Technology Shocks, Relative Performance Measures, and Outcomes: Evidence from Classical Chess (opens in new tab)

In the fall of 2020, neural-network methods produced a large improvement in chess engines that became freely and widely available. By the end of 2021, the monthly draw rate in classical chess had risen by about four percentage points, but the distribution of player ratings, which are commonly read as measures of playing strength, had changed little. Ratings, however, are a relative measure, built from results against other rated players rather t...