Does your rating reflect your knowledge?

Have you ever heard someone say, "I know I am rated (insert rating here), but I am playing much better than that. I am way underrated."

I have heard this, or variations of this, more times than I can count. I must admit I have said it myself more times than I can count, as well. I would be willing to wager it is near the top of all phrases uttered by chess players to other chess players at almost every level.

I am sure many of you have had similar experiences. This phenomenon has vexed me for a long time, and as I continue to grow in my knowledge about chess, it has been a question I asked myself more and more often because my rating (I am speaking OTB rating) hasn't grown as much as I feel it should have. (I confess my online rating has jumped higher than ever, but that will be a story for another time)

When I started taking my chess game seriously, my OTB Rating was 1750ish USCF with a peak of 1816. Since I hadn't played OTB for almost two years, my rating dropped at first to 1675ish (this is most likely also attributed to the fact you usually go backward before going forwards when learning something new.). After that initial drop, I quickly raised my rating back to my peak of 1816, a gain of 140 points! But then I stayed there until COVID hit and OTB tournaments halted.

When games started back up about a year ago, I played in several chess tournaments and promptly fell back to just over 1700. I know my knowledge has increased in an uncalculatable amount while we were locked down, yet I am not gaining in rating like I would think I should. So this has got me thinking about what rating truly is. Is your rating tied to your chess education? Why do some chess players rise through the ranks with seemingly no studying, while others stay at the same level when you never see them without their nose in a chess book? It was that time I realized that your rating is not your strength in chess! Your rating is your performance from playing!

I have experienced many times while analyzing with an opponent after a game and thinking to myself, "How is this guy rated 200 points higher than me? I know as much as he does!" I have also had times when I think the opposite, and I think to myself while looking at a game with an opponent who has a lower rating, "There is no way this guy should have a lower rating than me!" I have realized that it doesn't matter how much more, or less, I know than my opponent. At the end of the game, the player who wins gets the rating points, not the guy who studied the most.

While I agree that overall chess knowledge is probably the most influential factor, we can not ignore that many outside forces can also affect your performance in a rated game. How many games have you or your otherwise equal opponent blundered a piece uncharacteristically? How many games have you not played well because, for unknown reasons, you were not able to sleep well the night before? Have you ever lost concentration for one move, and that was all it took to land yourself in a lost position? These outside forces can cause you to either win or lose a chess game. The bottom line, you gain rating points when you win and lose rating points when you lose.

So, now that we know our rating is much more than just our accumulation of chess education, what things can we do to increase our chances to win?

First, we need to pay close attention to our health. We need to eat right, get plenty of sleep and be sure to add some exercise to our daily habits. Not surprisingly, taking care of our body helps our minds work better as well.

Second, we need to keep our minds present in our current game. Keeping focused and concentrated on every move is essential for winning chess games, and the higher you get your rating, the more important this becomes. Following the first step helps here as well, since sleeping right and taking care of your body will increase your stamina, helping to stay focused for long periods.

Third, you need to treat your rating points like your most precious treasure. Your opponent is trying to take some of them away from you, and you need to fight will all of your might to keep them safe. After the game is over, we can remember they are a fellow chess player who most likely shares our love for the game, but until the battle on the board is over and the clock has stopped, we must remember they are our adversary trying to take away our rating points.

I am sure the list of events that can influence your performance is endless. There is no denying that knowledge is a catalyst for chess performance, but don't ignore the other forces that influence the outcome, and you will start to win more chess games.

Jay
February 14, 2022