Those of you who are U.S. Chess Federation members already know that you can access your updated rating via the Member Services Area. For example, here's my rating history and a graph of my ups and downs. If you're a rated member, you have one of these, too ! (Please don't look at my tournament history: too many embarrassing results lately!)
And here's my current rating. But note the new line added to this report: "Highest Norms-Based Title Earned." What the heck is this?
USCF is awarding new titles based on your peak performances. To earn (say) a 2nd Category (Class B) norm, you have to score more than 1 game point better than a 1600 would expect to score in a tournament. Not easy! But not impossible, either.
To get the title, you need to earn five norms! That might take several years, but again, it's doable.
The system isn't perfect: I've been playing tournament chess since 1967, I've been rated over 2000 (with brief dips below) since 1981. However, the MSA norm calculation only goes back to 1991. We old-timers can deal with this, but this is a great way for youngsters to measure their progress. (Forget your bad events; strive to have more peak results!)
The "more" tab includes the "milestones report" that displays norm titles earned, as well as a link to a report on norms in progress. If you're only one norm away from earning a title, you need to be playing this weekend!
Thanks to Mike Nolan and the USCF Ratings Committee for a fabulous job!
