Hans Moke Niemann shared his thoughts on the FIDE rating system in an interview on the Lichess YouTube channel. Niemann explains the difficulties of playing as Black and proposes splitting ratings by color. Hans states that player’s ratings are deflated.

Hans Moke Niemann

Hans Moke Niemann

American GM

“It’s the unfortunate state of Classical chess that you have to basically just be lost from the opening to try and get a fighting position.

I’ve played a lot of games with Black. This is my second Double-Black, so I’m a true patriot, making sacrifices for the team. But when you look at who I’m playing, all these 2650s, there’s such a rating deflation now where someone like 2630 Shant Sargsyan is such a super strong player.

I saw Vidit said that there should be a rating difference based on the colors. Which I think is a great idea, because drawing with Black and losing 3, and sometimes 4 points just feels kind of wrong.

The entire rating system needs to be changed.”

Vidit Gujrathi spoke about the rating system on his X in September. He called it not the most accurate measure of current strength. Vidit criticized that the rating is calculated the same for players on both sides. Gujrathi noted that White has a significant advantage in the long run.

Credit: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE