Tuesday, October 28, 2008

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

Thursday, October 23, 2008

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!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

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

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

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

Sunday, October 12, 2008

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

Saturday, October 11, 2008

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)

Friday, October 10, 2008

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.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

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

Saturday, October 04, 2008

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

Friday, October 03, 2008

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.