--- title: "Rating list in chess" url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-list.md" canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-list" last_updated: "2026-11-07" type: "reference" summary: "A rating list is the published table of every player's current rating. A rating list solves that by freezing everyone's number at one moment and publishing it." related: ["https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-floor.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-system.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/seeding.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fide-rating.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/norm.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/tournaments-ratings-titles.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md"] --- # Rating list 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 list is the published table of every player's current rating. A rating list solves that by freezing everyone's number at one moment and publishing it. 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. Ratings change after every rated event, but the world needs a stable reference when an event begins. A rating list solves that by freezing everyone's number at one moment and publishing it. FIDE prepares its list on the first day of each month. Results are collected up to a closing date three days before the list date, and official FIDE events may still be included if they end on the last day before it (Rating Regulations, clause 7.1.3). That is why the number on a [pairing](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/pairing.md) sheet can differ from what a website shows after you played last weekend. The same logic applies to norms, where the Handbook uses the list in effect at the start of the event to fix each opponent's rating. A list also decides who counts as active: FIDE treats a player as inactive after a year without a rated game and as active again after one rated game. US Chess runs the same idea on its own calendar. It issues a rating list 12 times a year from events received and rated before a cutoff on the third Wednesday of the month before, and a player's last published rating stays current until a new one replaces it. The federation does not go back and revise a list once it is published, even if a correction later changes a post-event number. See the entries on [rating floor](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-floor.md), [rating system](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-system.md) and [seeding](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/seeding.md). Also worth reading is [Provisional rating](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/provisional-rating.md). A provisional rating is an early estimate of strength built from only a few games, which is allowed to move quickly until enough results exist to make it reliable. Rating and title terms like "Rating list" 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 floor](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-floor.md) - [Rating system](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-system.md) - [Seeding](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/seeding.md) - [FIDE rating](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fide-rating.md) - [Norm](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/norm.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 (Clause 7.1.3), 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 FAQ, rating list questions (FAQ answer on the latest ratings list), read 2026-10-21: https://new.uschess.org/faq [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 floor in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-floor.md) - [Rating system in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-system.md) - [Seeding in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/seeding.md) - [FIDE rating in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fide-rating.md) - [Norm in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/norm.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)