Access to LG data?

Is it possible, in an automated way, to determine a player's maximum attained rank for a specific game? A player's rank at some fixed date? For a non-automated solution, one could of course look at the rating charts. What I'm looking for is a way to access the data that goes into making the rating charts.

Only if you were sufficiently technical and determined enough to automate the examination of the graphs. Also, to avoid confusion, it would be better to use the word "ranking" only a players place in the list of highest rated players and to use the word "rating" for their ratings.

Thanks for the quick response.

Yes, I meant rating, not rank.

When you say "Only if...", do you mean that you know authoritatively that there is no way to access this information (perhaps because you are well connected with the LG server administrators), or do you mean merely that you are not aware of a way to do so.

I'm interested in compiling statistics on games between strong players, but frequently a player's current rating is not a good indication of their true strength. For example, they may have stopped visiting LG and forfeited all their recent games.

We need to lobby Richard for a new, better web API.

It should still return text as a response to a query, but you should be able to query by game type, outcome or status, range of game numbers, range of dates, tournament, player ID, player rating, and get back text that includes game numbers, player IDs, ratings, exact outcome (currently the text does not distinguish between forfeit and in-progress), etc.

I also want a hook into LG authentication (Open ID?) so that you don't have to sign up separately for Commentator. All of this would lead to improvements in Commentator, and possibly lead to other 3rd party LG spin-offs. I would love to see some of the stats that people would come up with, if only there were a powerful enough API...

I have no inside knowledge. I think I have a fair sense of what the site does and does not do, but I could state it with authority.

Someone (active here on LG) has done intense analysis of statistics

on Ewn players.

Ingo.