What is a good chess rating? Ranges explained, site by site

A good chess rating is one that beats where you started. What ratings mean on FIDE, Lichess, Chess.com and ChessMess, the title thresholds, and a bot ladder to climb.

Updated 8 November 2026 · 5 min read

A good chess rating is one that's higher than where you started, because a rating only compares you with the other players in the same pool. Every site starts new players somewhere different: 1500 on Lichess, 1200 on ChessMess, and on Chess.com it depends on the skill level you pick. So a number from one site doesn't translate exactly to another. The fixed landmarks are FIDE's: 1400 is the lowest rating FIDE publishes, 2200 is Candidate Master, 2300 FIDE Master, 2400 International Master and 2500 Grandmaster.

Why the same player has different ratings

A rating isn't a measure of chess knowledge. It's a prediction of how you'll score against the other people rated in the same system. Different sites have different players, different starting points and different formulas, so their numbers drift apart.

Glicko systems also track how sure they are about you, so a new rating moves quickly and settles as you play more games. On Lichess the "?" disappears once the system is confident enough. FIDE does something similar with its K-factor: 40 for a new player's first 30 games, then 20, and 10 once a published rating has reached 2400.

Time controls matter too. Sites keep separate ratings for bullet, blitz and rapid, and many people are rated higher in one than another. Compare like with like.

The FIDE landmarks

These are the only rating numbers with a fixed meaning, taken from FIDE's title regulations (applied from 1 January 2024). A rating alone doesn't make you a master: GM, IM, WGM and WIM also need norms, and FM and CM need at least 30 rated games.

So what counts as good?

There's no official answer below the title levels, and we won't invent percentiles. Here's a more useful way to look at it.

• In your first months: a good rating is one that's going up. Early gains mostly come from habits, like not leaving pieces undefended and checking your opponent's threats.
• Compare with yourself: look at your rating over the last month, not your best day.
• Compare within one site: a number only means something next to other players on the same site and the same time control.
• Watch for a plateau: when your rating stops rising for weeks, change how you practise rather than playing more of the same.

A ladder you can climb on ChessMess

ChessMess has 19 bots from 250 to 3200: 18 characters from 250 to 2800, plus Stockfish at full strength. Here they are in the groups the app uses. Each has its own style, so you can test yourself one step at a time.

If you'd rather not pick, Echo adapts to your level after every game. The bot guide describes every bot's style, and chess bots for every level explains how to choose one.

A bot's rating is a guide to its strength, not a promise that it plays exactly like a person with that rating on another site. Treat the bots as steps: when you beat one three times in a row, move up to the next.

How to raise your rating

1. Stop giving away material. Start with the 5-question blunder checklist.
2. Review every game you lose. Game Review is free and unlimited, and it shows the moments where the game turned.
3. Drill your own mistakes in the Mistake trainer.
4. Solve puzzles every day, starting with today's puzzle.
5. Play slower games. Rapid and classical give you time to use what you've learned.

For a full plan, see how to get better at chess for free.

Find your level against the bots →

Questions and answers

What is a good chess rating for a beginner?

Any rating that's rising. Sites start new players at different numbers (1500 on Lichess, 1200 on ChessMess, and a chosen level on Chess.com), so progress from your own starting point matters more than the number.

Is a Lichess rating the same as a Chess.com or FIDE rating?

No. Each system has its own players, starting point and formula, so the same person usually has a different number on each. Compare ratings only within one site and one time control.

What rating do you need to be a grandmaster?

FIDE's title regulations require a rating of at least 2500 plus grandmaster norms. International Master needs 2400 plus norms. FIDE Master needs 2300 and Candidate Master 2200, each with at least 30 rated games.

What is the lowest FIDE rating?

Under the regulations applied from 1 March 2024, FIDE publishes ratings from 1400 up. A new player's first rating must be at least 1400, and players who fall below 1400 are shown as unrated.

What rating do I start at on ChessMess?

1200, with a separate Glicko-2 rating for bullet, blitz, rapid and classical. It moves quickly over your first games and settles as you play more.