A FIDE rating is the official international chess rating, published by FIDE, the world chess federation. It is the number that decides tournament seedings, title eligibility and, for most over-the-board players, bragging rights. It is also the rating people understand least, because the rules changed in 2024 and very few online players have ever had one.
This guide covers how FIDE ratings work in practice: how to get your first one, how it is calculated, why the list now starts at 1400, how ratings move, and what the titles require. Every rule below comes from the current FIDE Rating Regulations and FIDE Title Regulations.
The short version
- You get a FIDE rating by playing FIDE-rated games over the board. Online games do not count.
- Your first rating is published once you have played at least 5 games against rated opponents, and it must come out at 1400 or higher.
- Since 1 March 2024 the lowest published rating is 1400, and every rating below 2000 was raised once, by 40% of its distance to 2000.
- Standard, rapid and blitz are three separate ratings, each on its own monthly list.
- FM and CM come from rating alone. GM and IM also need norms from qualifying tournaments.
What a FIDE rating is
FIDE ratings use the Elo system, the same two-line formula explained in how Elo ratings work: before a game you have an expected score based on the rating gap, and afterwards your rating moves by a K-factor times the difference between what you scored and what was expected.
FIDE keeps three separate ratings: standard for classical games, rapid and blitz. They are independent. A player can be rated in one and unrated in the others, and the numbers can be far apart. When you compare two players, compare the same list.
FIDE publishes a new rating list on the first day of every month. That published number is the official rating. Sites that show a rating changing during a tournament are showing an unofficial live estimate from games in progress.
How to get a FIDE rating
Only games played in FIDE-rated events count, and those are over-the-board tournaments registered with FIDE through a national federation. Online games on Chess.com or Lichess never count towards a FIDE rating. In practice, getting rated means:
- Get a FIDE ID. You are registered through your national chess federation, usually when you first enter a rated tournament. The ID stays with you for life.
- Play in FIDE-rated tournaments. Check the tournament announcement: it will say whether the event is FIDE rated, and for which list.
- Play at least five games against rated opponents. Games against unrated players do not help you reach a first rating.
- Score enough to reach 1400. Your first rating must come out at 1400 or higher to be published.
You do not have to do it in one event. Results from tournaments played within consecutive rating periods spanning no more than 26 months are pooled together to reach the five games.
How your first rating is calculated
Your first rating is based on the average rating of the rated opponents you played, adjusted for how well you scored against them. To stop a single lucky or unlucky event from producing an extreme number, the calculation also counts two imaginary games against 1800-rated opponents, both scored as draws. The result is capped: the highest possible first rating is 2200.
The practical consequences are simple. Beating stronger opponents pulls your first rating up, and the two phantom draws against 1800 pull a very high or very low result gently towards 1800. If you score poorly against weak opposition, your result may come out below 1400 and simply not be published yet; keep playing and it will be pooled with your next events.
The 1400 floor and the 2024 adjustment
On 1 March 2024, FIDE changed its rating regulations to tackle rating deflation at the lower end of the list. Two changes matter to club players.
First, the floor rose from 1000 to 1400. No published rating is below 1400, and a player whose rating drops below 1400 is shown as unrated on the next list.
Second, every standard rating below 2000 was raised once, by 40% of the gap between that rating and 2000. Ratings of 2000 and above were left alone. Here is what that did:
| Rating before | Increase | Rating after |
|---|---|---|
| 1000 | +400 | 1400 |
| 1200 | +320 | 1520 |
| 1500 | +200 | 1700 |
| 1800 | +80 | 1880 |
| 1900 | +40 | 1940 |
| 2000 or above | none | unchanged |
This matters when you read old results. A 1500 from 2023 and a 1500 today are not the same strength: the 2023 player would have been adjusted to 1700.
How your rating changes
After you are rated, each game moves your rating by K times the difference between your score and your expected score. The K-factor decides how big the steps are:
| K | Who it applies to |
|---|---|
| 40 | New players until they have completed 30 games, and players until the end of the year they turn 18 while their rating stays below 2300. |
| 20 | Everyone else whose rating has never reached 2400. |
| 10 | Players who have reached 2400 at any point, permanently. |
Two other rules shape the numbers. A rating difference of more than 400 points is counted as exactly 400 for players rated below 2650, so beating someone 700 points weaker earns the same small amount as beating someone 400 points weaker. And if you play a very large number of games in one rating period, K is reduced so that your total change stays within a set limit. To see what a result is worth, put the numbers into the Elo Calculator.
FIDE titles and what they require
Titles are awarded for life. The lower titles come from rating alone; the two highest also need norms, which are strong performances in qualifying tournaments against titled and foreign opposition.
| Title | Rating needed | Also needs norms? |
|---|---|---|
| Grandmaster (GM) | 2500 | Yes |
| International Master (IM) | 2400 | Yes |
| FIDE Master (FM) | 2300 | No |
| Candidate Master (CM) | 2200 | No |
| Woman Grandmaster (WGM) | 2300 | Yes |
| Woman International Master (WIM) | 2200 | Yes |
| Woman FIDE Master (WFM) | 2100 | No |
| Woman Candidate Master (WCM) | 2000 | No |
Some titles can also be earned directly by results at certain championships. The women's titles are open only to women; the open titles are open to everyone.
FIDE ratings and online ratings
It is tempting to convert: "I am 1600 on Chess.com, so I must be about 1600 FIDE." It does not work that way. Chess.com and Lichess use Glicko systems on their own player pools, and FIDE uses Elo on the pool of over-the-board tournament players. The scales start from different places and measure different populations, so the gap between an online rating and a FIDE rating can be large in either direction, and it varies by time control and by site.
The honest way to know your FIDE rating is to play rated games. Before that, the useful question is not what number you would get but what would cost you points. A Profile Report reads your last 40 online games and shows which weakness is costing you most, and Insights tracks your rating and results across your whole online history.
Already rated, or curious about a player you are about to face? The FIDE rating search looks up any player on the official list by name or FIDE ID.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get a FIDE rating?
Play in FIDE-rated over-the-board tournaments. Your first rating is published once you have played at least five games against rated opponents, pooled over no more than 26 months, and it comes out at 1400 or higher.
What is the lowest FIDE rating?
1400. Since 1 March 2024 no published rating is below 1400, and a player who drops below it is shown as unrated on the next list.
Did FIDE add points to ratings in 2024?
Yes. On 1 March 2024 every standard rating below 2000 was raised by 40% of its distance to 2000, so 1000 became 1400 and 1500 became 1700. Ratings of 2000 and above did not change.
Do online games count towards a FIDE rating?
No. Only games in FIDE-rated tournaments count. Chess.com and Lichess ratings are separate systems on separate player pools.
How often is the FIDE rating list published?
Monthly, on the first day of each month. Live ratings shown during tournaments are unofficial estimates.
What rating do you need to become a FIDE Master?
2300. FIDE Master and Candidate Master (2200) are awarded on reaching the rating. Grandmaster and International Master also need norms.