--- title: "Is a 1500 chess rating good?" url: "https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1500.md" canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1500" last_updated: "2026-11-07" type: "reference" summary: "A 1500 Lichess blitz rating is higher than 46.8% of active players. See the percentile in blitz, rapid and bullet on 1 September 2026." related: ["https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/blitz.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/rapid.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/bullet.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/classical.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1300.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1400.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1600.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1700.md"] --- # Is a 1500 chess rating good? > **For AI agents:** the complete index of GeorgeLiChess pages is [llms.txt](https://georgelichess.com/llms.txt). Every page is also served as markdown at its URL plus .md. A 1500 Lichess blitz rating is higher than 46.8% of active players. See the percentile in blitz, rapid and bullet on 1 September 2026. A 1500 rating is higher than 46.8% of active Lichess blitz players, 55.3% of rapid players and 38.1% of bullet players, measured on 1 September 2026. The median blitz rating is about 1530. Lichess ratings are a separate scale from FIDE and chess.com ratings. ## Is a 1500 rating good in blitz, rapid and bullet? In blitz a 1500 rating sits close to the middle: it is higher than 46.8% of the 345,715 active blitz players, and 53.2% are rated 1500 or higher. The same number ranks differently in each time control because each one has its own pool of players. A 1500 rating ranks highest in rapid (55.3%) and lowest in bullet (38.1%). **Where a 1500 rating ranks among active Lichess players on 1 September 2026.** | Time control | Higher than | Rated 1500 or higher | Median rating | Active players | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Blitz | 46.8% | 53.2% | 1530 | 345,715 | | Rapid | 55.3% | 44.7% | 1445 | 201,221 | | Bullet | 38.1% | 61.9% | 1640 | 169,583 | | Classical | 42.2% | 57.8% | 1560 | 12,241 | ## How far is 1500 from the top 25, 10 and 1 percent? The top 25 percent of blitz players start at about 1795, the top 10 percent at about 2010 and the top 1 percent at about 2375. From 1500 that is 295 points up, 510 points up and 875 points up. **Points from a 1500 rating to each position, by time control, 1 September 2026.** | Position | Blitz | Rapid | Bullet | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Top 25% | 1795 (295 points up) | 1705 (205 points up) | 1945 (445 points up) | | Top 10% | 2010 (510 points up) | 1910 (410 points up) | 2200 (700 points up) | | Top 5% | 2135 (635 points up) | 2025 (525 points up) | 2345 (845 points up) | | Top 1% | 2375 (875 points up) | 2240 (740 points up) | 2625 (1125 points up) | ## How many Lichess players are rated 1500 or higher? On 1 September 2026, 183,987 blitz accounts, 90,012 rapid accounts and 104,991 bullet accounts were rated 1500 or higher. In the 1500 to 1599 band alone there were 34,493 blitz accounts, 10.0% of the blitz total. ## What do the ratings around 1500 look like? Between 1400 and 1600 the share of blitz players a rating is higher than runs from 37.3% to 56.8%. The ladder below shows 1200 to 1800 in the three largest time controls. **Share of active players a rating is higher than, 1 September 2026.** | Rating | Higher than, blitz | Higher than, rapid | Higher than, bullet | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1200 | 20.5% | 27.4% | 16.5% | | 1300 | 28.5% | 36.3% | 23.1% | | 1400 | 37.3% | 45.7% | 30.3% | | 1500 | 46.8% | 55.3% | 38.1% | | 1600 | 56.8% | 65.2% | 46.4% | | 1700 | 66.4% | 74.5% | 55.0% | | 1800 | 75.4% | 82.8% | 63.4% | ## How can a player rated 1500 improve? In this range the games that decide a rating are often won by the player who makes fewer mistakes under time pressure, so tactics, a small reliable opening repertoire and basic endgames carry the most. Review your losses to players near your own rating and ask which pattern keeps returning. A first lesson with George Li starts from your own games and ends with a written study plan. ## How were these percentiles measured? Accounts that played a rated game on 1 September 2026, counted once per time control at the rating after their last game, bots left out. The hub page explains the method in full. ## Frequently asked questions **What percent of chess players are rated 1500 or higher?** On 1 September 2026, 53.2% of active Lichess blitz players, 44.7% of rapid players and 61.9% of bullet players were rated 1500 or higher. These are Lichess players only, not all chess players. **Is 1500 a good rating for a beginner?** Lichess starts every new account at 1500 in each category (Lichess FAQ, read 2026-10-20), so 1500 is at the starting rating. In blitz it is higher than 46.8% of active players, which is a better guide than the number alone. **Is a 1500 Lichess rating the same as 1500 on chess.com or in FIDE ratings?** No. Lichess says its ratings cannot be compared with those of other sites or organizations, so this site publishes no conversion. ## Sources - [Lichess open database, standard rated games (CC0), file for September 2026](https://database.lichess.org/), read 2026-10-22 - [Lichess FAQ](https://lichess.org/faq), read 2026-10-20 - [Lichess: Chess rating systems](https://lichess.org/page/rating-systems), read 2026-10-20 ## Related - [Is a 1200 chess rating good?](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1200.md) - [Is a 1300 chess rating good?](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1300.md) - [Is a 1400 chess rating good?](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1400.md) - [Is a 1600 chess rating good?](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1600.md) - [Is a 1700 chess rating good?](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1700.md) - [Is a 1800 chess rating good?](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1800.md) - [Lichess blitz rating distribution](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/blitz.md) - [Lichess rapid rating distribution](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/rapid.md) - [Lichess bullet rating distribution](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/bullet.md) - [Lichess classical rating distribution](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/classical.md) - [Average chess rating and a good chess rating](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles.md) - [Chess ratings explained](https://georgelichess.com/chess-ratings-explained.md) - [How to get a FIDE rating](https://georgelichess.com/how-to-get-a-fide-rating.md) - [Book your first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book/first-lesson.md) Last updated 2026-10-22. ## Related - [Average chess rating and a good chess rating](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles.md) - [Lichess blitz rating distribution](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/blitz.md) - [Lichess rapid rating distribution](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/rapid.md) - [Lichess bullet rating distribution](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/bullet.md) - [Lichess classical rating distribution](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/classical.md) - [Is a 1300 chess rating good?](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1300.md) - [Is a 1400 chess rating good?](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1400.md) - [Is a 1600 chess rating good?](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1600.md) - [Is a 1700 chess rating good?](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1700.md)