One of the questions we tend to get asked a lot is “How does my child get a rating?”. There is no simple answer on this one – however there are some great FAQ’s on the Queensland Junior Rating system which can be found here (see the three QJRL – links).
We then also get a lot of further enquiries around different types of ratings. Here we have some information on the types of ratings available (focusing on Queensland players, and juniors in particular).
- Queensland Junior Rating
The Queensland Junior (QJ) Rating is typically the first rating a junior will get and is specific to the State of Queensland and the NSW Northern Rivers region (as we run the Inter-School events there and players pop over the border). There is also a NSW Junior Chess League Rating for juniors in NSW.
A lot of people assume we control the ratings – however we do not! The QJ rating system was begun back in 1993 by Dr. David McKinnon who volunteers a very large amount of time to update this rating on a bi-monthly basis. There are currently over 4000 juniors on the displayed list.
Players need to reach a minimum rating of QJ 500 to be shown on the list and this rating is generally a good indicator of level, especially early on in a players chess journey.
Gardiner Chess submits class, holiday and weekend tournaments through to the system which gives players the best chance of getting onto the list, and also improving their rating once on there. No matter the length of games, the games can be submitted, although there is a higher weighting given to longer games. In some lists, there can be in excess of 400 events added (each division at an interschool is classified as a seperate event)!
There is no cost for submission of events to this rating list.
2. Australian Chess Federation Rating
The Australian Chess Federation (ACF) Rating is the national rating system which has gone through a few iterations over the year. Within the ACF ratings there are two possible ratings: Classical and Quick.
The Classical rating covers long time control games – think games over 60 minutes per player per game or higher.
The Quick ratings is designed to take into account Rapid or Blitz/Lightning games.
ACF Ratings are very useful for longer time control games, and being used nationally provide a measure against players from around the country. On the ACF ratings there are various additional marking such as; ??, ?, ?!, !, !! which essentially show reliable or consistent a rating is (from least to very!!). As an example, my rating would be ?? which means should I start playing ACF classical events again I will have a VERY high variance (which has seen a LOT of older players drop hundreds of points, very quickly when they return to playing – something there is a lot of criticism in about).
An additional cost levied by both the Chess Association of Queensland and the Australian Chess Federation for ACF rated events which both increases cost for events and provides an income stream for those governing bodies.
3. Federation International de Echecs Ratings
FIDE Ratings as they are known, used to only be used in International level events, meaning there were very few opportunities to get a FIDE rating. FIDE ratings also used to be predominantly classical only with long time control games, however with the increase in fast paced chess, Rapid and Blitz ratings have also been introduced.
There has been an explosion on FIDE rated events happening throughout South-East Queensland over the past few years, and parents seem to think that a FIDE rating is the be all and end all – IT IS NOT! In many cases a FIDE rating is actually irrelevant unless pushing for titles (GM/IM/FM/CM and their female equivalents) or trying to get into rating restricted events (such as Premier Divisions of major events).
Like the ACF rating, there is a further additional cost for FIDE rating events.
What’s the rating scale?
All three systems use the ELO system to some degree, just with different calculation methods. The higher the number, the stronger the player (simply speaking). For example, the strongest players in the world are rated over 2800 (FIDE rating). The top junior on the Queensland Junior Rating system is over 2500 – with ACF and FIDE ratings in the 2300s. Juniors over 1000 QJ are typically considered above average to strong juniors, and over 1300 would be strong. If a junior gets to 1600+ they are some of our top juniors in QLD. For adults, anything over 2000 is very strong, and anything between 1400-2000 is a strong club player.
So how does a child get or improve their rating?
The big question! To increase a chances of getting a rating playing in lots of events (especially holiday programs and weekend events – classes can have a limited pool of rated players).
To increase a rating it is important to remember that improvement is not always continuous, nor is it in a straight line. Our view is that like most things, the more you practice the higher the chance of improvement. This is not just about playing over the board regularly, but also doing puzzles, playing online and continuing to learn via lessons and videos.
One thing that I know frustrates quite a few coaches is when players try to protect their rating – sure it looks good, but does it really help you improve if you don’t actually play? There are arguments for both of course, and as players get more experienced and higher up the rating list, quality of games is definitely a factor. Until then though, play play play!
Let us know if you have any questions at all and we’ll try to help – the FAQ’s in the link near the top provide a LOT of information about the QJ system.
Andrew FitzPatrick
Director of Operations
