| What Grading Is | Grade Categories |
| Eligibility of Games for Grading | Organisation of Grading |
| How Grades are Calculated | Grading Lists |
This short article on the BCF Grading system is a rewrite of a 1997 BCF leaflet produced by Roger Edwards and Chris Howell. The article is intended to be an introduction for people who are unfamiliar with the system, which seems to be largely unique to England. An example of a more usual ELO system can be found in the article on the Scottish Grading System. The BCF Grading System measures a players playing strength. A beginner has a grade of about 40 to 60, an International Grandmaster has a grade of 250 or more.
The difference in grade between two players is an indication of the likely result of a series of games between them. If there is less than 10 points difference in their grades, then the likely result is 50% 50% . If the difference is 10 then the expected score is 60% - 40%, if the difference is 20 then the expected score is 70% - 30%, etc.
Games can be graded only if they are played under acceptable conditions with clocks, in an event registered with the BCF. Rapidplay chess, Lightning chess and Correspondence chess are excluded. Separate systems are used for Rapidplay chess and Correspondence chess. The detailed conditions for acceptability are that:
A. At least a thirty-move session is played at a speed no faster than an average of 2 minutes a move
B. When a quickplay finish is applied, it least 10 minutes extra are allowed to each player after a session of 40 moves or more and at least 15 minutes extra are allowed to each player after a session of 30 moves or more. The rules for quickplay finishes are now part of the FIDE Laws of Chess.
C. Where each player has to complete all his moves in a fixed time, the fixed time is not less than one and a quarter hours. The time limit may be varied for tournaments only containing players aged under 12 to one hour and for tournaments only containing players aged under 10 to three-quarters of an hour.
D. Where Fischer mode is used, each player should have a minimum of 1 hour, plus a minimum of 30 seconds for each move.
The basic principle is simple. For a particular game, the player is credited with a number of points calculated as follows:-
A. For a win, the opponents grade plus 50
B. For a draw, the opponents grade
C. For a loss, the opponents grade minus 50
There is one qualification to this basic calculation. That is if the difference on grades is more than 40, it is assumed to be exactly 40, this is to prevent a player from increasing his grade by losing against a much stronger player or decreasing his grade by winning against a much weaker player.
The opponent's grade is taken from the latest published grading list. If a player is ungraded, his grade is estimated. This can be done in several ways. In a congress, his grade can be estimated from his results against players of known grade. If a congress contains a large proportion of ungraded players, then their grades can be estimated based on their score. Then calculate their performance grades and re-do the calculations using the performance grades. In a league, his grade can be estimated from his results during the course of a season. If a player has had a grade in the past, then this can be used with an allowance for the length of inactivity.
When all the games have been graded, each players grade can be calculated by dividing the total points credited by the number of games. If there are less than 30 games in the current year, a proportion of the results from the previous year are brought in as necessary. If this is still insufficient, results from the year before are also used. Some examples may make this clear:-
|
This |
Year |
Last |
Year |
Previous |
Year |
||
|
Games |
Points |
Games |
Points |
Games |
Points |
Calculation |
Grade |
|
34 |
3400 |
3400/34 |
100 |
||||
|
25 |
2900 |
10 |
1400 |
[2900 + (5110 x 1400)]/30 |
120 |
||
|
18 |
2600 |
8 |
1000 |
12 |
1800 |
[2600 + 1000 + (4/12 x 1800)]/30 |
140 |
|
8 |
700 |
6 |
560 |
7 |
630 |
(700 + 560 + 630)/21 |
90 |
These calculations are performed by the BCF central computer system. Local Grading Officers not have to worry about the process.
In the case of juniors who are expected to improve year by year, an enhancement is added to their grades so that their opponents do not suffer. The enhancement is based on the players age. If he/she is under 11, then 10 points are added to the grade, 8 points are added for those aged 11-14, 6 points for those aged 1517 and 4 points are added for juniors of unknown age. This enhancement is included in the published grade so that grading officers and tournament organisers do not have to work out the appropriate enhancement.
The extent to which previous years results have been used is shown on the Grading Lists by a Grading Category. These are:-
A - grade based on 30 or more games in the current year
B - grade based on 30 games in the current year and previous year of which a least 20 were in the current year
C - grade based on 3 0 games in the last three years of which at least 1 0 were in the current year
D - grade based on 1 5 or more games in the last three years of which at least 5 where in the current year
E - grade based on 1 0 or more games in the last 3 years, at least 1 in the current year.
On some computer print-outs supplied from the central database, a category of * (asterisk) is also used. This is for players who have played less than 1 0 games over the last 3 years.
Cosiderable changes have happened since the 1997 article. In particular, the BCF have introduced a new computerised system. The collection of data and its processing starts with chess competition organisers. They pass the results of their competitions to local graders (now known as reporting officers), who are organised by Union grading Officers. These results are then keyed into a computer and sent to the Grading Administrator at the national BCF office. Overall responsibility for the grading system and its implementation rests with the Officer-in-Charge of National Grading. The following paragraphs describe these roles in more detail.
The event organiser has to provide the local grader with the results of all games played in the competition, with sufficient information to enable the players to be identified. Ideally, this should include players' record numbers from the last grading list. Failing this, the player's club is the best additional information. If a player's name is a common one and he cannot be definitely identified, his results cannot be graded. This is why the County Competitons Controller and club secretaries have been asking for fuller details than you might expect. It is to help identify players on a national scale.
Players can help by ensuring that their name and full initials are correctly recorded in chess events, that their clubs are correctly shown and where possible by giving their Grading List Record Number.
The local grader carries out the calculation of points described above and sends in the results to his Union Grading Officer or direct to the BCF if he has compatible equipment. He informs the Union Grader of any changes or corrections needed to the players records, e.g. spelling of names, membership of clubs, etc.
The Union Grading Officer has a key role. He organises and instructs his team of local graders. The BCF requires data to be sent on floppy disks produced by an IBM PC or compatible machine. Both 3½ and 5¼ floppy discs are acceptable. The Union Grader arranges for the data to be entered in this form by the local graders or transcribers. He also co-ordinates the corrections to the details of players and clubs in his Union, using information collected by local graders.
The BCF Grading Administrator is a member of the BCF Office staff and is responsible for the maintenance of the Grading Records, the input of the data received and the printing of Grading Lists and other reports.
The Officer-in-Charge of National Grading has responsibility for co-ordinating the grading activities of the Unions, setting timetables and for the functional supervision of the Grading Administrator. The BCF Director of Game Fee and Grading has overall responsibility for the grading system, the rules of grading and strategic changes to the system.
Each year, in August, the BCF publishes the National Grading List. This list contains all players on the database who are Grading Category "E" and above. The unions publish their own lists from printouts supplied from the BCF computer which can be at union, county or league level. These contain players in the appropriate section who are in whatever Grading Categories that the union/county/league requires publishing. Some of these are published for selling, some are used for inclusion in league handbooks, etc.
There are other services for individuals and organisations that can also be produced from the central database. There is a charge for these, which varies according to the service.