How Do I Get a Chess Rating? Online Rating vs. Official FIDE Rating

"Chess rating" actually means two very different things depending on what you're asking for. An online rating (chess.com, Lichess, or here) is instant and automatic — it starts the moment you play your first game. An official FIDE rating is a completely separate, much slower process that requires playing real, arbiter-run tournaments and registering with your national chess federation. Most people asking "how do I get a chess rating" actually want the first one — so here's both, starting with the easy one.

Getting an online rating (the easy way)

This part requires nothing beyond playing:

1. Pick a platform. Chess.com, Lichess, and this site all generate a rating automatically — you don't request one or apply for it.
2. Play a game. Here, you get a starting rating of 1200 the moment you play your first game against the AI or locally — no registration, sign-up, or fee required. It adjusts automatically after every game using the same Elo-style math FIDE and every major platform use.
3. Keep playing. Your rating updates in real time and you can track it on your dashboard any time.

That's genuinely the entire process. The only real decision is which platform's rating pool you want to build a track record in — and nothing stops you from having a rating on several at once, since they're independent numbers.

Getting an official FIDE rating (the real deal)

This is a different and considerably more involved process, since it requires supervised, arbiter-verified, over-the-board play. Based on FIDE's current rating regulations (effective March 2024):

1. Register with your national chess federation and get a FIDE ID. This is usually a short form with your name, birthdate, and country, sometimes with a small federation fee. Your national federation's website will have the process — in India, that's the All India Chess Federation (AICF).
2. Find a FIDE-rated tournament. Not every over-the-board tournament counts — it has to be officially registered with FIDE and run by a licensed arbiter. Your federation's website or a tournament-listing site will show which local events are FIDE-rated.
3. Play at least 5 games against already-rated opponents, within a 26-month window (they don't all have to be in one tournament).
4. Score at least half a point — one win or one draw — against those rated opponents. Games where an opponent defaults without making a move don't count toward this.
5. Reach a rating performance of at least 1400. This is the part that trips people up: under FIDE's current regulations, your first rating only gets published if your performance across those games works out to 1400 or higher. Play the required games but perform below that, and you stay formally unrated until a stronger result crosses the threshold — the games still count toward your eligibility, they just don't produce a public number yet.
6. Wait for the tournament organizer to submit results to FIDE. This isn't automatic on your end — the organizing arbiter submits an official results file, typically within 10–30 days of the event.
7. Check the published list. FIDE updates its official rating list on the first of every month. Once you're on it, you can look yourself up at ratings.fide.com using your FIDE ID.

Quick comparison

| | Online rating | Official FIDE rating | |---|---|---| | How fast | Instant, from your first game | Weeks to months, tied to monthly FIDE list publication | | Cost | Free | Often a small federation registration fee | | Where you play | Any device, anywhere | In-person, arbiter-run tournaments only | | What it's used for | Matchmaking, personal tracking, bragging rights | Official rankings, title norms (FM/IM/GM), tournament seeding | | Starting point | Fixed default (1200 here) | Calculated from your actual performance — no fixed starting number |

Neither one is "more real" than the other — they just measure different things. An online rating is a great, frictionless way to track your own improvement and find well-matched opponents. A FIDE rating is what you need if you're chasing official titles, national rankings, or eligibility for FIDE-rated events later on.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a FIDE rating to play chess online? No. Online ratings and FIDE ratings are completely independent systems — you can play thousands of rated online games without ever touching the FIDE system.

What's the lowest possible FIDE rating? Under the current 2024 regulations, FIDE only publishes a first rating once it's calculated at 1400 or above — there's no published rating below that threshold, even though your qualifying games still count toward eligibility.

Can I lose my FIDE rating if I stop playing? Your published rating stays on record, but you may be marked "inactive" after a long period without rated games. It doesn't reset to zero or disappear.

Is my online chess rating the same number as a FIDE rating would be? No — different platforms use different player pools and K-factors, and none of them are directly equivalent to FIDE's system. A 1600 here, on Chess.com, on Lichess, and in FIDE's system are four different numbers that don't convert cleanly into each other.

Want to see your own number move? Every game against the AI or in a local match updates your rating immediately — no forms, no waiting for a monthly list.