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Kenneth Harkness (byname of Stanley Edgar;cite-ref-1[1]cite-ref-2[2] November 12, 1896 – October 4, 1972) was a chess organizer.cite-ref-0-3-0[3] He is the creator of the Harkness rating system.cite-ref-1-4-0[4]

• Life and career

• Rating system

• Bibliography

• See also

• References

He was born in Glasgow, Scotland.cite-ref-0-3-1[3] He was Business Manager of the United States Chess Federation from 1952 to 1959.cite-ref-0-3-2[3] He was also the editor of Chess Review, which merged into Chess Life.cite-ref-1-4-1[4]

He had lived in Boca Raton, Florida. He became an International Arbiter in 1972. He was a member of the FIDE Permanent Rules Commission.cite-ref-0-3-3[3]cite-ref-1-4-2[4]

Harkness was responsible for introducing Swiss system tournaments to the United States, and also introduced the Harkness rating system, which was a precursor to the Elo rating system.cite-ref-0-3-4[3] One method of tiebreaks in Swiss system tournaments is named after him.cite-ref-1-4-3[4]cite-ref-0-3-5[3] In the Harkness Method, players tied on points are ranked by the sum of their opponents' scores discarding the top score and the bottom score.cite-ref-1-4-4[4]cite-ref-0-3-6[3] For his services, Harkness is in the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.cite-ref-0-3-7[3]

With Irving Chernev, Harkness co-wrote An Invitation to Chess. He was responsible for a number of the first American chess rulebooks.cite-ref-1-4-5[4]

Harkness died on a train in Yugoslavia, on his way to Skopje to be an arbiter at the Chess Olympiad.cite-ref-1-4-6[4]cite-ref-0-3-8[3]

Harkness devised a rating system that was used by the US Chess Federation from 1950 to 1960. When a player competes in a tournament, the average rating of his competition is calculated. If the player scores 50% he receives the average competition rating as his performance rating. If he scores more than 50% his new rating is the competition average plus 10 points for each percentage point above 50. If he scores less than 50% his new rating is the competition average minus 10 points for each percentage point below 50.cite-ref-5[5]

• citerefharkness1956Harkness, Kenneth (1956), The Official Blue Book and Encyclopedia of Chess

• citerefharkness1967Harkness, Kenneth (1967), Official Chess Handbook, McKay

• citerefharkness1945Harkness, Kenneth (1945), An Invitation to Chess, McKay

• citerefharkness1970Harkness, Kenneth (1970), Official Chess Rulebook, McKay

• citerefharkness1950Harkness, Kenneth (1950), Invitation to Bridge, McKay

• Chess rating systems

cite-note-11. ↑ Chess Life, March 5, 1955, page 4

cite-note-22. ↑ "Shady Side: The Life and Crimes of Norman Tweed Whitaker, Chess Master", p. 232, ISBN 0-939433-57-5

cite-note-0-33. ↑ "Kenneth Harkness - chess organizer". gambiter.com. Retrieved October 15, 2024.

cite-note-1-44. ↑ "Kenneth Harkness". World Chess Hall of Fame. March 23, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2024.

cite-note-55. ↑ (Harkness 1967:185–88)