GPX Detail

The Story of Benjamin and Brian

We have two players. They go to two different tournaments on the same weekend.

👶 Benjamin (Rated 1566)

The Tournament: A "Boring" Classical Tournament (60 minutes per person).
The Opponents: Strong kids! They are all rated 1600.
The Result: Benjamin has a tough time. He plays 5 games. He LOSES 3 of them and wins 2.
Actual Score: 2 out of 5 (40%). Benjamin goes home sad.

👶 Brian (Rated 1593)

The Tournament: A "Fun" Rapid Tournament (20 minutes per person).
The Opponents: Weaker kids. They are all rated 1400.
The Result: Brian destroys everyone! He plays 5 games and WINS ALL 5.
Actual Score: 5 out of 5 (100%). Brian goes home happy with a gold medal.

🔥 The Twist

When the GPX list comes out, Benjamin is ranked HIGHER than Brian.

Brian's parents are furious. They call you. Here is how you explain it to them using "Crayon Math."

Part 1: The "Tokens" (Weighted Score)

In GPX, you don't get a full point for a win. You get "Tokens" based on how hard the game was.

The Rules of Tokens:

Time Rule: If the game is short, we cut your token in pieces.
Bully Rule: If you beat someone smaller than you, we take away part of your token.
Giant Slayer Rule: If you beat someone bigger than you, we give you extra tokens.

Let's Count Benjamin's Tokens

Time: He played 60 minutes. He gets 1 whole token.
Opponent: He is 1566, Opponent is 1600. He is the underdog. He gets a Bonus.
- Math: 1600/1566 = 1.02
The Calculation:
- Benjamin wins 2 games.
- 1 (Win) × 1 (Time) × 1.02 (Bonus) = 1.02 Tokens per win
- Total Tokens: 1.02 + 1.02 = 2.04 Tokens

Let's Count Brian's Tokens

Time: He played 20 minutes. This is 1/3 of a standard game. He gets a tiny piece of a token.
- Math: 20/60 = 0.33
Opponent: He is 1593, Opponent is 1400. He is the Bully. We take away points.
- Math: 1400/1593 = 0.88
The Calculation:
- Brian wins 5 games.
- 1 (Win) × 0.33 (Time) × 0.88 (Bully Penalty) = 0.29 Tokens per win
- Total Tokens: 0.29 × 5 wins = 1.45 Tokens

🛑 STOP AND LOOK: Benjamin won only 2 games, but he has 2.04 Tokens. Brian won 5 games, but he only has 1.45 Tokens. The "Rapid Trap" has already killed Brian's score.

Part 2: The "Denominator Trap" (The Average)

This is the part that makes people angry. The computer takes your Tokens and divides them by the Real Number of Games you played.

Benjamin's Average:

He has 2.04 Tokens.
He played 5 Real Games.
2.04 / 5 = 0.41 (or 41%)

Brian's Average:

He has 1.45 Tokens.
He played 5 Real Games.
1.45 / 5 = 0.29 (or 29%)

Part 3: The Final Score (The Pass Mark)

To gain points, your Average must be higher than 0.50 (50%). If it is lower, you LOSE points from your opponent's rating.

Benjamin (The "Loser" who played Standard):

Start: Opponent Rating 1600
Score: 41% (He failed the pass mark by a little bit: -0.09)
Penalty: -0.09 × 850 = -76 Points
Final GPX: 1600 - 76 = 1,524

Brian (The "Winner" who played Rapid):

Start: Opponent Rating 1400
Score: 29% (He failed the pass mark by a HUGE amount: -0.21)
Penalty: -0.21 × 850 = -178 Points
Final GPX: 1400 - 178 = 1,222

Explain it like I'm 5 a year old (ELI 5)

Benjamin Benjamin lost a lot, but he played hard chess against big, strong players. His score stayed high. Nice!
Brian won a lot, but he played easy, fast chess against smaller players. His score stayed lower. :(

📚 The Moral of the Story

If you play Rapid (20 min) games, the computer treats 3 wins like 1 win.

Advice for the "Rapid Lovers"

Everyone loves Rapid. Quick games, early home, etc... If you must play Rapid tournaments, use this decision matrix:

✅ STRATEGY A: The "Giant Slayer" (PLAY)

Condition: Your child is playing in a section where opponents are rated higher than them.

Why: The formula gives a bonus multiplier (Rratio) for beating higher-rated players. This bonus helps cancel out the penalty from the short time control.

❌ STRATEGY B: The "Bully" (AVOID)

Condition: Your child is strong and playing against lower-rated opponents.

Why: The formula penalizes you twice: once for the time control, and again for beating a "weaker" opponent. A perfect score here will destroy your GPX average.