Our summer is kind of slow, so ds read through Chess Exam and Training Guide by Igor Khmelnitsky. Does anyone else have an opinion or experience on this book?

We know ds is underrated right now. DS had a hard time at small spring tournaments, despite slowly increasing in ability. He had a huge jump at the end of the season, reflected in his success against tougher players, but hasn't played a USCF tournament since then. Thus we were interested in his rating estimate.

His rating estimate from Chess Exam is much higher than we were estimating, just laughably high. The author claims both in the book and on his website that the book is accurate. Ha!

Is anyone else a Chess Exam "master"?

I've never seen that book myself. Maybe your son isn't always playing up to his ability. Just curious but what is your son's rating according the book?

Well, he wasn't playing up to his ability this spring, which is why his rating is low. But now he's beating players a few hundred above him.

His lowest rating was 1983, in the area of evaluating standard endgame positions. All his other ratings were over 2000. His highest score was 2357 in the area of calculation. Visualizing is one of his strengths, but gimme a break!

The numbers are flattering, but not worth the time it took to figure them.

Has anyone else worked through the book, and by what margin did you feel it was off?

I think the answer is obvious. If his score is not close to his rating then something is skewed. And otb ratings measure results in the real world don’t they? You can’t blame Khmelnitsky though…sales hype and all that. After all the guy is only trying to make a living.

Obviously something is skewed. We knew that going in because his ability and performance are so far above his rating.

I don't blame the author. I was just wondering if anyone else had done the book, knowing their rating. Having a margin of error would help us salvage a rating estimate.

Perhaps you should contact the author.

I always take those ratings with a grain of salt.

But perhaps a point might be in order.

One is that it is entirely possible that your kid is underrated. It is not uncommon for a kid to be that way. The exam might be revealing strength that is not obvious with reference with your kid's more consistent performance.