Answers.Body: <p>Running queries against rating data downloaded from the <a href="https://ratings.fide.com/download.phtml" rel="nofollow noreferrer">FIDE rating data download page</a> gives the following average standard, rapid and blitz ratings for players with the GM title over 50 and under 50:</p>
  <p>50+ Std=2441 Rpd=2428 Blz=2412<br />
  U50 Std=2532 Rpd=2521 Blz=2515</p>
  <p>Surprisingly that looks like no real difference to me.</p>
  <p>GMs over 50 are understandably, on average, weaker than GMs under 50 but both sets are fractionally better at standard than rapid and fractionally better at rapid than blitz.</p>
  <p>I tried checking for U30's and got:</p>
  <p>U30 Std=2575 Rpd=2535 Blz=2538</p>
  
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Answers.CreationDate: 2021-12-30T21:59:42.580Z
Answers.Text: I assume these are the average ratings for December 2021, right?
Answers.UserDisplayName: hb20007
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Answers.Text: @hb20007 You are right that it is easy for me to limit the search for players above a particular rating. You need to specify what you are looking for more clearly in your question, not least because some people are trying to close the question.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Brian Towers
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Answers.CreationDate: 2021-12-31T08:50:28.570Z
Answers.Text: Based on the U30 results, it could be that the youngest GMs are better at Blitz compared to the other ages, but that would require analysis of ratings from different months to confirm. Also, GMs who are U30 grew up with the internet and likely play a lot more Blitz chess, so age by itself is not the only factor.
Answers.UserDisplayName: hb20007
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Answers.CreationDate: 2021-12-31T14:25:41.937Z
Answers.Text: this analysis would be more compelling if most all GMs played age 50+.  Perhaps only the ones who stay strong keep playing.  Ideally this would be longitudinal so we can track individuals over time.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Michael West
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Answers.Text: @MichaelWest Indeed, that's a drawback of this method.
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Answers.UserDisplayName: Brian Towers
Body: <p>As GMs age beyond their prime, their ratings will likely drop in Classical, Rapid and Blitz chess.</p>
  <p>If we compare the mean Elo ratings of older and younger GMs across all 3 time controls, does it show the same decrease or are certain time controls affected more?</p>
  <p>(I am asking specifically about GMs because I believe that age would be a limiting factor only in the highest levels of play.)</p>
  <hr />
  <p>This question was inspired by the following amazing achievements:</p>
  <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070104211554/http://www.fide.com/ratings/toparc.phtml?cod=105" rel="nofollow noreferrer">In January 2007, Viktor Korchnoi was ranked #85 in the world</a> at <strong>Classical</strong> chess, at age 75.</p>
  <p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Rapid_Chess_Championship_2021#Open_tournament_results" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Boris Gelfand achieved 22nd place</a> in the World <strong>Rapid</strong> Chess Championship 2021, at age 53.</p>
  <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSHm2didVVM" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Anatoly Karpov nearly defeated Spanish IM/GM Rey Enigma</a> at <strong>Blitz</strong> chess in 2021, at age 70.</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-12-30T18:46:08.743Z
Comments.Text: I do not believe this question should be closed for being "opinion-based." With the right analysis on the three OTB ratings since 2012, I'm sure one could provide a factual answer to this question based on top players' peak ratings and decline over time.
Comments.UserDisplayName: NoseKnowsAll
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-12-30T19:11:09.377Z
Comments.Text: Related (but different) question - https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/24897/how-do-age-and-initial-rating-correlate-to-decline-in-playing-strength-with-age
Comments.UserDisplayName: Brian Towers
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-12-30T22:19:44.620Z
Comments.Text: CSV dataset with FIDE ratings: https://www.kaggle.com/rohanrao/chess-fide-ratings
Comments.UserDisplayName: hb20007
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2022-01-04T09:46:02.527Z
Comments.Text: Question is fine , non-opinionated. Correct analysis can be performed if sufficient datasets exist. In which an average rate of decline could be calculated.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Dheebs
Tags: <rating><fide><statistics><time-control>
Title: As GMs get older, does their age affect their Classical, Rapid and Blitz ratings equally?
ThreadText: # As GMs get older, does their age affect their Classical, Rapid and Blitz ratings equally?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2021-12-30)
  
  As GMs age beyond their prime, their ratings will likely drop in Classical, Rapid and Blitz chess.
  
  If we compare the mean Elo ratings of older and younger GMs across all 3 time controls, does it show the same decrease or are certain time controls affected more?
  
  (I am asking specifically about GMs because I believe that age would be a limiting factor only in the highest levels of play.)
  
  ---
  
  This question was inspired by the following amazing achievements:
  
  [In January 2007, Viktor Korchnoi was ranked #85 in the world](https://web.archive.org/web/20070104211554/http://www.fide.com/ratings/toparc.phtml?cod=105) at **Classical** chess, at age 75.
  
  [Boris Gelfand achieved 22nd place](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Rapid_Chess_Championship_2021#Open_tournament_results) in the World **Rapid** Chess Championship 2021, at age 53.
  
  [Anatoly Karpov nearly defeated Spanish IM/GM Rey Enigma](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSHm2didVVM) at **Blitz** chess in 2021, at age 70.
  
  **Tags:** rating, fide, statistics, time-control
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: I do not believe this question should be closed for being "opinion-based." With the right analysis on the three OTB ratings since 2012, I'm sure one could provide a factual answer to this question based on top players' peak ratings and decline over time.  
  > **username_2**: Related (but different) question - https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/24897/how-do-age-and-initial-rating-correlate-to-decline-in-playing-strength-with-age  
  > **username_0**: CSV dataset with FIDE ratings: https://www.kaggle.com/rohanrao/chess-fide-ratings  
  > **username_3**: Question is fine , non-opinionated. Correct analysis can be performed if sufficient datasets exist. In which an average rate of decline could be calculated.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2021-12-30. Score: 2 | Accepted answer
  
  Running queries against rating data downloaded from the [FIDE rating data download page](https://ratings.fide.com/download.phtml) gives the following average standard, rapid and blitz ratings for players with the GM title over 50 and under 50:
  
  50+ Std=2441 Rpd=2428 Blz=2412  
  U50 Std=2532 Rpd=2521 Blz=2515
  
  Surprisingly that looks like no real difference to me.
  
  GMs over 50 are understandably, on average, weaker than GMs under 50 but both sets are fractionally better at standard than rapid and fractionally better at rapid than blitz.
  
  I tried checking for U30's and got:
  
  U30 Std=2575 Rpd=2535 Blz=2538
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: I assume these are the average ratings for December 2021, right?  
  > **username_2**: @username_0 You are right that it is easy for me to limit the search for players above a particular rating. You need to specify what you are looking for more clearly in your question, not least because some people are trying to close the question.  
  > **username_0**: Based on the U30 results, it could be that the youngest GMs are better at Blitz compared to the other ages, but that would require analysis of ratings from different months to confirm. Also, GMs who are U30 grew up with the internet and likely play a lot more Blitz chess, so age by itself is not the only factor.  
  > **username_4**: this analysis would be more compelling if most all GMs played age 50+.  Perhaps only the ones who stay strong keep playing.  Ideally this would be longitudinal so we can track individuals over time.  
  > **username_0**: @MichaelWest Indeed, that's a drawback of this method.  
  
  ---
  
  