From: Larry Kaufman <lkaufman <at> WIZARD <dot> NET>
Date: 26 feb 1997
Subject: Rating handicap games

     I have been asked (by Patrick Davin) how we (D.C. Shogi club) rate
handicap games.  It is rather simple.  Each handicap is assigned a point
value, initially based on 50 points for each rank on the old (pre-war) pro
scale, and recently modified by our experience.  This value is added to the
weaker player's rating before calculating the rating difference to be used
in the rating formula.  The values we are now using are: sente 25, Left
Lance 50, Bishop 250, Rook 300, Rook & Left Lance 400, Rook & Bishop 600, 3
piece (odds-givers choice of lance) 700, 4 piece 800, 5 piece (removing
right knight) 1000, 5 piece (removing left knight) 1100, 6 piece 1200.  In
my opinion the system works quite well, but we have to set our rank
differences at 200 points for the Dan ranks or else the top players in the
U.S., who are five dan on our scale and in Japan, would be 9 Dan!  The
implication is that Rook & Bishop odds is only a three rank difference in
the Dan range, which is much less than the five, six, or seven rank
difference customarily used in Japan.  Nevertheless, I am convinced that our
figure of three is correct, because in Japan the stronger player wins most
of the handicap games, as the customary handicaps are insufficient to give
the weaker player more than a small chance.  Our system implies that the
average 4 dan can give the average 1 dan rook & bishop and still score 50%,
and while this seems outrageous it also seems to be true, both in U.S. and
in Japan.


Larry Kaufman, 301-309-0904, 9213 Wooden Bridge Road, Potomac, Md. 20854