12/7/2023 – Earlier this year, the Qualifications Commission (QC) initiated a review of the FIDE rating regulations, inviting federations, officials and the public to contribute their thoughts and suggestions. A dedicated group of contributors worked together with mathematician Jeff Sonas on reforming the existing ratings’ system.

2/27/2019 – Which are the commonest words in the English language, which are the most common girls' and boys' names? Today it is possible to calculate these things fairly easily, but it becomes really useful if you are able to present the results in a comprehensible way. Like with dynamic graphs and bubbling. This was done very nicely for historical chess strength in 2016 by Abacaba, a site that makes videos about data and math. Now a YouTube channel called TheRanker has published a 10-minute video visualisation tracking official FIDE ratings from 2000 to the present. It is informative, interesting and even relaxing to watch.

7/27/2009 – Thirty years ago there was one player in the world rated over 2700. Fifteen years ago there were six. Today there are thirty-three. What is the cause of this "rating inflation". A general improvement of chess skills? A larger number of players in the rating pool? The way the initial ratings are conducted? In this clearly written article statistician Jeff Sonas addresses these questions. Must read!