EP 249- Dr. Mark Glickman

Our guest this week is one of the world’s leading experts on chess ratings. Mark Glickman is a senior lecturer on Statistics at Harvard University, from which he completed a Ph.D. in statistics. Mark has been researching and sharing ideas about ratings for decades, and has been the chairman of the US Chess Ratings committee since 1992. He is the inventor of the Glicko and Glicko2 rating systems, versions of which are used on liChess and Chess.com. He is also a USCF Master, and has written and co-written several papers on ratings. In our conversation, we review the history of chess ratings, the efficacy of the “Elo rating system,” rating deflation and other potential issues with the current online and OTB systems. This was a fascinating conversation during which I learned a great deal! More info and shownotes below.  0:00- We begin by discussing how Mark became interested in ratings, and a bit about the history of chess ratings.  Mentioned: Arpad Elo, Kenneth Harkness Bradley-Terry Model, Ernst Zermelo 15:15- Mark tells the funny story of some work they did developing a “rating” model for Tinder to improve their dating app.  17:00- Why have ratings been such a boon for the popularity of chess? 21:30- Patreon mailbag question: “What does Mark think of IM Ken Regan’s concept of Intrinsic Rating?” Mentioned: Dr. Ken Regan’s paper on Intrinsic Rating, Episode 136 with IM Kenneth Regan  28:00- Does Mark think the FIDE and USCF rating systems are working? 34:00- What is the history of Mark’s “Glicko system” and where does the name come from?  Mentioned: Dr. Christopher Chabris 37:30- Perpetual Chess is also brought to you in part by AImchess.com. Check out the site, and if you decide to subscribe use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.  38:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out what's new from them here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels- Chessable.com Don’t forget to subscribe to the How to Chess podcast as well! 41:00- Patreon mailbag question: How do we know if rating