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Your Move/Readers Write: Ratings matter; World ranking data

Ratings matter: "I disagree with Bill (The Empty Board: Philosophical Reflections on Go #2  4/17 EJ)," writes Rick Mott. "After running tournaments for almost 30 years, I think 90+% of tournament players are motivated not by prizes, but by ratings.  I don't know how to get the data, but I'd bet that most go players did well on the standardized tests we all took in school, and start to salivate when offered a test.  Pretty much any kind of test.  We love measuring ourselves.  One of most popular innovations at the New Jersey Open was posting updated 'tournament ratings' after every round.  The crowd loved it." photo: at the 2017 U.S. Open; photo by Chris Garlock
World ranking data: "In a recent EJ article, Bill Saltman expressed his interest in a 'chart which correlated amateur [ranks] from 30 kyu to 9 dan, country by country, go-server-by go server,'" writes Sebastian Pountney. "I think he will find that the material on this page, the results of a recent survey conducted on OGS, should go some way to satisfying his request. For a simple table of ranks see here specifically."