The short answer: a good Elo by level
“Good” is relative, so here is what each range usually means in practice.
| Rating | Level | What players at this level usually do |
|---|---|---|
| Under 600 | New to the game | Still learning how the pieces move and how games end. Pieces are left undefended in most games. |
| 600–1000 | Beginner | Knows the rules. Most games are decided by a piece left en prise or a missed one-move threat. |
| 1000–1400 | Improving player | Has an opening, spots simple tactics and beats most casual players. Still loses winning positions. |
| 1400–1800 | Club player | Makes plans, avoids most one-move blunders and knows key endgames. Games turn on calculation. |
| 1800–2000 | Strong club player | A solid opening repertoire and good positional sense. Beaten mainly by deeper calculation. |
| 2000–2200 | Expert | Among the strongest players at most clubs. 2200 FIDE is the Candidate Master threshold. |
| 2200–2500 | Master | FIDE titles: CM at 2200, FM at 2300, IM at 2400 with norms, GM at 2500 with norms. |
| 2700+ | Super-grandmaster | The world elite. Magnus Carlsen leads the November 2026 FIDE list at 2823. |
Read the lower bands as online rapid ratings, the pool most new players start in, and the bands from 1400 up as roughly comparable to FIDE. This table is our editorial guide based on how the rating system and FIDE titles are defined, not a measured survey of players; ratings at the same number can mean different strengths on different sites.
Two things make any number “good”. First, the pool: a rating only compares you with the people in the same system, which is why the same player can be 1100 on one site and 1500 on another. Second, the direction: if your rating is rising, your chess is improving, whatever the number. For the maths behind the numbers, see how Elo rating works.
Is 500, 800, 1000 or 1200 Elo good?
These are the numbers people ask about most, and they are all online ratings: FIDE’s list starts at 1400.
Is 500 Elo good?
For someone in their first months, yes, it is a normal place to be. At 500 you know how the pieces move but still lose material most games. The fastest way up is one habit: before every move, check whether any of your pieces can be taken for free.
Is 800 Elo good?
It is a good beginner rating. You know the rules and some basic ideas, and you win when your opponent blunders first. Learning forks, pins and the basic checkmates moves most players from 800 to 1000.
Is 1000 Elo good?
Yes. Around 1000 online is where most people stop being beginners: you have an opening, you spot simple tactics, and you beat most casual players you know. It is still the range where one missed tactic decides the game.
Is 1200 Elo good?
Yes, 1200 is a solid improving player. You see many tactics and play purposeful moves; what holds you back is converting winning positions and knowing basic endgames.
Chess.com and Lichess both show where your rating sits among their active players on your profile or stats page. Those percentiles change over time as players join and leave, so a number quoted in a forum a few years ago may not describe today’s pool.
Why Chess.com, Lichess and FIDE numbers differ
- Different formulas. FIDE uses the Elo system. Chess.com and Lichess use Glicko-based systems that also track how certain your rating is (Lichess).
- Different starting points. New Lichess players start at 1500. Chess.com lets new members choose a level that sets the starting rating. FIDE gives you an initial rating only after you have played enough rated games against rated opponents.
- Different floors. Since March 1, 2024, the lowest FIDE rating is 1400. In the same reform, FIDE raised the ratings of players below 2000 by 0.4 × (2000 − rating), so an 1100 became 1460 (FIDE).
- Different pools and time controls. Each site and each time control (bullet, blitz, rapid, classical) has its own rating. A blitz rating and a classical rating are separate numbers for the same person.
So there is no exact conversion between them. Use each number to compare yourself with others in the same pool, and treat any “Chess.com to FIDE” converter as a rough guess.
What a rating gap means: try it
An Elo rating is a prediction. The difference between two ratings gives each player an expected score per game. Enter two ratings:
Plain Elo formula, E = 1 ÷ (1 + 10(opponent − you) / 400), with K = 20 for the rating change. FIDE also caps gaps at 400 points for players under 2650 and uses a rounded table, so official results can differ slightly.
A 200-point gap means the stronger player is expected to score about 76% over many games, counting draws as half. That is why beating someone 200 points above you gains far more than beating someone at your level. For full tournament calculations, use the Elo calculator.
How long does it take to reach each level?
There is no reliable average, and anyone quoting one is guessing. Rating gains depend on how often you play, how seriously you review your games, the time control you play, and your starting age. What is consistent is the order in which skills unlock: not hanging pieces, then simple tactics, then basic endgames, then calculation and planning.
A practical way to measure progress is to set the next band as your goal and track your rating at one time control over months, not days. Ratings can move by dozens of points during a winning or losing streak, so a single bad week means little. For a structured plan, read how to improve your chess rating and how to get better at chess.
What to study at each rating
| Rating | Biggest gain from | Start here |
|---|---|---|
| Under 600 | The rules, then not leaving pieces hanging | How to play chess |
| 600–1000 | A blunder check before every move; forks and pins | Forks |
| 1000–1400 | Daily tactics; the basic checkmates | Puzzles |
| 1400–1800 | Calculation, pawn structure, rook endgames | Endgame lessons |
| 1800–2000 | Reviewing your own games in depth | Game Review |
| 2000–2200 | Opening preparation; deep endgame technique | Opening guides |
| 2200–2500 | Professional-level study and competition | Chess titles |
For a fuller week-by-week plan for each band, see how to improve your chess rating. At every level, reviewing your own losses is the most direct route: run each game through Game Review and look at the first move where the evaluation dropped. Then practise the position against the engine on Play Chess. Its levels are for practice and have no verified Elo, so they don’t tell you your rating.
FAQ
What is a good chess Elo for a beginner?
Anything from 400 to about 1000 online is normal in the first year. A beginner who reaches 1000 has learned the basics well.
Is 1500 a good chess rating?
Yes. 1500 is a solid club-level rating: you make plans, avoid most one-move blunders and know some endgames. On FIDE’s list it is just above the 1400 floor, among tournament players.
Is 2000 Elo good?
Very good. 2000 is expert level, among the strongest players at most chess clubs, and 200 points short of the FIDE Candidate Master threshold.
What Elo is a grandmaster?
A grandmaster must reach a FIDE rating of 2500 at some point and earn three GM norms. International Master needs 2400, FIDE Master 2300 and Candidate Master 2200.
What is the highest chess rating ever?
Magnus Carlsen’s 2882, reached in May 2014, is the highest official FIDE classical rating. He leads the November 2026 list at 2823.
What is a normal rating for a casual player?
Most casual players who play online occasionally sit somewhere between about 600 and 1200. There is no single “normal” rating because each site’s pool is different.
Why is my Lichess rating higher than my Chess.com rating?
The two sites use different rating systems, start new players at different numbers and have different player pools, so the same strength shows up as different numbers. Neither is wrong.
Sources and how we checked
- FIDE, new rating and title regulations (rating floor 1400 and the 0.4 × (2000 − rating) adjustment from March 1, 2024) and the FIDE Rating Regulations.
- Title thresholds from the FIDE Title Regulations, as summarised in our chess titles guide; world No. 1 and peak rating from our rating-list guide (November 2026 FIDE list).
- Lichess rating systems overview (Glicko-2, 1500 starting rating).
- The rating bands are editorial guidance written from these definitions. We did not survey players or analyse a game database for this page, so it contains no percentiles. The calculator uses the standard Elo expected-score formula.