Week 10 USCL Predictions

Last week. Last place in the prediction contest. Before next year, I'll recalibrate the model.

Unless I somehow miraculously win.

CAROLINA vs PHILADELPHIA

The march of the Shahades. Hopefully Jen won't be jetlagged from China.

Prediction: Carolina 2.0 - 2.0 Philadelphia


BOSTON vs QUEENS

Lenderman has a chance to cap off his perfect season, but the high (USCL) rated Esserman stands in his way. Something has to give.

Prediction: Boston 2.5 - 1.5 Queens


NEW YORK vs NEW JERSEY

An almost exact reprise of last year's situation. If New Jersey wins or draws, they are in the playoffs, else New York is. Again, my model betrays the Knockouts. Stupid model.

Prediction: New York 2.5 - 1.5 New Jersey


TENNESSEE vs BALTIMORE

The battle for the cellar. Two teams, nothing to lose. No playoffs this year for either team. Perhaps we'll see the Orangutan or the Latvian Gambit, rather than something pedestrian like a Slav or a Ruy Lopez.

Prediction: Tennessee 1.5 - 2.5 Baltimore


MIAMI vs SAN FRANCISCO

San Francisco tosses out a solid lineup, but without their usual underrated minors. Like the Sharks they are, Miami will smell blood.

Prediction: Miami 2.5 - 1.5 San Francisco


DALLAS vs CHICAGO

Chicago is down a few players this week. Fortunately, that means a big win for Dallas.

Prediction: Dallas 3.0 - 1.0 Chicago


ARIZONA vs SEATTLE

A real toss up here. The West Coast is a confusing place.

Prediction: Arizona 1.5 - 2.5 Seattle

USCL Power Rankings Week 9

Queens is back on top! After San Francisco's loss to Dallas, the Pioneers recapture the top spot, and the Mechanics drop to three. Miami's big win hops them to the number two position. Boston is the biggest upward mover, to the seventh position.

1 -	Queens (+1)
2 -	Miami (+1)
3 -	San Francisco (-2)
4 -	Carolina (0)
5 -	Dallas (+1)
6 -	New Jersey (-1)
7 -	Boston (+2)
8 -	Seattle (-1)
9 -	Chicago (-1)
10 -	Arizona (0)
11 -	New York (0)
12 -	Tennessee (0)
13 -	Philadelphia (0)
14 -	Baltimore (0)

Next week will be the last week for the power rankings!

USCL Top Board Honors Week 9

This post describes the details on how these are calculated.

One week to go in the regular season, and it a race to the medal podium.

Board 1
Gold - Julio Becerra (13.70)
Silver - Jaan Ehlvest (11.24)
Bronze - Alex Stripunsky (10.22)

Board 2
Gold - Alex Lenderman (19.68)
Silver - Oleg Zaikov (8.95)
Bronze - Josh Friedel (8.34)

Board 3
Gold - Marc Esserman (14.80)
Silver - Sam Shankland (13.75)
Bronze - Ron Simpson (10.55)

Board 4
Gold - Eric Rodriguez (11.20)
Silver - Angelo Young (8.83)
Bronze - Daniel Naroditsky (8.63)

USCL Week 9 Rating List

2008 United States Chess League
Rating List after Week 9

1	2643	Jaan Ehlvest
2	2631	Julio Becerra
3	2606	Hikaru Nakamura
4	2600	Sergey Erenburg
5	2596	Josh Friedel
6	2593	Pascal Charbonneau
7	2593	Davorin Kuljasevic
8	2584	Marko Zivanic
9	2583	Marc Esserman
10	2564	Larry Christiansen
11	2562	Vinay Bhat
12	2557	Patrick Wolff
13	2548	Joel Benjamin
14	2543	Alex Stripunsky
15	2539	Eli Vovsha
16	2537	Levon Altounian
17	2536	Pawel Blehm
18	2525	Rogelio Barcenilla
19	2524	Alex Lenderman
20	2523	Lev Milman
21	2522	Sergey Kudrin
22	2520	Jorge Sammour-Hasbun
23	2519	Boris Gulko
24	2517	Bruci Lopez
25	2517	Dmitry Schneider
26	2515	Dean Ippolito
27	2501	Gregory Serper
28	2497	Emory Tate
29	2486	Slava Mikhailuk
30	2483	Drasko Boskovic
31	2482	Thomas Bartell
32	2482	John Fedorowicz
33	2477	Eugene Perelshteyn
34	2474	Sam Shankland
35	2463	Irina Krush
36	2463	Gregory Braylovsky
37	2456	Marcel Milat
38	2454	Parker Zhao
39	2453	Jan van de Mortel
40	2448	David Vigorito
41	2448	John Donaldson
42	2444	Osmany Perea
43	2440	Florin Felecan
44	2435	John Bartholomew
45	2433	Oleg Zaikov
46	2433	Jonathan Schroer
47	2432	Mehmed Pasalic
48	2427	Ron Simpson
49	2422	Nikola Mitkov
50	2420	Marcel Martinez
51	2415	Mackenzie Molner
52	2413	Denis Shmelov
53	2411	Igor Schneider
54	2405	Ron Burnett
55	2402	Charles Galofre
56	2399	Charles Riordan
57	2396	Bryan Smith
58	2394	Jay Bonin
59	2389	Tegshsuren Enkhbat
60	2388	David Pruess
61	2385	Blas Lugo
62	2372	Mark Ginsburg
63	2372	Eric Rodriguez
64	2367	Eric Tangborn
65	2365	Angelo Young
66	2363	Daniel Yeager
67	2359	Peter Bereolos
68	2354	Todd Andrews
69	2350	Daniel Naroditsky
70	2350	Katerina Rohonyan
71	2347	Robby Adamson
72	2347	Richard Costigan
73	2338	Udayan Bapat
74	2338	Gregory Young
75	2338	Irina Zenyuk
76	2328	Bayaraa Zorigt
77	2319	Michael Thaler
78	2318	Matthew Herman
79	2317	Larry Kaufman
80	2312	John Readey
81	2309	Danny Rensch
82	2302	Craig Jones
83	2299	Elvin Wilson
84	2298	Ilan Meerovich
85	2295	Michael Lee
86	2294	Ralph Zimmer
87	2285	Victor Shen
88	2279	Andy May
89	2277	Ilya Krasik
90	2269	Warren Harper
91	2268	Matan Prilleltens
92	2266	Aaron Khan
93	2262	John Bick
94	2258	Evan Ju
95	2251	Ray Kaufman
96	2245	Evan Rosenberg
97	2245	Benjamin Katz
98	2244	Matthew Bengtson
99	2243	Leo Martinez
100	2237	Jayson Lian
101	2225	Josh Sinanan
102	2205	Jennifer Shahade
103	2199	Jerry Wheeler
104	2192	Karina Vazirova

Next week is the final week of the regular season!

USCL Week 9 Predictions

Last week's prediction results were great for everyone! Which is too bad for me, as the Lime still is in a distant third place.

QUEENS vs CAROLINA

Unless Queens had a problem fielding a stronger lineup, it is unclear what they are doing. With no Lenderman, and a huge gap between second and third boards, perhaps they think they can pull off a 2-2 tie. No dice. Carolina wins big, and will pull into first place on tie breaks.

Prediction: Queens 1.0 - 3.0 Carolina

NEW YORK vs BALTIMORE

Knights continue to run for the playoffs.

Prediction: New York 2.5 - 1.5 Baltimore


PHILADELPHIA vs BOSTON

Boston continues their run for the playoffs too.

Prediction: Philadelphia 1.0 - 3.0 Boston


NEW JERSEY vs MIAMI

New Jersey clinches this week.

Prediction: New Jersey 2.0 - 2.0 Miami


DALLAS vs SAN FRANCISCO

Super young master 10 year old Nicholas Nip debuts this week. Aren't these games past his bedtime?

Prediction: Dallas 1.5 - 2.5 San Francisco


SEATTLE vs TENNESSEE

No Nakamura. Yes Ehlvest. Doesn't matter.

Prediction: Seattle 2.5 - 1.5 Tennessee


CHICAGO vs ARIZONA

Expansion battle, round 2. Blaze burns Scorps.

Prediction: Chicago 3.0 - 1.0 Arizona

USCL 2008 Power Rankings Week 8

A lot of small movements this week in the BLUPRs (Bionic Lime USCL Power Rankings). Carolina moves up a couple spots to fourth place. New York vaults from the cellar up three spots to 11th. New Jersey and Philadelphia both drop a couple of spots. And... the new cellar dweller is the 2005 USCL champions Baltimore. How the might have fallen, despite the stellar play of their first board, GM Sergey Erenburg.

1 -	San Francisco (0)
2 -	Queens (0)
3 -	Miami (+1)
4 -	Carolina (+2)
5 -	New Jersey (-2)
6 -	Dallas (-1)
7 -	Seattle (+1)
8 -	Chicago(-1)
9 -	Boston (0)
10 -	Arizona (0)
11 -	New York (+3)
12 -	Tennessee (0)
13 -	Philadelphia (-2)
14 -	Baltimore (-1)

USCL Top Board Honors Week 8

This post describes the details on how these are calculated. Lenderman has now played more on Board 2, so that's the Board he is eligible for this week.

So, with two weeks to go, here are the Top Board Honors as of week 8.

Board 1
Gold - Julio Becerra (10.94)
Silver - Sergey Erenburg (10.85)
Bronze - Jaan Ehlvest (10.02)

Board 2
Gold - Alex Lenderman (19.68)
Silver - Oleg Zaikov (10.03)
Bronze - Josh Friedel (8.47)

Board 3
Gold - Sam Shankland (13.75)
Silver - Marc Esserman (12.03)
Bronze - Osmany Perea (9.38)

Board 4
Gold - Eric Rodriguez (11.20)
Silver - Angelo Young (8.83)
Bronze - Daniel Naroditsky (8.63)

USCL Rating List, Week 8

Sergey Erenburg, with a win, climbs up the rating list again, but Jaan Ehlvest shoots even higher. Only two weeks to go... Who will top the list this year?

1	2648	Jaan Ehlvest
2	2614	Sergey Erenburg
3	2613	Julio Becerra
4	2606	Hikaru Nakamura
5	2593	Josh Friedel
6	2588	Marko Zivanic
7	2581	Vinay Bhat
8	2578	Pascal Charbonneau
9	2575	Marc Esserman
10	2571	Davorin Kuljasevic
11	2563	Joel Benjamin
12	2557	Patrick Wolff
13	2547	Larry Christiansen
14	2537	Levon Altounian
15	2536	Pawel Blehm
16	2535	Alex Stripunsky
17	2532	Sergey Kudrin
18	2530	Lev Milman
19	2528	Dean Ippolito
20	2524	Alex Lenderman
21	2520	Jorge Sammour-Hasbun
22	2520	Eli Vovsha
23	2519	Boris Gulko
24	2517	Dmitry Schneider
25	2506	Jan van de Mortel
26	2497	Gregory Serper
27	2496	Emory Tate
28	2494	Rogelio Barcenilla
29	2494	Bruci Lopez
30	2483	Drasko Boskovic
31	2483	Eugene Perelshteyn
32	2482	John Fedorowicz
33	2478	Thomas Bartell
34	2474	Sam Shankland
35	2468	Osmany Perea
36	2460	Gregory Braylovsky
37	2456	Marcel Milat
38	2456	Slava Mikhailuk
39	2455	Nikola Mitkov
40	2454	Parker Zhao
41	2452	Irina Krush
42	2448	David Vigorito
43	2448	John Donaldson
44	2448	Oleg Zaikov
45	2440	Florin Felecan
46	2435	John Bartholomew
47	2433	Jonathan Schroer
48	2432	Mehmed Pasalic
49	2428	Ron Burnett
50	2420	Marcel Martinez
51	2416	Ron Simpson
52	2413	Denis Shmelov
53	2403	David Pruess
54	2402	Charles Galofre
55	2401	Igor Schneider
56	2399	Charles Riordan
57	2397	Mackenzie Molner
58	2396	Bryan Smith
59	2396	Tegshsuren Enkhbat
60	2394	Jay Bonin
61	2385	Blas Lugo
62	2372	Eric Rodriguez
63	2367	Eric Tangborn
64	2365	Angelo Young
65	2363	Daniel Yeager
66	2359	Peter Bereolos
67	2350	Daniel Naroditsky
68	2350	Katerina Rohonyan
69	2349	Richard Costigan
70	2347	Robby Adamson
71	2341	Mark Ginsburg
72	2340	Todd Andrews
73	2338	Udayan Bapat
74	2338	Gregory Young
75	2338	Irina Zenyuk
76	2336	John Readey
77	2322	Bayaraa Zorigt
78	2319	Michael Thaler
79	2317	Larry Kaufman
80	2311	Danny Rensch
81	2302	Matthew Herman
82	2299	Elvin Wilson
83	2297	Craig Jones
84	2295	Michael Lee
85	2295	Ralph Zimmer
86	2288	Aaron Khan
87	2285	Victor Shen
88	2279	Andy May
89	2271	Ilya Krasik
90	2269	Warren Harper
91	2260	Jayson Lian
92	2260	Matthew Bengtson
93	2258	Evan Ju
94	2257	Benjamin Katz
95	2251	Ray Kaufman
96	2249	Josh Sinanan
97	2245	Evan Rosenberg
98	2243	Leo Martinez
99	2233	John Bick
100	2205	Jennifer Shahade
101	2199	Jerry Wheeler
102	2192	Karina Vazirova

USCL Week 8 Predictions (ver. 2)

PHILADELPHIA vs NEW YORK

Should be a close match on every board, but the Knights ought to be able to pull out a squeaker.

Prediction: Philadelphia 1.5 - 2.5 New York

NEW JERSEY vs CAROLINA

Stupid model makes an idiotic prediction. Why did I promise to listen to the model no matter what? I'm an idiot and a traitor.

Prediction: New Jersey 1.5 - 2.5 Carolina

MIAMI vs DALLAS

On one board, the model calculates the difference in adjusted rating to be 79 points (which is a draw), and on another board, the model calculates the difference in adjusted rating to be 80 points (which is a win). Too close to call, but the model calls it anyway.

Prediction: Miami 1.5 - 2.5 Dallas

BALTIMORE vs BOSTON

Despite Erenburg's mighty play, Baltimore hasn't really had a run of great results this season. Unfortunately for them, the trend continues.

Prediction: Baltimore 1.5 - 2.5 Boston

CHICAGO vs QUEENS

What a psychological ploy by Chicago this week! Early on, they announced that the infamous Tate would be playing board 2. So, it forced Queens to make a decision -- should they play Lenderman on board 2 or board 3? Queens opted for a Lenderman - Tate showdown.

Prediction: Chicago 2.5 - 1.5 Queens

SAN FRANCISCO vs TENNESSEE

San Francisco throws up an A-line up, and Tennessee counters with Ehlvest on top board. San Francisco will pull away from the rest of the field this week.

Prediction: San Francisco 3.0 - 1.0 Tennessee

SEATTLE vs ARIZONA

Despite what Nakamura says, Seattle does get respect. Especially when he's playing board 1. The Sluggers will prevail with a big win.

Prediction: Seattle 3.0 - 1.0 Arizona

Week 7 USCL Top Board Honors

Last week's post had all the details on how this is calculated. So, let's get right to the honors, shall we?

Board 1
Gold - Julio Becerra (8.32)
Silver - Sergey Erenburg (8.29)
Bronze - Lev Milman (7.64)

Board 2
Gold - Josh Friedel (8.47)
Silver - Thomas Bartell (8.39)
Bronze - Boris Gulko (8.29)

Board 3
Gold - Alex Lenderman (16.84)
Silver - Sam Shankland (11.37)
Bronze - Marc Esserman (9.38)

Board 4
Gold - Eric Rodriguez (11.20)
Silver - Daniel Naroditsky (8.63)
Bronze - Bayaraa Zorigt (6.22)

USCL 2008 Power Rankings, Week 7

Regicide rules the power rankings this week, as the Queens Pioneers fall out of first. Solid San Francisco takes up the top spot. Carolina graciously validated their high ranking by winning big this week too, although Miami vaulted above them and Dallas with their big win.

The bottom of the table remained pretty much the same, except Tennessee is creeping up.

1 -	San Francisco (+1)
2 -	Queens (-1)
3 -	New Jersey (0)
4 -	Miami (+2)
5 -	Dallas (-1)
6 -	Carolina (-1)
7 -	Chicago (0)
8 -	Seattle (0)
9 -	Boston (0)
10 -	Arizona (0)
11 -	Philadelphia (0)
12 -	Tennessee (+1)
13 -	Baltimore (-1)
14 -	NewYork (0)

Number in parentheses following the name is the change from last week.

2008 USCL Rating List, Week 7

After Nakamura's loss to Bhat, Erenburg takes over the top spot, and Becerra's win moves him up to second. Zivanic climbs the ranks too.

1	2611	Sergey Erenburg
2	2607	Julio Becerra
3	2606	Jaan Ehlvest
4	2602	Marko Zivanic
5	2602	Hikaru Nakamura
6	2595	Patrick Wolff
7	2593	Josh Friedel
8	2578	Vinay Bhat
9	2573	Marc Esserman
10	2571	Davorin Kuljasevic
11	2561	Pascal Charbonneau
12	2558	Joel Benjamin
13	2547	Levon Altounian
14	2547	Larry Christiansen
15	2542	Sergey Kudrin
16	2538	Drasko Boskovic
17	2537	Lev Milman
18	2536	Pawel Blehm
19	2528	Dean Ippolito
20	2525	Jorge Sammour-Hasbun
21	2520	Eli Vovsha
22	2519	Boris Gulko
23	2517	Dmitry Schneider
24	2515	Alex Lenderman
25	2512	Emory Tate
26	2509	Alex Stripunsky
27	2506	Jan van de Mortel
28	2497	Thomas Bartell
29	2497	Gregory Serper
30	2494	Rogelio Barcenilla
31	2483	Eugene Perelshteyn
32	2474	Sam Shankland
33	2466	John Fedorowicz
34	2460	Mehmed Pasalic
35	2460	Gregory Braylovsky
36	2456	Marcel Milat
37	2455	Nikola Mitkov
38	2455	Osmany Perea
39	2452	Irina Krush
40	2448	David Vigorito
41	2448	John Donaldson
42	2443	Oleg Zaikov
43	2443	John Bartholomew
44	2433	Jonathan Schroer
45	2430	Slava Mikhailuk
46	2428	Ron Burnett
47	2427	Parker Zhao
48	2425	Bruci Lopez
49	2420	Marcel Martinez
50	2410	Denis Shmelov
51	2403	David Pruess
52	2403	Mackenzie Molner
53	2402	Charles Galofre
54	2401	Igor Schneider
55	2399	Charles Riordan
56	2399	Ron Simpson
57	2396	Bryan Smith
58	2396	Tegshsuren Enkhbat
59	2385	Blas Lugo
60	2379	Jay Bonin
61	2372	Eric Rodriguez
62	2372	Angelo Young
63	2367	Eric Tangborn
64	2364	Richard Costigan
65	2364	Mark Ginsburg
66	2363	Daniel Yeager
67	2359	Peter Bereolos
68	2350	Daniel Naroditsky
69	2342	Todd Andrews
70	2342	Robby Adamson
71	2338	Udayan Bapat
72	2338	Irina Zenyuk
73	2336	John Readey
74	2322	Bayaraa Zorigt
75	2322	Larry Kaufman
76	2321	Michael Lee
77	2313	Ralph Zimmer
78	2311	Michael Thaler
79	2311	Danny Rensch
80	2305	Craig Jones
81	2299	Elvin Wilson
82	2292	Matthew Herman
83	2288	Aaron Khan
84	2279	Andy May
85	2277	Matthew Bengtson
86	2277	Victor Shen
87	2276	Evan Ju
88	2260	Jayson Lian
89	2257	Benjamin Katz
90	2256	Ilya Krasik
91	2252	Ray Kaufman
92	2249	Josh Sinanan
93	2245	Evan Rosenberg
94	2243	Leo Martinez
95	2234	John Bick
96	2232	Warren Harper
97	2205	Jennifer Shahade
98	2199	Jerry Wheeler

USCL Week 7 Predictions

Last week bad! This week good!

There are two big matchups this week -- one based on rivalry and the other based on actual plaoyff position. The heated rivalry between Boston and New York, with its trash talking and accusations, starts things off at 7:00pm on Monday. Following right behind at 7:15pm is the battle for first place in the Eastern division between New Jersey and Queens.

BOSTON vs NEW YORK (Monday)

It sure would have been fun to see Larry play the Fed, but alas, it was not to be. Still, these teams absolutely despise each other. Good fun.

Prediction: Boston 2.5 - 1.5 New York


QUEENS vs NEW JERSEY (Monday)

Queens is the big man on campus, assuming that's the correct gender to use when referring to queens. New Jersey is the feisty brother-in-law that crashes the BMoC's catered pool party. The stuffed mushrooms are going to end up all over the clean towels.

Prediction: Queens 1.5 - 2.5 New Jersey


TENNESSEE vs CHICAGO (Monday)

Is Tennessee in the central time zone? Not that it makes any difference, I was just curious. The Blaze ought to redeem the Cubs and White Sox ignominious starts in the MLB playoffs.

Prediction: Tennessee 1.0 - 3.0 Chicago


SAN FRANCISCO vs SEATTLE (Monday)

Mechanics versus Sluggers. Fog versus Rain. Brownies versus Coffee. Liberal activists versus liberal activists. All the same.

Prediction: San Francisco 2.0 - 2.0 Seattle


BALTIMORE vs CAROLINA

Even with the mighty Erenburg, the Kingfishers will fall to the Cobras. On paper, though, this should go totally the other way. My model eats paper for lunch.

Prediction: Baltimore 1.5 - 2.5 Carolina


DALLAS vs PHILADELPHIA

The Destiny versus the Inventors. Sounds like a battle between Calvinists and free-will advocates. That ought to be bloody, and indeed, the model expects all decisive games here.

Prediction: Dallas 2.0 - 2.0 Philadelphia


ARIZONA vs MIAMI

Sharks are big! Scorpions are small! Both are frightening! Big beats small.

Prediction: Arizona 1.5 - 2.5 Miami

Week 6 New System Top Board Honors

After all the spirited commentary over the way that I did the Top Board Honors, it got me thinking about how I calculated Top Board Honors.

The way I did it before was okay, but there are a lot better ways of doing it. This is one of them.

The real way this should be done is based on performance rating, not just absolute rating. However, if you just base it on performance rating, then only one win over a 2400, and you've got a 2800 performance rating, which should win. So, therefore, you might as well have some minimum number of games played -- but that seems so artificial.

Therefore, I've developed a points system for determining top board honors that rewards (1) performance rating, (2) games played, and (3) score. It also differentiates performance ratings based on color, and whether your team won, drew, or lost the match.

Performance Ratings

Performance Ratings take into account the result of the games, whether the player's team won, drew, or lost and the color that the player had. (Performance Ratings are based on my USCL rating system.)

In regard to match and individual results, (as with the USCL rating system) if a player's game was drawn and the player's team won, the player is given 2/3 of a point. If a player's game was drawn and the player's team lost, the player is given 1/3 of a point. If a player drew and the match was drawn, the player is given 1/2 point. Wins and losses are counted as one and zero, regardless of the match outcome.

Performance ratings take into account color played as well. A win with white will give a player a performance rating of the opponents rating plus 328, while a win with black will give a player a performance rating of the opponents rating plus 472. Other outcomes are scaled similarly. This takes into account the empirical fact that having the White pieces is worth approximately 72 rating points.

Performance Rating for each game is calculated by adding the opponent's rating and the number specified.

If player had White:
Win +328
Draw (Team Won) +64
Draw (Match Drawn) -72
Draw (Team Lost) -208
Loss -472

If player had Black:
Win +472
Draw (Team Won) +208
Draw (Match Drawn) +72
Draw (Team Lost) -64
Loss -328

The Formula

Here is the actual formula to calculate the Top Board Honors Points.

TBH: Top Board Honors points
p(i): Performance Rating against opponent i
n: Number of opponents played
s(i): Score against opponent i

TBH = 0.0001 * ( SUM[i: 1..n; p(i)] * ( ( SUM[i: 1..n; s(i)] + 1) / (n + 1) ) ^2 )

Note that I added 1 to the numerator and denominator of the second term so that when you square the number it will not decrease.

Example...

Player plays in three matches.

• Match 1 - Team match is drawn. Player has White and draws opponent rated 2300 (worth 1/2 point). Performance rating is 2300-72 or 2228.
• Match 2 - Players team wins. Player has Black and draws opponent rated 2400 (worth 2/3 point, since team won). Performance rating is 2400+208 or 2608.
• Match 3 - Players team loses. Player has White and wins against opponent rating 2250 (worth 1 point). Performance rating is 2250+328 or 2578.

TBH = 0.0001 * ( (2228+2608+2578) * ( ( (0.50 + 0.67 + 1.00 + 1) / (3 + 1) ) ^2 )
TBH = 0.0001 * ( (7414) * ( 3.17 / 4 ) ^2 )
TBH = 0.0001 * ( 7414 * 0.6281)
TBH = 0.0001 * 4656
TBH = 4.66

Basically, if you get a high performance rating, and play in a lot of games that you score well in, you'll have a lot of Top Board Honors points. Seems reasonable enough. It is multiplied by 1/1000 because it makes the points small enough to type.

Which Board?

Players get consideration for the board they have played the most games on. If they have played the most number of games on two or more boards, the board on which they played most recently (of those boards) will be the one for which they are eligible.

The Top Board Honors after Week 6

So, with all that, here are the Top Board Honors after week 6, with the number of TBH points they have in parentheses.

Board 1
Gold: Hikaru Nakamura (8.74), Seattle
Silver: Sergey Erenburg (8.58), Baltimore
Bronze: Jaan Ehlvest (7.09), Tennessee

Board 2
Gold: Alex Lenderman (13.96), Queens
Silver: Dean Ippolito (9.66), New Jersey
Bronze: Josh Friedel (8.47), San Francisco

Board 3
Gold: Angelo Young (9.13), Chicago
Silver: Sam Shankland (8.99), San Francisco
Bronze: Mackenzie Molner (7.18), New Jersey

Board 4
Gold: Eric Rodriguez (8.80), Miami
Silver: Marc Esserman (6.77), Boston
Bronze: Daniel Naroditsky (6.38), San Francisco

Power Rankings - Sharma and Lime and Ham(ming)

Arun Sharma and I both do Power Rankings every week. I decided to do a comparison on how close they match up. I believe his are done entirely by hand, but mine are done only using mathematical formulas.

I used a variation of a Hamming Distance to calculate the similarity. Instead of binary comparisons between teams, I used the absolute value of the difference each of us gave for a ranking. For example, if he ranked Carolina 7th and I ranked it 5th, then I would use |5-7| or 2 as a component of the Hamming distance. The sum of these comparisons equals a value. The lower the value, the more similar our rankings are.

For example, let's look at week 6.

Week 6	AS	BL	Diff
QUE	1	1	0
SFM	2	2	0
NJK	3	3	0
DAL	4	4	0
CAR	7	5	2
MIA	6	6	0
CHI	9	7	2
SEA	5	8	3
BOS	8	9	1
ARI	10	10	0
PHI	11	11	0
BAL	13	12	1
TEN	12	13	1
NYK	14	14	0
		Sum:	10

The Hamming Distance for Week 6 was 10, which means that, on average, our ranks were 10/14 or 0.71 ranks different from each other.

Here are the Hamming distances of each of the six weeks. As you might expect, the early weeks (with less data) are more different than the later weeks.

Week 1: 36 (avg diff: 2.57)
Week 2: 18 (avg diff: 1.29)
Week 3: 16 (avg diff: 1.14)
Week 4: 6 (avg diff: 0.43)
Week 5: 12 (avg diff: 0.86)
Week 6: 10 (avg diff: 0.71)

For the last five weeks (I'm discarding the first week's power rankings due to lack of data), the teams on which we have had the most different rankings have been Carolina and Seattle. Arun has consistently ranked Carolina lower than I have, by an average of 2.00 ranks. For Seattle, I have ranked Seattle lower on three weeks, and higher on two weeks, but again, we have ranked them an average of 2.00 ranks apart.

On the other hand, Arun and I have ranked New Jersey and Miami very similarly for the past five weeks. For both, there was only one week where we were different, and we were only different by one rank in that week.

If you have specific questions, please ask them in the comments.