--
title: "How Ratings Work: Starting at 1200"
description: "The math has two halves."
tags: ["ratings", "work", "starting", "1200"]
canonical_url: https://yiboardgame.com/blog/how-ratings-work-starting-1200
The math has two halves. First it works out what you were likely to get, then it bills you for the difference between that and what you got.
Rating gain and loss against three opponents. - Opponent rated 200 above you: E = 0.24. Win +24, lose -8.
Why new accounts climb faster: the K value. K sets how far a single game can move you. YiBoard holds it at 32.
How the score becomes a grade or dan. The score is continuous; the grade is a tick mark on top of it. Grades step every 50 points, dans every 100, and the two bands meet at 1500:
- Below 1050: Ninth Grade
- Around 1150: Seventh Grade
- 1200: Sixth Grade, where every new account begins
- Around 1300: Fourth Grade
- Around 1400: Second Grade
- Around 1450: First Grade
- 1500: First Dan
- Above 1500 each dan costs another 100 points; 2300 and up is Ninth Dan
The conversion runs after every game, so the title never drifts from the number.
Why farming the ladder pays nothing here. Elo-like systems share two holes: accounts feeding each other, and matches nobody refereed. YiBoard closes the second one by validating every move server-side, so you cannot script yourself a result.
The part worth keeping: Elo-like systems share two holes: accounts feeding each other, and matches nobody refereed. Full write-up is on the source blog.
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