---
title: "Lichess classical rating distribution"
url: "https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/classical.md"
canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/classical"
last_updated: "2026-11-07"
type: "reference"
summary: "The Lichess classical rating distribution: the median is about 1560. Percentiles and rating bands for 12,241 players 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/tools/time-control-calculator.md"]
---

# Lichess classical rating distribution

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The Lichess classical rating distribution: the median is about 1560. Percentiles and rating bands for 12,241 players on 1 September 2026.

On 1 September 2026, 12,241 accounts played a rated classical game on Lichess. Half were rated below about 1560, a quarter below about 1335 and a quarter above about 1755. About 1925 reaches the top 10 percent and about 2215 the top 1 percent.

## What does a classical rating rank among Lichess players?

The table reads each rating as a position. A player rated 1800 in classical, for example, is higher than 79.6% of the active players in that time control, and 20.4% are rated 1800 or higher.

**Lichess classical ratings and the share of active players below and at or above them, 1 September 2026.**

| Rating | Higher than | Rated this or higher | Players this or higher |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 600 | 0.1% | 99.9% | 12,234 |
| 700 | 0.2% | 99.8% | 12,214 |
| 800 | 0.6% | 99.4% | 12,173 |
| 900 | 1.6% | 98.4% | 12,045 |
| 1000 | 3.8% | 96.2% | 11,779 |
| 1100 | 7.5% | 92.5% | 11,318 |
| 1200 | 13.6% | 86.4% | 10,581 |
| 1300 | 22.0% | 78.0% | 9,554 |
| 1400 | 31.3% | 68.7% | 8,406 |
| 1500 | 42.2% | 57.8% | 7,072 |
| 1600 | 55.5% | 44.5% | 5,448 |
| 1700 | 68.0% | 32.0% | 3,916 |
| 1800 | 79.6% | 20.4% | 2,493 |
| 1900 | 88.6% | 11.4% | 1,395 |
| 2000 | 94.0% | 6.0% | 738 |
| 2100 | 97.3% | 2.7% | 335 |
| 2200 | 98.8% | 1.2% | 145 |
| 2300 | 99.6% | 0.4% | 51 |

## What rating is the top 1, 5 and 10 percent in classical?

Reaching the top 10 percent of active classical players takes a rating of about 1925, the top 5 percent about 2025 and the top 1 percent about 2215. The thresholds are read from the counts of players in each 25-point step and rounded to the nearest 5.

**Rating at which a given share of active players sit below, by time control, 1 September 2026. Ratings are rounded to the nearest 5.**

| Position | Blitz | Rapid | Bullet | Classical |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Median (top 50%) | 1530 | 1445 | 1640 | 1560 |
| Top 25% | 1795 | 1705 | 1945 | 1755 |
| Top 10% | 2010 | 1910 | 2200 | 1925 |
| Top 5% | 2135 | 2025 | 2345 | 2025 |
| Top 1% | 2375 | 2240 | 2625 | 2215 |

## Which rating band holds the most classical players?

The busiest 100-point band in classical is 1500 to 1599, with 13.3% of the players. Lichess starts every new account at 1500, so newcomers whose rating is still settling add to the crowd near that number.

**Share of active classical players in each 100-point band, 1 September 2026.**

| Rating band | Share of players |
| --- | --- |
| under 600 | 0.1% |
| 600 to 699 | 0.2% |
| 700 to 799 | 0.3% |
| 800 to 899 | 1.0% |
| 900 to 999 | 2.2% |
| 1000 to 1099 | 3.8% |
| 1100 to 1199 | 6.0% |
| 1200 to 1299 | 8.4% |
| 1300 to 1399 | 9.4% |
| 1400 to 1499 | 10.9% |
| 1500 to 1599 | 13.3% |
| 1600 to 1699 | 12.5% |
| 1700 to 1799 | 11.6% |
| 1800 to 1899 | 9.0% |
| 1900 to 1999 | 5.4% |
| 2000 to 2099 | 3.3% |
| 2100 to 2199 | 1.6% |
| 2200 to 2299 | 0.8% |
| 2300 to 2399 | 0.3% |
| 2400 and above | 0.1% |

## How does classical compare with blitz, rapid and bullet?

Each time control has its own pool of players and its own rating, so the same number means a different rank. The median is about 1560 in classical, compared with 1530 in blitz, 1445 in rapid, 1640 in bullet.

Pick a rating on the percentile pages to see how it ranks in all four. For what a time control counts as on Lichess and under FIDE rules, use the time control calculator.

## 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 is a good Lichess classical rating?**

That depends on the comparison you want. A rating of about 1560 is the middle of active classical players, about 1755 is the top quarter and about 1925 is the top 10 percent, measured on 1 September 2026.

**What is the average Lichess classical rating?**

The median, the rating with half the active players below it, was about 1560 on 1 September 2026. The mean differs a little because the distribution is not symmetric, so this page uses the median.

**Are these ratings the same as FIDE or chess.com ratings?**

No. Lichess ratings are their own scale, and Lichess says they cannot be compared with ratings from other sites or organizations. 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

- [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)
- [Is a 1000 chess rating good?](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1000.md)
- [Is a 1200 chess rating good?](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1200.md)
- [Is a 1500 chess rating good?](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1500.md)
- [Is a 1800 chess rating good?](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/1800.md)
- [Is a 2000 chess rating good?](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles/2000.md)
- [Average chess rating and a good chess rating](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles.md)
- [Chess time control calculator](https://georgelichess.com/tools/time-control-calculator.md)
- [Chess ratings explained](https://georgelichess.com/chess-ratings-explained.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)
- [Chess time control calculator](https://georgelichess.com/tools/time-control-calculator.md)