Points Rating System

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    Keywords: Rules

"Points Rating System" (Tensuusei 点数制) is a rating/handicapping method used among the amateur Go clubs in Japan.

It is used so that the win/loss result of a game will add 1 point to the winner's rating, and subtract 1 point from the points of the loser.
Below table is used to determine the number of handicap stones and Komi for the game.

 
Points Difference Handi
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 0
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 1
24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 2
36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 3
48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 4
60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 5
72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 6
84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 7
96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 8
+6 +5 +4 +3 +2 +1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 Komi
  • Lookup the points difference between the White and the Black players on the above table. If one player's rating is 130, and another's is 110, the higher ranked player will take White, and the points difference will be 20. Find 20 on the above table. Look to the right-most column to find 1, which is the number of handicap stone(s) placed by Black for the game. Look to the bottom row to find -2, which is the Komi given to Black as the player of the first move. The positive Komi figures indicate Komi given to White (the second mover).
  • In the case of a tie, White wins (the same effect as adding 0.5 to Komi).

Local rules:
1. Games with the same opponent is counted up to 3 games in a given day.
2. Points for the players in those games with same opponent do not change during the day. (If the result is 2-1 for White, the difference of 1 point is given to the White player rating, 1 point is subtracted from Black player's at the end of the day.)
3. Komi is given at the beginning of a game in the form of stones to the recipient's prisoner tray.

Initial points assignment according to the existing kyu/dan.

Initial Points Assignment
9k 8k 7k 6k 5k 4k 3k 2k 1k 1d 2d 3d 4d 5d 6d 7d 8d
22 34 46 58 70 82 94 106 118 130 142 154 166 178 190 202 214

The above table is an arbitrary method to bring new players onto the points rating system, and is just an example used by a regional branch of Nihon Kiin (Tagajo Branch, Nihon Kiin [ext] 日本棋院多賀城支部) It is for the trial adaptation of Points System by the branch, and does not imply endorsement by Nihon Kiin.

The initial points assignment needs to be modified and adopted to each club or server in accordance to their assessment on the relative strength of the ranking. It is theoretically OK to use negative rating for lower kyu's below 10k, but the 12 points spacing among the ranks should be retained if 1 kyu difference is meant to represent 1 handicap stone. Note that the above initial assignment table is based on the notoriously inflated kyu/dan rankings existing in Japan as of 2015. See Rank - worldwide comparison for reference.

Historical background

The Points Rating System was invented by [ext] Yasuro Kikuchi, Headmaster of Ryokusei Igo Academy ([ext] Ryokusei Igo Gakuen 緑星囲碁学園) in the 1980's. Sometimes known as [ext] Ryokusei Kai Method (緑星会方式), it is now adopted by the majority of Go clubs and salons in Japan, as inflation and regional disparity problems of Nihon Kiin kyu/dan rankings became acute in the 2000's and the 2010's.

Variations

See Point Ranking Scheme At Tokyo Go clubs for a variation of this system.


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This is a copy of the living page "Points Rating System" at Sensei's Library.
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