Top 100 Women Chess Players – Elite Rankings
Discover the top 100 women chess players! These women are shaping the future of chess with skill, strategy, and determination.
Top 100
World Rankings (Standard)
Age-Based Rankings (Standard)
Chess Rating – Understanding the Numbers Behind the Game
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
Top 100 Women Chess Players – Elite Rankings
Discover the top 100 women chess players! These women are shaping the future of chess with skill, strategy, and determination.