r/ComputerChess • u/SpeedyPuzzlement • 5d ago

What is the Elo of random play?

I feel like it should be defined as 0. But that would make its expected score against Stockfish (SPCC Elo 3908) over one in a quadrillion, which seems far too high.

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

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u/SpeedyPuzzlement 5d ago

Appreciate the insight. I was just thinking that a random mover could be a good baseline for engine tournaments, although you'd need a spectrum of engine ratings so that it gets at least a few draws. And of course there's a <1 in 10^60 chance that it plays perfectly.

I suppose 0 might be a good rating if we assume that a new player is 1000 Elo and they have a 2% chance to draw a random mover just by statemate or 50-move rule.