Answers.Body: <blockquote>
    <p>but what is this strange mathematics mean: +8 −11 =19?</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>This is not mathematical notation. The three symbols are not there so you can add or subtract numbers. They mean the following: </p>
  
  <ul>
  <li><code>+</code> is the number of victories; </li>
  <li><code>-</code> is the number of defeats; </li>
  <li><code>=</code> is the number of draws player achieved against an opponent; </li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>So in the following example:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>Gligorić had the following record against the world champions he played against: Max Euwe +2 -0 =5</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>Gligoric had 2 victories, no defeats and five draws against Max Euwe. </p>
  
  <p>Against Fisher he had +4 -7 =8, meaning he won 4 games against him, lost 7 and drew 8.</p>
  
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Answers.Text: why cw? seems very unnecessarily humble of you
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Body: <p>I can not understand what the following numbers mean:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>Gligorić had the following record against the world champions he
    played against: Max Euwe +2 -0 =5, Mikhail Botvinnik +2 −2 =6, Vasily
    Smyslov +6 −8 =28, Tigran Petrosian +8 −11 =19, Mikhail Tal +2 −10
    =22, Boris Spassky +0 −6 =16, Bobby Fischer +4 −7 =8, Anatoly Karpov +0 −4 =6 and Garry Kasparov +0 −3 =0.</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>I took them from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetozar_Gligori%C4%87#Lifetime_scores_against_world_champions">here</a>. I do understand that it tracks statistics against a particular opponent in all games, but what is this strange mathematics mean: <strong>+8 −11 =19</strong>?</p>
  
Tags: <history><world-championship>
Title: How to interpret lifetime score
ThreadText: # How to interpret lifetime score
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2014-08-10)
  
  I can not understand what the following numbers mean:
  
  > Gligorić had the following record against the world champions he
  > played against: Max Euwe +2 -0 =5, Mikhail Botvinnik +2 −2 =6, Vasily
  > Smyslov +6 −8 =28, Tigran Petrosian +8 −11 =19, Mikhail Tal +2 −10
  > =22, Boris Spassky +0 −6 =16, Bobby Fischer +4 −7 =8, Anatoly Karpov +0 −4 =6 and Garry Kasparov +0 −3 =0.
  
  I took them from [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetozar_Gligori%C4%87#Lifetime_scores_against_world_champions). I do understand that it tracks statistics against a particular opponent in all games, but what is this strange mathematics mean: **+8 −11 =19**?
  
  **Tags:** history, world-championship
  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2014-08-10. Score: 6 | Accepted answer
  
  > but what is this strange mathematics mean: +8 −11 =19?
  
  This is not mathematical notation. The three symbols are not there so you can add or subtract numbers. They mean the following:
  
  * `+` is the number of victories;
  * `-` is the number of defeats;
  * `=` is the number of draws player achieved against an opponent;
  
  So in the following example:
  
  > Gligorić had the following record against the world champions he played against: Max Euwe +2 -0 =5
  
  Gligoric had 2 victories, no defeats and five draws against Max Euwe.
  
  Against Fisher he had +4 -7 =8, meaning he won 4 games against him, lost 7 and drew 8.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_2**: why cw? seems very unnecessarily humble of you  
  
  ---
  
  