--- title: "Rating floor in chess" url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-floor.md" canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-floor" last_updated: "2026-11-07" type: "reference" summary: "A rating floor is a lowest value below which a rating is not allowed to fall, either as a list-wide minimum or as a personal level protected by an earlier peak." related: ["https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-list.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/provisional-rating.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-category.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/norm.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fide-rating.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/tournaments-ratings-titles.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md"] --- # Rating floor in chess > **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 rating floor is a lowest value below which a rating is not allowed to fall, either as a list-wide minimum or as a personal level protected by an earlier peak. A rating floor is a lowest value below which a rating is not allowed to fall, either as a list-wide minimum or as a personal level protected by an earlier peak. A floor keeps a rating from falling below a fixed level, but the word covers three different mechanisms. FIDE's 1400 is a publication threshold rather than a protective floor. A first rating is published only if it comes to at least 1400, and a published player whose rating drops under 1400 is shown as unrated on the next list ([FIDE Rating](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fide-rating.md) Regulations, clauses 7.1.4 and 7.2.1). A separate use appears in [title norms](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/norm.md): an unrated opponent counts as 1400, and the single lowest-rated opponent can be lifted to an adjusted floor when the norm is calculated (Title Regulations, clause 1.4.6). US Chess does protect players. Under its published method no rating can fall below 100, and a personal absolute floor starts at 100 and grows with wins, draws and completed events, capped at 150. An established player's floor is the highest established rating minus 200, rounded down to a step, with steps at every 100 from 1200 to 2100. A peak of 1941 gives a floor of 1700. A player who wins $4,000 or more in an under-2000 section can also receive a floor at the level that would bar them from that section. If a number looks oddly stuck, a floor is one possible reason. Compare the entries on [rating list](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-list.md), [provisional rating](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/provisional-rating.md) and [rating category](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-category.md). Rating and title terms like "Rating floor" matter once you know your next step, and the [improvement plans by rating band](https://georgelichess.com/improve.md) set out a weekly routine for each rating range. ## Related terms - [Rating list](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-list.md) - [Provisional rating](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/provisional-rating.md) - [Rating category](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-category.md) - [Norm](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/norm.md) - [FIDE rating](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fide-rating.md) ## Guides that go further - [Chess ratings explained](https://georgelichess.com/chess-ratings-explained.md): 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](https://georgelichess.com/chess-rating-percentiles.md): What share of active Lichess players are rated above 800, 1200, 1500, 1800 or 2000, by time control. - [Chess rating calculator](https://georgelichess.com/tools/rating-calculator.md): Work out how a FIDE rating changes after a run of games. ## Sources - FIDE Handbook B.02 FIDE Rating Regulations, effective 1 March 2024 (Clauses 7.1.4 and 7.2.1), read 2026-10-21: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B022024 - FIDE Handbook B.01 FIDE Title Regulations, effective 1 January 2024 (Clause 1.4.6), read 2026-10-21: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B012024 - US Chess, The US Chess Rating System (Glickman and Doan), dated 6 April 2026 (Section 5), read 2026-10-21: https://new.uschess.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/us_chess_rating_system_specs-2026-04-06.pdf [Book your first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book.md) and George Li reviews your games and builds a study plan around them. Questions about lessons: write to hello@georgelichess.com. ## Related - [Rating list in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-list.md) - [Provisional rating in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/provisional-rating.md) - [Rating category in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-category.md) - [Norm in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/norm.md) - [FIDE rating in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fide-rating.md) - [Chess terms: Tournaments, ratings and titles](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/tournaments-ratings-titles.md) - [Chess terms glossary: plain definitions](https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md)