Chess Ratings Explained: Elo, Glicko, FIDE and USCF
How chess ratings work: the Elo system, Glicko-2, FIDE and USCF ratings, rating classes and titles, what a good rating is, and why online ratings differ.
A chess rating is a number that measures your playing strength based on your results. Win against stronger players and it goes up; lose against weaker players and it goes down. Ratings let you find fair opponents, track your progress and compare yourself with everyone from beginners to the world champion.
This guide explains where ratings come from, how they are calculated, and what the numbers on FIDE, US Chess (USCF) and online sites actually mean.
What is an Elo rating?
The Elo system was created by Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American physics professor and chess master. The US Chess Federation adopted it in 1960, and FIDE, the international chess federation, in 1970. Today almost every rating system in chess is based on his idea, which is why people often say "Elo" for any chess rating.
The core idea is simple: the difference between two players' ratings predicts the result. The bigger the gap, the more likely the higher-rated player is to win.
How are chess ratings calculated?
Before a game, the system calculates your expected score, a number between 0 and 1. The formula is:
Expected score = 1 / (1 + 10^(D / 400)), where D is your opponent's rating minus yours.
Some useful values:
- Equal ratings: expected score 0.50 (50%)
- 100 points stronger: about 0.64
- 200 points stronger: about 0.76
- 400 points stronger: about 0.91
After the game, your rating changes by K × (actual score − expected score), where the actual score is 1 for a win, 0.5 for a draw and 0 for a loss, and K is a factor that controls how fast ratings move.
Example: you are rated 1500 and beat a 1700 player, with K = 20. Your expected score was about 0.24, so you gain 20 × (1 − 0.24) ≈ +15 points. If you had lost, you would have dropped 20 × (0 − 0.24) ≈ −5 points. Beating stronger players pays well; losing to them costs little.
What is Glicko and Glicko-2?
Glicko and Glicko-2, developed by statistician Mark Glickman, improve on Elo by adding a rating deviation (RD): a measure of how certain the system is about your rating.
- New players, and players who have not played for a while, have a high RD, so their rating moves quickly.
- Players who play often have a low RD, so their rating is stable.
Glicko-2 also tracks volatility, how consistent your results are. Most online sites use Glicko-style systems because players come and go so often. Chessyo uses Glicko-2: every new player starts at 1500 with a high deviation, and a question mark next to a rating means it is still provisional.
FIDE ratings
FIDE publishes official international ratings every month, with separate lists for standard, rapid and blitz games. You get a FIDE rating by playing in FIDE-rated tournaments over the board.
- The lowest possible FIDE rating is 1400 (since a 2024 reform that also raised many lower ratings).
- The K-factor is 40 for new players and for juniors under 18 rated below 2300, 20 for other players below 2400, and 10 once a player has reached 2400.
- The world's best players are rated around 2700 to 2850. Magnus Carlsen set the record peak of 2882 in 2014.
You can browse the current world chess rankings and the top US players on Chessyo.
US Chess (USCF) ratings
US Chess has its own rating system, based on Elo with refinements by Glickman, and it is separate from FIDE. US tournaments are usually USCF-rated, and many scholastic players have a USCF rating long before a FIDE one. US Chess keeps separate regular, quick and blitz ratings, plus online ratings.
USCF ratings are traditionally grouped into classes:
- Senior Master: 2400 and above
- National Master: 2200 to 2399
- Expert: 2000 to 2199
- Class A: 1800 to 1999
- Class B: 1600 to 1799
- Class C: 1400 to 1599
- Class D: 1200 to 1399
- Class E: 1000 to 1199, and lower classes below that
The USCF rating floor is 100, so new scholastic players often start with very low ratings and climb fast. Established players also get a personal floor about 200 points below their peak; the USCF rating calculator explains floors and estimates your next rating.
Chess titles and the ratings behind them
FIDE titles are awarded for life once earned:
- Grandmaster (GM): a rating of 2500 at some point, plus three GM norms (strong tournament performances)
- International Master (IM): 2400 plus three IM norms
- FIDE Master (FM): 2300
- Candidate Master (CM): 2200
- Woman Grandmaster (WGM): 2300 plus norms; WIM 2200; WFM 2100; WCM 2000
In the US, reaching 2200 USCF earns the National Master title.
What is a good chess rating?
It depends on the rating pool, so compare yourself within the same site or federation:
- Beginner: most people who just learned the rules start somewhere in the hundreds on sites with low starting points, or below 1500 on sites that start everyone at 1500.
- Casual club player: roughly 1200 to 1600.
- Strong club player: 1800 and above.
- Expert and master level: 2000 to 2200 and up.
A "good" rating is really one that is going up. Track your own progress rather than chasing a number. For a closer look at the levels, including what is normal for kids of different ages and how Chess.com, Lichess, FIDE and USCF numbers compare, see what is a good chess rating.
Why are online ratings different from FIDE?
Ratings only measure strength relative to the other players in the same pool. Each site and federation has a different starting rating, a different K-factor or rating system, and different players. That is why your Chessyo, Lichess, Chess.com, USCF and FIDE ratings can all be different, and none of them is "wrong".
Ratings also differ by time control: many players are 100 to 300 points higher in rapid than in bullet, or the other way around.
How to raise your chess rating
- Play longer games and review them afterward.
- Solve puzzles daily to sharpen tactics, the fastest way to gain points at lower levels.
- Learn the basic checkmates and simple endgames.
- Stop hanging pieces: before every move, check what your opponent's last move attacks.
Our full plan is in how to get better at chess.
Frequently asked questions
What rating do you start with in chess?
It depends on the system. On Chessyo and Lichess everyone starts at 1500 with a provisional rating that adjusts quickly. Other sites start lower or ask you to choose your level. The lowest FIDE rating is 1400, and USCF ratings can start much lower for young players.
What is the highest chess rating ever?
Magnus Carlsen holds the record for the highest FIDE standard rating, 2882, reached in 2014. Ratings above 2800 are extremely rare.
Is Elo the same as a chess rating?
Elo is the name of the system most chess ratings are based on, so people use the words interchangeably. Many modern systems, including Glicko-2 and the USCF system, are refinements of Elo's original idea.
How many points do you gain for a win?
It depends on the rating gap and the K-factor. Against an equal opponent with K = 20 you gain about 10 points for a win; beating a much stronger player gains more, and beating a much weaker one gains very little.
Why did my rating go down after a draw?
If your opponent was rated lower than you, a draw scores less than your expected score, so your rating drops slightly. Against a higher-rated opponent, a draw raises your rating.
Keep learning
Related guides
- What Is a Good Chess Rating? By Age, Level and Site — A good chess rating is about 1200–1400 for casual players and 1800+ for strong club players. A free guide to what ratings mean by level, age and site.
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