Introduction

DBM or "De Bellis Multitudinis" is the most popular set of "Ancients" wargame rules and is produced by Wargames Research Group (WRG). The DBM Glicko rating system (and supporting software) has been developed by David Young in Australia and has been used to rate Australian DBM players since 1999. Glicko ratings have been recorded for DBM players in Ireland since 2000. They were previously recorded under the name "Irish DBM Ratings" but have now been taken over by the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland Wargames Association (RINIWA). The RINIWA Ratings Administrator is Rob Brennan. Please contact him if you have any queries on the ratings. The final authority on issues pertaining to the RINIWA DBM Ratings is the RINIWA Committee. Glicko ratings have now started to be calculated for the USA/Canada by NASAMW and for Great Britian by the BHGS.

It is important to note that these ratings say very little about the relative ability of Irish, British, Portugese, US/Canadian, Italian and Australian DBM players as each group of players is only rated within their own pool.

The rating system uses the results of competition games of DBM to estimate an objective rating for each player. Basically it is an extension of the Glicko system used in internet chess which is itself a refinement of the Elo system used in international tabletop chess. See the section "DBM Glicko Ratings Explained" for more information on the DBM Glicko System and rating procedures for Ireland.

Current Ratings

The ratings data is split into a number of sections, below you will find the "Full Irish Ratings" which is in alphabetical order and summarises the effects of the most recent competitions to be rated. There are also a number of pages of supporting statistics:

• Top Rated Players in Ireland - This list is in ratings order and only contains players who have achieved reliability class "C" or greater. Especially as more data is gathered, this list is relatively static and represents a player's long-term (average) playing ability.

• Player of the Year Race - This list is a league table based on a player's best competition performances during a given calendar year. It has no reliability requirement so many more players are included.

• More Statistics - This page has a huge number of supporting statistics such as detailed stats for each player and army which has competed in Irish competitions.

Full RINIWA Ratings - at 13 April 2008 (post Celtic Championship 08)

The ratings below are based on the results of 101 tournaments.

The results of 1 new tournament have been included since the previously published ratings. This was Celtic Championship 08 in Belfast which involved 29 players .

The actual scores are the total 10 point game scores (or equivalent) for each player from this tournament. The right-most column shows the level in rating equivalent terms that each player performed at in these tournament.

There are now 69 players with published ratings and there have been 1,893 rated games.

Please note that ratings are rounded to the nearest 5 points.

Ratings are categorised for reliability from A to E with A being the most reliable. Those ratings with a reliability in categories D & especially E should be considered as indicative only. They may be subject to rapid changes as further results are received. Ratings with reliability in categories A & B are usually more stable being based on a longer playing history.

70 players have been excluded from publication because they have not played a rated game in the last 25 months.

Some players are shown with a provisional position between asterisks eg [*65*]. These players have ratings which are too unreliable or have not played recently enough to be fairly included in the Top Players list so do not have a true ranking. Their provisional ranking is shown in asterisks which is the position they would have in the Top Players list at their current rating if they were eligible. It is intended as a rough guide only, please remember that placing too much faith in these ratings and rankings is unwise. Players with a rating in reliability category D or better are eligibile for a provisional ranking (if they don't have a proper one).

The previous ratings were as at 10.3.2008 following Finn Mac Cool 08 in Dublin.

                                       At 13. 4.2008:   Last    No of  Rating  Actual  Rating
Name                   [Posn]  Country Rating Reliab.  Played   games  Change   Score Eq Perf

Alan, Cutner           [*1*]     GBR    2,415    D   13. 4.2008    14   -55    39/50    2,290 
Austin, Ian                      SCOT   2,170    E   13. 4.2008     5          31/50    2,155 
Aynsley, James         [23]      ROI    1,825    C   27. 1.2008    23                         
Aynsley, Mikey         [*25*]    ROI    1,770    D   27. 1.2008    13                         
Aynsley, Richard       [3]       ROI    2,205    A   13. 4.2008   143   +10    33/50    2,270 

Barrett, Edmond        [*21*]    ROI    1,875    C   26. 3.2006    49                         
Bergin, Tony           [24]      ROI    1,815    B   13. 4.2008    28   -25    18/50    1,710 
Birt, Darren           [4]       ROI    2,130    B    4.11.2007    97                         
Birt, Michael          [*25*]    ROI    1,770    D   29. 9.2007    13                         
Blanchflower, Neil               ROI    1,750    E   28. 2.2007     9                         

Bracken, Padraig       [19]      ROI    1,895    B    4.11.2007   106                         
Branagh, Keith                    NI    2,110    E   29. 9.2007     3                         
Brennan, Rob           [5]       ROI    2,125    A   13. 4.2008   151   -20    26/50    1,920 
Brittain, Stephen      [*8*]      NI    2,075    C   22.10.2006    26                         
Brown, David           [22]       NI    1,865    A   13. 4.2008   110   +25    24/40    2,155 

Bull, Brian            [11]       NI    2,025    A   13. 4.2008   134   0      26/50    2,010 
Cameron, Hugh          [*8*]     SCOT   2,080    D   13. 4.2008    15   +40    28/50    2,125 
Clifford, Dave                   ROI    1,510    E   29. 2.2008     8                         
Coghlan, Donal         [8]       ROI    2,070    A   13. 4.2008    94   +5     26/50    2,130 
Collins, Richard       [*1*]     GBR    2,360    D    4.11.2007    10                         

Coughlan, William      [16]      ROI    1,975    A   13. 4.2008   113   -5     24/50    1,930 
Curran, John           [*17*]    USA    1,965    D    4.11.2007    12                         
Cutner, David                    ENG    1,965    E   13. 4.2008     5          25/50    1,915 
Dick, George           [15]      SCOT   1,990    C   13. 4.2008    23   +35    27/50    2,055 
Dickinson, Charlie     [*8*]      NI    2,085    D   24. 6.2007    44                         

Dowd, Jeremy           [*27*]     NI    1,750    D   15. 6.2006    26                         
Essick, Larry                    USA    1,935    E   13. 4.2008     5          23/50    2,000 
Fairhurst, David       [*15*]    GBR    1,990    D    4.11.2007    10                         
Fairhurst, Lynda       [*24*]    GBR    1,820    D    4.11.2007    10                         
Gibson, Mark           [13]       NI    2,010    A   10. 3.2008    87                         

Greg, Mann             [*3*]     GBR    2,295    D    4.11.2007    14                         
Hart, Andy             [11]      ROI    2,025    B    4.11.2007    55                         
Hession, Michael       [7]       ROI    2,095    A   13. 4.2008   116   +10    28/50    2,165 
Hogg, Malcolm          [*18*]    SCOT   1,940    D   13. 4.2008    15   +85    25/50    2,055 
Houston, David         [2]        NI    2,300    A   13. 4.2008   117   +5     34/40    2,380 

Jackson, Lawrence                 NI    1,690    E   30. 9.2006     4                         
Keenan, Michael                  ROI    1,795    E    4. 8.2007     8                         
Kenny, Martin                    ROI    1,600    E   30. 9.2007     4                         
Lavery, John           [21]       NI    1,870    A   13. 4.2008   127   -15    14/40    1,670 
Lederer, David                   ROI    2,060    E   29. 2.2008     4                         

MacCormack, Neil       [*23*]    SCOT   1,845    D   13. 4.2008    10   -35    16/50    1,815 
Martin, Naylor         [*1*]     GBR    2,310    D    4.11.2007     9                         
McKenna, Seamus        [10]       NI    2,030    A   13. 4.2008   149   -10    25/50    1,900 
McTurk, Alec           [14]      ROI    1,995    B   13. 4.2008    99   +15    28/50    2,090 
Meehan, Rory           [25]      ROI    1,765    B   29. 2.2008    49                         

Merne, Cian            [*17*]    ROI    1,945    D   28. 2.2007    37                         
Michael, Gerwyn        [*13*]    WAL    2,015    D   30. 9.2006    14                         
Muir, John             [19]      SCOT   1,895    C   13. 4.2008    19   +60    26/50    1,975 
Murphy, Richard        [*17*]     NI    1,970    D   26. 3.2006    26                         
Noonan, Glen                     AUS    2,045    E   26. 3.2006     4                         

O'Callaghan, Derek     [*28*]    ROI    1,665    D   29. 2.2008    17                         
O'Keefe, Alan                    ROI    1,765    E   27. 1.2008     6                         
Puurula, Antti         [*25*]    ROI    1,795    D   13. 4.2008    10   -60    15/50    1,735 
Ronayne, Brian         [29]      ROI    1,555    B   13. 4.2008    53   +5     6/50     1,665 
Ruddock, Dave          [*3*]     GBR    2,260    D    4.11.2007     9                         

Sheeran, Tom           [25]       NI    1,765    C   13. 4.2008    51   -15    12/40    1,740 
Sherlock, Phil         [*17*]    ROI    1,950    C   20.10.2006    29                         
Simpson, Russell                 SCOT   2,080    E   13. 4.2008     5          26/50    2,065 
Snoddy, Tim            [17]       NI    1,945    B    4. 8.2007   107                         
Sousa, Fernando                  POR    2,010    E    4.11.2007     5                         

Tait, Dave                       CAN    1,825    E   25. 3.2007     2                         
Taylor, Daniel         [27]       NI    1,670    C   13. 4.2008    21   -85    3/50     1,350 
Taylor, David          [1]        NI    2,310    B   13. 4.2008   132   0      40/50    2,250 
van Embden, Jan        [9]       ROI    2,045    A   13. 4.2008   113   0      27/50    2,050 
Waldron, Phil          [28]      ROI    1,620    B   10. 3.2008    51                         

Walsh, Tony            [6]       ROI    2,115    B   10. 3.2008    91                         
Worden, Tom            [18]      ROI    1,930    C   13. 4.2008    20   0      25/40    1,940 
Young, Richard         [*9*]     GBR    2,065    D    4.11.2007    15                         

Ratings Links

To join the Irish Wargames Announcements mailing list send a blank email to: iwargames-subscribe@iworg.com. This is a low-volume (approx. 3 messages per month), moderated mailing list for announcing wargames events, lectures etc and getting in contact with other Irish wargamers. Join up now!

The RINIWA Homepage (The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland Wargames Association)

The Australian DBM Ratings Page (Australian ratings and more info on DBM Glicko rating system)

NASAMW US DBM Ratings (US and Canadian Glicko ratings)

The British Historical Games Society (UK DBM Glicko ratings and UK competition info)

Portugese Glicko Ratings

New Zealand Glicko Ratings

WEST Competition Pairing Software (Free software to run swiss chess wargames competitions)

IWorg.Com - The Irish Wargaming Homepage. (A central source for wargaming in Ireland)