Big Data in Chess: CAPS Score to Evaluate Players

I have previously written a post about big data in relative value of pieces in the game of Chess. Chess is an art and a science that computers have been involved in for decades, but people continue to question their objective capabilities as some game-type situations pose troubles. Of course, these are all things within the game, but smart people in high places have been able to use Chess data a step removed to evaluate a player’s strength all using data.

This past year, Chess.com, the world’s biggest Chess website hosted The Grandmaster Blitz Battles, pinning some of the most talented Grandmasters against eachother in fast games, giving the fans something to tune in for. The site posted this article prior to the final match, in which Carlsen and Nakamura, two of the fan favorites, would duke it out for the title. The article uses CAPS, or Computer Accuracy and Precise Score to score a player, which is completely different from their regular player rating. For example, a regular rating only takes into account the outcome of a players games and their current rating, so win, loss or draw and whether the opponent was higher or lower rated (You can probably tell this isn’t the deepest way to look into something). Though the CAPS is not an official rating, it is used to analyze everything about a player’s performance, move by move. Finally, the data on these players is used to draw conclusions and predictions prior to their epic match. Read through the article and let me know what you think!