In today’s article, I’m going to explain to you what is FIDE Rating is, how an unrated chess player can achieve the rating, which tournaments to play, how to do the complete planning for achieving the FIDE rating, plus other related questions.
After reading this article your doubts will be cleared and you will get the complete picture of how to get the FIDE rating in chess. So let’s start!
Table of Contents
What does FIDE rating mean?
FIDE rating is a rating given to each chess player that determines their playing standard based on their performance against other chess players. The higher the rating, the higher is the playing strength of the chess player.
For example, most Grandmasters have a rating of 2500-2700 whereas, novice chess players have a below 1200 rating.
Since FIDE ratings are given by the World Chess Federation (FIDE) it is known as FIDE rating.
Also, other chess organizations such as the US Chess Federation (USFC), International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF), the English Chess Federation (ECF), and online chess platforms such as chess.com and Lichess use the chess rating system.
How to get FIDE rating?
To get the FIDE rating one has to play the FIDE rated chess tournaments. One has to play against at least five FIDE-rated chess players and score at least half points against them over a period of not more than 26 months. Also, the initial rating is published only if it is 1000 or more.
Note that in all FIDE-rated tournaments it is not that in all-round you will face the rated players. Some will be rated and some will be unrated.
And as I told you earlier you will get your rating only if you play against rated players.
Pro Tip: So choose those Fide rates tournaments in which you can play against more and more rated players in a single tournament.
So for example if in a particular tournament you can play against 3 rated players and in another you can play against 5 rated players then choose the latter.
How do I register for FIDE?
You have to first register yourself in your respective nation’s chess federation which you can do by visiting their official website. After registering, you will get your unique FIDE ID and then you can play in the FIDE-rated tournaments.
You have to visit the official, national chess federation website of the country where you live and from there find the rated chess tournaments.
For example, if you are from India then you can check the official website of the All India Chess Federation (AICF). There you can click on “All Events” which you can find as a sub-menu under the “Calendar” menu on the navigation bar.
After that, you will get the list of all the major upcoming chess tournaments to be held in India.
Now from that list, you see, you have to select only the rated tournaments.
Look for words like “FIDE Rated” or “FIDE Rating” since the tournament with these words are the rated one.
Also, make sure that the FIDE-rated tournament in which you want to play is nearest to your area.
So after you have decided which tournament you want to play, click on it and a further new page will open in which you will get the details of that particular tournament and tournament organizer.
Pro Tip: Look for event code in the tournaments. For all registered tournaments it is compulsory to have the “event code”. So make sure you can find it in your tournament details.
You can contact the tournament organizer through email (which will be given most of the time or by other means) and ask for the tournament brochure.
Once you get the brochure of the tournament, you will get a complete idea of the entry fees, prices, which age groups can play in the tournament, and other information like that.
So this is how you can find out which tournaments you have to play to achieve the FIDE rating without being dependent on others.
Now here I explained considering you live in India. But don’t worry if you are from another country, the process will be more or less the same.
You have to find the rated chess tournaments, apply for them, play the games, and gain your FIDE rating. It’s that simple.
Also Check Out: How Do Chess Players Make Money?
How do you get a FIDE ID in chess?
FIDE Id is the unique number assigned to each player who participates in the FIDE-rated chess tournaments. One can get the FIDE ID by contacting their federation’s rating officer, after submitting the necessary information.
The necessary information may include your name, gender, birth date, email address, and a recent photo.
Once your profile is activated and you get the FIDE ID you can check that on FIDE’s website. Your URL will be like this: “https://ratings.fide.com/profile/FIDEID”. For example, below you can see the FIDE profile of great chess player Magnus Carlsen.
As you can see the FIDE ID of the player is shown on the page and it is also shown on the URL. The FIDE ID of Magnus Carlsen is 1503014 and so the URL is “https://ratings.fide.com/profile/1503014”.
How do you get an initial chess rating in FIDE?
To get an initial chess rating in FIDE the player must have played at least 5 rated chess games against the rated chess players and have scored at least half points against them. Also, the performance rating must be at least 1000.
Note that as per the FIDE rating regulations, it is not mandatory that you have to play against all 5 rated chess players in a single rated tournament.
Results from all other tournaments played within consecutive rating periods of not more than 26 months are considered to obtain the initial rating.
Now let’s understand this with an example. Let’s say you played against 4 rated players and scored 4 points then also you will not get your initial rating unless you play the 5th rated player.
Also, your performance rating should be at least 1000. As per Wikipedia, performance rating is the level at which you performed in a tournament based on the number of games played, total scores in those games, and the ratings of your opponent.
This is actually the threshold point that you must have and only then you will get the initial FIDE rating.
Previously it was 2200. So a player used to get the FIDE ratings only after they crossed this threshold. But gradually this threshold level came down to 2000, 1800, 1500, … and now it is only 1000.
Now you may think about how is the initial FIDE rating calculated, right? So let’s discuss that!
How is the initial FIDE rating calculated?
Here’s a case-by-case explanation of how the initial FIDE rating is calculated.
Case -1: You scored 50% against rated players
So to understand rating performance, let’s say you played against 5 rated players with an average rating of 1500. The average rating is calculated by adding the ratings of each rated player you played with and dividing it by the total number of players you played with.
Now let’s say you scored 2.5 points against 5 rated players with an average rating of 1500. This means you scored 50% (winning each match you get 1 point so total points are 5 and out of that you scored 2.5)
So then, as per the standard rules, this average rating of 1500 would be your rating performance or the initial rating.
Case -2: You scored more than 50% against rated players
Now let’s say you scored more than 50%. So for example against 5 rated players with an average rating of 1500, you scored 4 points (out of 5). So in this case the rule is a little different.
If you score more than 50% then for every 0.5 points you will get 20 rating added.
Here in this case, since you scored 4 points, so will have to subtract the 50% of the total points (2.5) from 4. That means, 4 – 2.5 = 1.5, and 1.5 = 0.5 + 0.5 + 0.5, right?
So you will get a 20 + 20 + 20 = 60 rating added to your main average rating of 1500. Thus, your final rating would be 1560.
If you still didn’t get it I highly recommend to you see the calculation again. I promise if you read it patiently then you will definitely understand it.
Case -3: You scored less than 50% against rated players
Now, if you scored less than 50%, then this all calculation becomes a little complex and for every 0.5 points, 72 points get deducted.
So for example, against 5 rated players with an average rating of 1500, you scored 2 points which is less than the 50% of total points (2.5), right?
And as I told you for every 0.5 points (half point) 72 rating is deducted. So here 2.5 – 2 = 0.5. That means you scored 0.5 points less than the 50% so here 72 ratings will be deducted.
Your final rating will be 1500 – 72 = 1428.
Now you can calculate your own initial rating by visiting the Initial FIDE rating calculator. Note that there are two types of FIDE rating calculators, one is the “rating change calculator” and another is the “initial rating calculator”.
The “initial rating calculator” is for players who have not got the FIDE rating. While the “Rating change calculator” as the name suggests is for already chess for players who want to calculate the change in their rating after playing a game against a FIDE-rated opponent.
So here we are talking about the initial rating. All the screenshots of ratings I showed you above are calculated from that initial FIDE rating calculator only. You can also do the same thing on your own.
Conclusion
So that’s it. Hope your all doubts regarding what is FIDE rating is, how it is calculated, and how to achieve that, are cleared. If you found this article helpful then please do share it with others so that they can also know the right procedure for applying and getting FIDE ratings.
Thanks and good luck with your next game. I hope you will get your desired FIDE rating soon. Best of Luck!
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Related Questions:
I have scored many points against rated players but still, I didn’t get my FIDE rating?
FIDE publishes the rating of an unrated player only if the resulting rating of that player is 1000 or more. If the final rating is less than 1000 or the player hasn’t scored at least half points against at least 5 rated players over a period of not more than 26 months, the rating won’t be published by FIDE.
What FIDE ratings do you start with?
As per the FIDE rating regulations, the player gets an initial rating only if it is 1000 or more provided the player scores at least half points against at least 5 rated players over a period of not more than 26 months. So chess players start with a rating of at least 1000 or more depending on their performance. As per Wikipedia, novice players have a rating of below 1200.
