What is a FIDE Rating?

Hello, chess players! You have all probably played various games that advanced you from one level to another by gaining some ‘experience points’ — and just like any of these other games — chess has ‘experience points’ that give an overview of your skills while propelling you to a higher level. And how does that work in chess? Well, it’s all about the FIDE rating system.

The history of chess can be traced back nearly 1500 years, but the International Chess Federation (Fédération Internationale des Échecs), FIDE (FEE-day) introduced a rating system in chess somewhere in the 20th century.

This rating system gives a fairly succinct measurement highlighting the strength of a player, since it is based on wins, losses, or draws. A player gains maximum points for winning and minimum points for a draw (which is a tie), but upon losing a game, points are subtracted from the current rating of the player. In general, players’ ratings go up if they perform better than expected and down if they perform worse than expected. The magnitude of the change depends on the rating of their opponents. You might probably be wondering; “With all this talk about ratings, how do I get my own FIDE rating?” Well, it is quite simple!

First, you will have to participate in FIDE-rated chess tournaments and complete a minimum of 5 games against FIDE-rated players within 26 months. In the course of these tournaments, if you score at least half a point from any of these rated players, voila, you have your first ever FIDE rating!

This all seems pretty easy, right? Well, the challenging part is gaining points from FIDE-rated players, as they are training with regularity. This is where the Girl Boss Chess instructors step in, we are more than ready to prepare you for your first tournament! Tournament play is an important role in improving your chess and getting to know your true potential.

Maud Benson - 2016 National Ghanaian Champion