Actually, the argument could be turned around. A 5 kyu player can give a 9 kyu player a 4 stone handicap and still have a good chance of winning. A 9 dan, offering a 4 stone handicap to a 5 dan, will be crushed.
By this metric, the distance between levels becomes smaller at the higher levels of skill.
It is unclear whether odds of winning, log odds of winning, number of handicap stones required to equalize odds of winning, or number of komi points required to equalize odds of winning ought to be the metric of relative skill.
By this metric, the distance between levels becomes smaller at the higher levels of skill.
Probably not by very much. One of the main motivations behind the grading system is to allow people of different grades to easily calculate the handicap needed to produce a fair game—e.g. see here:
Skill in the traditional board game Go is measured by a number of different national, regional and online ranking and rating systems. Traditionally, go rankings have been measured using a system of dan and kyu ranks. Especially in amateur play, these ranks facilitate the handicapping system, with a difference of one rank roughly corresponding to one free move at the beginning of the game.
You may be right that the system is flawed—but I don’t think it is hugely flawed.
The difference is between amateur and professional ratings. Amateur dan ratings, just like kyu ratings, are designed so that a difference of n ranks corresponds to suitability of a n-stone handicap, but pro dan ratings are more bunched together.
Actually, the argument could be turned around. A 5 kyu player can give a 9 kyu player a 4 stone handicap and still have a good chance of winning. A 9 dan, offering a 4 stone handicap to a 5 dan, will be crushed.
By this metric, the distance between levels becomes smaller at the higher levels of skill.
It is unclear whether odds of winning, log odds of winning, number of handicap stones required to equalize odds of winning, or number of komi points required to equalize odds of winning ought to be the metric of relative skill.
Probably not by very much. One of the main motivations behind the grading system is to allow people of different grades to easily calculate the handicap needed to produce a fair game—e.g. see here:
You may be right that the system is flawed—but I don’t think it is hugely flawed.
The difference is between amateur and professional ratings. Amateur dan ratings, just like kyu ratings, are designed so that a difference of n ranks corresponds to suitability of a n-stone handicap, but pro dan ratings are more bunched together.
See Wikipedia:Go pro.