Some of you will know that on 1st March 2024, FIDE gave an uplift to players at the lower end of their rating list, with no player now receiving a FIDE rating of under 1400, and players between 1000 and 2000 being uplifted to between 1400 and 2000.
FIDE ratings are accepted as the ‘gold standard’ of ratings throughout the world, and I have therefore felt it appropriate to also uplift the WCU Junior Rapidplay ratings to fall back more in line with the new uplifted FIDE ratings.
Accordingly, and backdated to 1st Jan, the following uplifts have been applied to the Junior Rapidplay ratings list:
- For anyone under 1000 on Jan 1st New WCU = Old WCU + 500
- For anyone 1000 or over on Jan 1st New WCU = 0.5 x Old WCU + 1000
Since most players were under 1000 rating, the effect will simply be an addition of 500 to their rating. For those between 1000 and 2000, the effect is to lift them to between 1500 and 2000. For technical reasons I have reduced the K factor for the latter players from 30 to 20 to make for rather less volatility in the ratings of these stronger players, particularly when playing each other.
It is my expectation that the WCU main list will also have an uplift applied (probably for the new July 1st rating list), but with many new players coming onto the junior list after the March schools’ team championships it seemed best to uplift the Junior Rapidplay ratings at this stage.
Please send any comments/queries to jthornton126@btinternet.com
John Thornton (WCU Junior Rapidplay Rating Officer)
