Playing in chess tournaments is the holy grail of all chess enthusiasts. It is only through these events that a player can measure his progress and strive to improve upon the areas that he is relatively weak in. FIDE, the governing body of chess awards an official rating to players who participate in FIDE authorized tournaments. Strictly speaking a rating number is not necessarily the best indicator of a player’s skill, but it does represent a generally accepted yardstick to gauge a player’s current chess playing ability.
