# If I Draw Against Magnus Carlsen
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-draw-against-magnus-carlsen/963628
**Category:** The Game Room
**Tags:** board-card-word-game
**Created:** [April 28, 2022, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-draw-against-magnus-carlsen/963628 "2022-04-28T22:22:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2022, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-draw-against-magnus-carlsen/963628/1 "2022-04-28T22:22:32Z")
My ELO is 1000 on a good day. Magnus’ is, let’s say 2800. If by some miracle I play him to a draw, do both of our ELOs stay the same?
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### Author:  [@Kimble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimble)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2022, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-draw-against-magnus-carlsen/963628/2 "2022-04-28T22:31:49Z")
Assuming you’ve played 30 games, yours goes up 10 points and his falls 10 points. (If not, it would be 20 points each.)
> **[Elo Calculator | Elo Rating Calculator](https://www.omnicalculator.com/sports/elo?advanced=1&c=USD&v=game_type:1,opponent_type:1,k_factor:20,k_factor_VS:20,initial_rating:2800,opponent1:1000,score1:0.500000000000000)**
>
> Check this Elo Calculator to estimate a rating change after playing a game. You can choose between a game with a single opponent or multiple matches with different competitors.
[Here’s an explanation](https://ratings.fide.com/calculator_rtd.phtml) of what the K factor is. (The actual calculator part seems broken, though.)
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### Author:  [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2022, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-draw-against-magnus-carlsen/963628/3 "2022-04-29T01:20:52Z")
The Elo rating system sets a maximum difference limit of 400. [FIDE Rating Calculators](https://ratings.fide.com/calc.phtml?page=change)
So if you’re rated 1000, you get the same improvement (about 8.5 points) whether you draw with a 1400 or Magnus Carlsen.
(I once beat the German grandmaster Hubner when he was rated over 400 points more than me. Mind you he wasn’t very good at table-tennis. 😉 )
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### Author:  [@Kimble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimble)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2022, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-draw-against-magnus-carlsen/963628/4 "2022-04-29T03:50:57Z")
Sorry – ignore my post.
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### Author:  [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2022, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-draw-against-magnus-carlsen/963628/5 "2022-04-30T02:29:32Z")
Thank you for that last sentence; it reminded me of this xkcd.
> **[Magnus](https://xkcd.com/1628/)**
>
> In the latest round, 9-year-old Muhammad Ali beat 10-year-old JFK at air hockey, while Secretariat lost the hot-dog-eating crown to 12-year-old Ken Jennings. Meanwhile, in a huge upset, 11-year-old Martha Stewart knocked out the adult Ronda Rousey.
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### Author:  [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2022, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-draw-against-magnus-carlsen/963628/6 "2022-04-30T12:00:36Z")
There is a game that does something similar:
> **[Who Would Win](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/44614/who-would-win)**
>
> In Who Would Win? two players each draw one character card, then turn up an event card. Each player then has 20 seconds to argue why his character would win whatever event is presented. Why would Albert Einstein beat Darth Vader in a gardening...
Brian