A chess rating shows how strong a player is based on results from rated games. The system allows players of all levels — from beginners to world champions — to be compared.

📲 Calculators and Tools

FIDE and the TLC Chess Foundation offer user-friendly tools for players, arbiters, and coaches:

📈 Performance Calculator
🏆 Norm Calculation (IM/GM/WIM/WGM)
🔢 FIDE Rating Calculator – New Rating
🧮 Initial Rating
🔄 Rating Change

FIDE Handbook – Current regulations for ratings and titles.

How Does the Calculation Work?

After each FIDE-rated game, your rating is updated based on the result and your opponent’s rating:

A win increases your rating — especially against higher-rated opponents.
A draw leads to a small adjustment — up if your opponent is stronger, down if weaker.
A loss decreases your rating — especially against lower-rated opponents.

The rating change is based on your expected score and how much you overperform or underperform relative to it.
The K-factor determines how big the adjustments are and depends on age, rating, and experience.

How to Get a FIDE Rating

To obtain an official rating, you must play in FIDE-rated tournaments:

Join a chess club or a national federation that is affiliated with FIDE.
Play at least five games against players who already have a FIDE rating.
Perform well enough to achieve a rating of at least 1400.
Your rating is published once the requirements are met and the games are reported to FIDE.

⏱️ Only over-the-board tournaments with classical time controls count toward a FIDE standard rating.

FIDE Titles

FIDE awards lifetime titles based on performance and rating. Titles are divided into Open and Women’s categories:

Open Titles:

Grandmaster (GM)
International Master (IM)
FIDE Master (FM)
Candidate Master (CM)

Women’s Titles:

Woman Grandmaster (WGM)
Woman International Master (WIM)
Woman FIDE Master (WFM)
Woman Candidate Master (WCM)

Titles can be achieved either through:

direct results in approved championships (e.g., European Championship, World Championship, Olympiad), or
norms, where a player achieves a performance rating above a certain level against qualified opponents over at least 9 games.

Types of Ratings

FIDE publishes three separate rating lists each month:

Standard – games with over 60 minutes per player
Rapid – 10–60 minutes per player
Blitz – under 10 minutes per player

Why Care About Rating?

📊 An objective measure of playing strength and progress
🏆 Entry ticket to many tournaments
🧠 Motivation to set goals and track improvement
🪪 The path to FIDE titles

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