Elo Rating Explained: How Chess Ratings Work and How to Get a FIDE Rating

Ever noticed numbers like 1500, 2000 or 2800 next to a chess player’s name? That is their rating. Almost every chess player knows the number, but far fewer know how it works, why it can jump in a single tournament, or how to get an official FIDE rating. This guide explains all of it with worked examples.

What is an Elo rating?

An Elo rating is a number that measures a player’s relative strength compared with other players. It was created by Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American physics professor. The US Chess Federation adopted it in 1960 and FIDE in 1970.

The idea is simple: from the rating difference between two players, the system predicts the result. After the game, ratings are adjusted:

• You do better than predicted: your rating goes up.
• You do worse than predicted: your rating goes down.

A rating is not an exam grade. It is a forecast. Beat the forecast and you get paid in points.

Expected score

A win scores 1, a draw ½ and a loss 0. The bigger the rating gap, the higher the stronger player’s expected score. A few values from FIDE’s official table:

Rating difference	Stronger player’s expected score	Weaker player’s expected score
0	0.50	0.50
200	0.76	0.24
400	0.92	0.08

So a player who is 200 points higher is expected to score about 76% over many games.

How rating changes are calculated

The basic formula:

Rating change = K × (score − expected score)

Example: Ben is rated 1600, his opponent 1800, and Ben’s K is 20. Ben’s expected score is 0.24.

Ben’s result	Calculation	Ben’s rating change
Win	20 × (1 − 0.24) = 15.2	+15
Draw	20 × (0.5 − 0.24) = 5.2	+5
Loss	20 × (0 − 0.24) = −4.8	−5

Beating a stronger player earns a lot. Losing to them costs very little. The 1800 player, on the other hand, gains only 5 points for a win but loses 15 for a loss.

Beating a weaker player is your job, not an achievement. The Elo system agrees with me.

Over a tournament, FIDE adds up (score − expected score) for every game, then multiplies the total by K and rounds it.

K-factor: how fast a rating moves

K decides how much a rating moves after each game. Under the FIDE Rating Regulations:

K	Applies to
40	New players, until they complete events totalling at least 30 games
40	Juniors until the end of the year of their 18th birthday, while rated below 2300
20	Players rated below 2400
10	Players who have ever reached 2400 (stays at 10 even if the rating drops)

That is why young players can shoot up the list while top players only inch up and down.

The 400-point rule

For players rated below 2650, a rating gap of more than 400 points counts as 400. Since 1 October 2025 the rule no longer applies to players rated 2650 and above, so top players gain almost nothing from beating much weaker opponents.

The rating floor: 1400

Since 1 March 2024, the lowest published FIDE rating is 1400 (it used to be 1000). Players who drop below 1400 disappear from the rating list.

When the rule came in, every player rated below 2000 received a one-off boost of 0.4 × (2000 − old rating). A player rated 1000 moved up to 1400, and a player rated 1500 moved up to 1700.

How to get your first FIDE rating

1. Get a FIDE ID. FIDE IDs are registered through your national federation. Ask your federation or the organiser of a FIDE-rated tournament you want to enter.
2. Play FIDE-rated standard tournaments. The time control must be long enough. If both players are rated below 1800, each needs at least 60 minutes (based on a 60-move game). If either is rated 1800 or above, at least 90 minutes.
3. Play at least 5 games against rated opponents. They do not have to come from one tournament. Results from several events within a period of up to 26 months can be combined.
4. Score well enough. Your first rating must be at least 1400. A zero score in your first event is ignored.

FIDE publishes the rating list on the 1st of every month.

Worked example: a first rating

FIDE calculates a first rating from the average rating of your opponents, plus two imaginary opponents rated 1800 who count as draws, then adds a value based on your percentage score.

Example: Sarah plays 5 games against rated opponents averaging 1600 and scores 3 points.

1. Add two imaginary 1800 opponents: average opponent = (5 × 1600 + 2 × 1800) ÷ 7 = 1657.
2. Add the two imaginary draws to the score: (3 + 1) ÷ 7 = 57%.
3. In FIDE’s table, a 57% score is worth +50.
4. Sarah’s first rating: 1657 + 50 = 1707.

A first rating is capped at 2200, however well you score.

Your first rating is like a passport photo. Taken once, rarely flattering. The good news: this one updates every month.

FIDE vs chess.com vs Lichess

Online ratings often look very different from FIDE ratings. The reason: different systems and different player pools.

System	Used by	Note
Elo	FIDE	Official rating used for titles
Glicko	Chess.com	Online rating
Glicko-2	Lichess	Starts at 1500

Lichess itself says its ratings are often higher than FIDE or chess.com ratings, and that ratings from different systems cannot be compared directly. Online ratings are great for tracking your progress, but only your FIDE rating counts towards titles.

From rating to title

FIDE ratings are also the gateway to titles: CM at 2200, FM at 2300, IM at 2400 (plus norms) and GM at 2500 (plus norms). Every title is explained in Chess Titles Explained: GM, IM, FM, CM and How to Earn Them.

Want to sharpen up every day? Try the daily chess puzzle. It has its own practice rating too.