Aggregating Elo Ratings: An Axiomatization
TLDR
This paper axiomatizes how to combine multiple Elo ratings into a single scalar rating using a unique weighted strength averaging rule.
Key contributions
- Axiomatizes the aggregation of multiple Elo ratings into a single, unified Elo score.
- Introduces three conditions: same-scale normalization, recursive, and marginal Elo-strength consistency.
- Derives a unique rule: convert ratings to Elo strength, average strengths, then convert back.
- Illustrates the rule with chess ratings and compares it to alternative aggregation methods.
Why it matters
Many real-world systems use multiple Elo ratings for the same entity. This paper provides a theoretically sound and unique method for aggregating these ratings. It offers a principled way to derive a single, representative skill score, which is crucial for fair comparisons and system design.
Original Abstract
Many environments assign several Elo ratings to the same agent: a chess player has classical, rapid, and blitz ratings; an online platform may rate by time control, mode, or format; an evaluator may rate performance across tasks or roles. This paper axiomatizes when such a vector of ratings can be reduced to a single scalar rating that is itself on the Elo scale. We impose three substantive conditions: same-scale normalization (a uniform profile keeps its rating), recursive consistency (aggregating in blocks gives the same answer as aggregating directly, provided each block carries the total weight of its members), and marginal Elo-strength consistency (for two equally weighted coordinates, the ratio of marginal contributions to the combined rating equals the ordinary Elo odds). The unique rating rule satisfying these conditions converts each component to its Elo strength, takes a weighted arithmetic mean of strengths, and converts back. We show how this rule differs from a random-format lottery and from rating-scale averaging, prove the axioms are independent, and illustrate the rule on combining classical, rapid, and blitz ratings.
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