I think Fred's explanation applies to BBO's "World Class" designation...I sometimes list myself as an expert because I am not world class but I feel I am better than most other players (not all would agree of course and some days I'm not as good as a beginner)! On other bridge sites I list myself as Advanced because their expert designation would be equivalent to BBO's World Class according to the posted standards. So, until the day comes when BBO designates World Class players at its own whim (all the star players should be world class) I will designate myself one level below that because that's where I feel where I usually belong. I've won a lot of tournaments, amassed a large number of points and studied the game to a great extent for close to 40 years. I used to play semi professionally in my younger days (meaning people paid me to be their partner) but I was a much better player when I was younger (senility affecting me these days I think). But. not being too easy on myself here, I did not bump myself into "expert" until I was convinced that I played at least as well as most of the people who had designated themselves as such. Do I feel they are all experts too? I think most everyone who has designated themselves as such play at least competently most of the time, whereas a lot of people who have "Advanced" designations i feel are at best intermediate after playing with them (and there are at least five people who list themselves as advanced who are close to world class). So, in a sense, I only find the expert and world class designations useful on BBO... the range of people listing themselves as "Advanced" varies greatly and you never know what you are getting. I'll take my chances on someone with "Expert" on their profile and expect (and usually get) competent anyway.
