I shall leave it to USCF members to argue about
>how the facts in this case should be interpreted.
Since KidDon's background places him well within the upper five
percent in terms of intelligence, even if he had just learned the
moves, the facts don't seem to support Ken's claim.
quote:
>
>--Nick
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To interpret this, we need to know the average chess experience level
of adult players entering their first tournament.
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