Earlier in 2020, the Malaysian Chess Federation has agreed to revive a National Rating system similar to the one which was discontinued in 2017. However, with many Over The Board tournaments cancelled due to the pandemic in 2020, the idea was put on hold temporarily. With FIDE approving certain guidelines for Online and Hybrid events to be FIDE Rated, the idea of implementing a National Rating system has been rebooted with a few events – Hybrid Ladies and Hybrid Juniors, already being used as its starting points. Other events to be included in the calculation will be the upcoming MCF blitz event happening this Sunday, and the Selangor XTiv Series 2021.

As the previous National Rating system was discontinued almost 4 years ago, the new rating system WILL NOT be a continuation of the previous rating points. Instead, players will start fresh based on their current FIDE Rating (Rapid, Blitz and Standard – in that order) if they have one, and from then on, their Malaysian Chess Rating Score will be tabulated moving forward. A few improvements has been made such as a dedicated ID number, minimum rating points of 1000 points (in order to be listed), and minimum active period of 2 years before the name is dropped from the list. The list will also omit foreign players but their FIDE rating will be used as part of the calculation for the National Rating.

The first official list is expected to be published around May or June 2021 with at least a reasonable pool of 500 players targeted to be included in the list. While the processing fees for an event to be National Rated has not yet been fixed, MCF agrees that it should be minimal and of a lesser quantum than previously practiced.

MCF hopes that the proposed Rating system will be more organized and efficient than the previous listing, and easier for the organizer to use, and players to appreciate. It is hoped that the new Rating system will be able to gauge the progress (and activeness) of local players who are not active in FIDE events – but are talented and promising, or those who find FIDE events a bit too expensive for their pocket. But more importantly, the Rating system will also be able to provide a local platform for new (and young) players to test their skills before deciding to take the bold move of jumping and competing in a FIDE rated event. By measuring their strength in local circuits, players would be ready for the more serious competition having a good understanding of their current strength and abilities before being thrown into the deep end of the pool.