FIDE rating

FIDE keeps an official rating list that is updated on the first day of every month. In general a game is rated only if it follows the Laws of Chess, meets the minimum thinking time in the regulations, and is part of a tournament that was registered through the national federation. A new player gets a published rating once they have played at least five games against rated opponents, and results from tournaments in consecutive rating periods of up to twenty-six months can be pooled to reach that number. The first rating must be at least 1400, and a player whose rating drops below 1400 is shown as unrated on the next list. A player counts as inactive after a year without a rated game and returns to active status after one rated game. The list shows the title, federation, rating, identification number and the current K value. FIDE also keeps separate ratings for rapid and blitz under its own regulations. Titles use the standard rating, since the Title Regulations define the word rating that way. A FIDE rating is not the same number as a national rating or an online rating, so do not mix them in comparisons.

It sits close to FIDE. FIDE, the Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation, is the international body that publishes the Laws of Chess, keeps the rating lists and awards titles, working through its member national federations.

A neighboring idea is Blitz rating. A blitz rating is a rating earned in blitz games, kept on a separate list from standard and rapid ratings, because fast play measures a different skill.

Also worth reading is Rapid rating. A rapid rating is a rating earned in rapid games, kept apart from the standard rating, so the same player can hold different numbers for slow, rapid and blitz chess.

Rating and title terms like "FIDE rating" matter once you know your next step, and the improvement plans by rating band set out a weekly routine for each rating range.

Related terms

• Elo rating

  An Elo rating is a number that estimates playing strength from results: the gap between two ratings predicts the expected score, and wins and losses move each player's rating up or down.

• FIDE

  FIDE, the Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation, is the international body that publishes the Laws of Chess, keeps the rating lists and awards titles, working through its member national federations.

• National federation

  A national federation is the chess body that represents a country within FIDE; players register through it to appear on the rating list, and it applies for titles and reports rated tournaments for them.

• Rating list

  A rating list is the published table of every player's current rating, refreshed at regular intervals so that tournaments and rankings can use one fixed snapshot.

• Rapid rating

  A rapid rating is a rating earned in rapid games, kept apart from the standard rating, so the same player can hold different numbers for slow, rapid and blitz chess.

• US Chess rating

  A US Chess rating is the number the American federation assigns a player from results in its rated events; it is separate from a FIDE rating and from ratings on chess websites, so the numbers should not be swapped.

Guides that go further

• Chess ratings explained

  What a rating measures, how FIDE, Lichess, US Chess and chess.com compute theirs, and why the numbers differ.

• Average chess rating and a good chess rating

  What share of active Lichess players are rated above 800, 1200, 1500, 1800 or 2000, by time control.

• How to get a FIDE rating

  The Handbook rules for a first FIDE rating: five rated games, the 1400 floor, the two 1800 draws and a worked example.

Sources

• FIDE Handbook B02 FIDE Rating Regulations (effective 1 March 2024), Articles 7.1 to 7.2, read Oct 21, 2026.
• FIDE Handbook B02 FIDE Rating Regulations (effective 1 March 2024), Articles 0.2, 1 and 2, read Oct 21, 2026.
• FIDE Handbook B01 FIDE Title Regulations (effective 1 January 2024), Article 0.5, read Oct 21, 2026.