Which Ratings Will Be Used?
Starting with the Feb. 2007 supplement, the USCF began publishing official ratings on a monthly basis. Unless otherwise indicated in an event's advance publicity, the rating in the supplement for the month that the event starts will be used for pairing and prize purposes. For example, an event starting on April 1st will use the April supplement. An event that starts on Oct. 30 and ends on Nov. 2 will use the Oct supplement. The rating on your Chess Life label is your official rating for that month. The label on the Sept. Chess Life will display the rating in the Sept. supplement and the Oct. issue will display the rating from the Oct. supplement."
Unless otherwise indicated in an event's advance publicity, the following ratings will be used:
Tournaments beginning in February or March will use the February rating supplement (usually same ratings as "March" Chess Life labels).
Tournaments beginning in April or May will use the April rating supplement (usually same ratings as "May" Chess Life labels).
Tournaments beginning in June or July will use the June rating supplement (usually same ratings as "July" Chess Life labels).
Tournaments beginning in August or September will use the August rating supplement (usually same ratings as "September" Chess Life labels).
Tournaments beginning in October or November will use the October rating supplement (usually same ratings as "November" Chess Life labels).
Tournaments beginning in December or January will use the December annual rating list (usually same ratings as "January" Chess Life labels).
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Beginning in January, 2007, rating supplements will be ran on a monthly basis. This means that all tournaments held in January will use the January Rating Supplement, all tournaments in February will use the February Rating Supplement, all tournaments in March will use the March Rating Supplement, etc.
Once Rated, Always Rated
You never lose your rating. If you have not played for many years, tell the organizer your approximate rating and year last played.
How Many Games Are Needed To Earn A Rating?
You must play at least four games to obtain a rating. For players with no more than 25 games, the number of games is indicated after the rating and a slash - for example, "1250/4" means a 1250 rating based on four games. Players with less than four games played are unrated, though their performance is saved in our computer awaiting additional games. For example, a player with "850/3" is unrated, but will obtain a rating after playing one more rated game.
Rating Classes: Everyone Can Win
In most events, you don't have to win the tournament to win a prize - you can win a class prize as a top scorer of your rating group, or a section prize in a section restricted to your rating group. These groups are:
- Senior Master 2400 & up
- Master 2200-2399
- Expert 2000-2199
- Class A 1800-1999
- Class B 1600-1799
- Class C 1400-1599
- Class D 1200-1399
- Class E 1199-1000
- Class F 999-800
- Class G 799-600
- Class H 599-400
- Class I 399-200
- Class J 199/below
- Minimum rating is 100
Some tournaments use different groups such as 1900-2099, and some have "under" prizes or sections including all below a specified level. Provisional ratings, based on 4-19 games, are eligible for all prizes unless otherwise stated.
