USCF Algorithm

I've noticed that most kids registering with USCF nowadays have 8 digit IDs beginning with a 3, and that they generally increment so that you can approximate when they registered just by their ID. That makes sense to me, as back when I registered in 1996 I got an 8 digit ID beginning with a 1.

However, I do still occasionally see kids with IDs beginning with a 1, despite clearly being born comfortably on this side of the millennium (usually a 15 or 17 I believe, whereas I was a 12 back in 96).

I'm wondering if and what such an ID is indicative of (method of registration? nationality? ...). There doesn't seem to be any explanation I can find in the USCF material.

(Curious as my 6 year old son has been getting in to over-the-board tournaments and I'll occasionally see such an ID that just sticks out at me).

maybe the outliers are when someone doesn't renew their membership for a certain amount of time?

I turned 18 recently, my USCF ID starts with "14", so I may be one of those kids you are talking about =)

A lot of people who started chess around the same time as I did (2011) also have IDs beginning with "14". I think it's stranger that there are so many people playing chess now that their IDs begin with 3!

I joined when I was 14-15 in the mid 80s and mine starts with 12

it's method i think/from what i've seen.  when i've set up people via my affiliate their id has started with a 3 instead of with a 1.

Yeah, the older of the audience starts with a 1 usually. Are there any people starting with 2?

And I have seen lots more three's then anything else, even some teenagers. 

I got my membership in 2017 and mine is 16, I don't know why so many have 3 now. It seems like they skipped 2.

I think there are twos

I registered in 2020 and my number started with a 1. The 3s seemed to start sometime after that, and if memory serves there was a system upgrade on the member database summer 2020.

So I guess the sub-3s are possibly registrations before summer 2020. I'll say I've never seen a 2 either.

The answer is clearly seen on the US Chess Top 100 lists. The kids on the 7 & under list mostly have IDs with 3xxxxxxx. Once you get up to age 10, most are 16xxxxxx. If you look at age 14, then you see 15xxxxxx. By age 18, they're down to 14xxxxxx.

In other words, members who first joined within the last two years have ID numbers that begin with 3. Those who registered before Covid start with 1. I never saw anyone leading off with 2.

Not all people registering these days are kids. I'm in my 50s and my registration begins with a 3.

It's when you got ur membership yeah

The real question is what happened to 2? Because I've never seen anyone whose id starts with 2 and it seems weird to just skip 2 entirely.

Interestingly enough, I am seeing some people with a USCF ID beginning with a 2 (including 1 in the top 100), although their registrations all seem to be from the late 80s.

My Id  starts with 3

flash I'm 8

π=3.14159295358979323846

Indeed there is one guy near the bottom of the Top 100 Overall who began playing chess in 1991. His USCF ID is 20058682. Searching other adult ranking lists (senior 50, senior 65, woman, blitz, quick, three online lists), I found just one more person near the bottom of the Blitz rankings: 21004359. This player began playing tournaments in 2002.

Obviously these ID numbers are rare.

Apparently the 2xxxxxxx USCF ID numbers are from the JTP membership program in the late 80s to mid 90s. Some of those pre-numbered green membership forms were submitted up to a decade later, explaining isolated new members. (HT Hal Terrie, Alex Reylea and Mike Nolan)

Easily the most famous such members are IM Greg Shahade and WGM Jennifer Shahade. Other titled players include GM Daniel Fernandez and IM Marc Esserman.