1800 is a great over the board rating. Since over-the-board games need more effort, there are fewer opportunities to increase one’s rating (therefore making it more valuable). What about online? It is not as clear.
How to get FIDE Rating in Chess?
The chess ratings may look confusing for beginners who have never played the game, but what about the intermediate players?
Believe it or not even intermediate players have a hard time distinguishing a good rating from a great one. This is where I come in, I think I could add something of value to this.
1800 on fide and uscf puts a player above 70% of people who play chess. 1800 on lichess and chess.com is not as valuable though.
1800 is a really tricky number to discuss, I think I can give you some clarity. I actually have the feeling that people underestimate the strength of someone that is in 1800.
1800 for non chess players is already looking like someone who is obsessed with the game. This article will discuss more, let’s get started.
1800 chess rating on what?
It is important to understand that there are many different metrics to measure one’s chess rating.
“1800” may translate to different things depending on which metric you are going to use. On lichess it is just an okay rating, in over the board 1800 will set you at the top of the chess rankings.
Making the difference clear is important in order to measure how far you have come. First let’s talk about lichess since I am aware that it is the most popular chess platform.
1800 is a decent rating in lichess, but not too crazy
A rating of 1800 on lichess is not that bad, it is not as valuable as with other rating systems (fide, uscf, and chess.com) but it is something.
Most players that have been playing for a long time but do minimal study fall within this range, these are somewhat decent players.
If you get confused by that sentence it is really simple. There are individuals who like playing chess but do not take the time to study them formally.
With continuous play of course everyone can get to a level where they compete decently. Most people that are like this would be around 1800 on lichess.
While this is cool and all it is not that impressive. Even I who haven’t been playing for quite some time can easily get to 1800 on lichess at any time format.
You are quite strong in a beginner’s eye if you reach 1800, but let’s be honest it wouldn’t really mean much compared to the other metrics.
A rating of 1800 on chess.com is a big deal
1800 elo on chess.com is a pretty hard thing to achieve (my personal max rating on chess.com is 1600, though I play lichess most of the time).
Someone who has reached 1800 on chess.com are far stronger than 1800 lichess players, these are really dedicated people.
If you are not aware there is a big rating gap between lichess and chess.com. This is why chess.com has the reputation of giving birth to significantly stronger players.
The field is filled with expert players that makes it hard to get ratings. 1800 will put you at least on the top 60% of the players who participate online.
If you have managed to get a rating of 1800 in chess.com I salute you, I really mean it.
It is hard to attain not only talking from experience but also from the experience of others. 1800 is not only a good rating, it is a great rating for people who don’t really plan on competing formally.
Most people don’t hit the 1800 mark on chess.com, but they are able to get a rating of 1000+. If you can’t get past the1000 rating mark on chess.com then I have a guide just for you.
A rating of 1800 on fide puts you in the 80th+ percentile
1800 rating on fide is a significant thing, these are players with bright futures and borderline titled with a little more push.
Fide ratings are much harder to require than online ratings, meaning players who have managed to reach 1800 elo are very strong compared to the average player.
Some of you will say that you have easily achieved 1800 on fide, of course some of you will say that.
But joking aside, unlike online chess games (fide is played over the board) it is significantly harder to get 1800 on fide. Mainly because you have to travel locally or internationally to even reach that far.
Most of us will just pop up a screen or two and play a game in the comforts of our home, we cannot do that in fide.
We have to commit time and energy in order to even get the rating. This means that there are lesser opportunities to increase your rating, and even a single loss will significantly give a player some massive setback.
Out of all the metrics discussed, getting 1800 on fide is definitely the hardest of all, even harder than that of chess.com.
If you managed to get 1800 on fide you are doing extremely well, definitely better than most players. Professionally speaking there is of course a lot to improve (1800 is almost nothing professionally), but casually it is definitely a huge achievement.
1800 rating on USCF is the level of a strong over-the-board club player
I have thought about discussing this earlier but I have almost forgotten it. Thankfully I had remembered that there is also the uscf rating (which is different from the fide rating). 1800 on fide is definitely harder than 1800 on uscf, the deviation says so.
Those who have 1800 in USCF are slightly comparable to players who have 1800 rating on chess.com, although over the board ratings are much more valuable since it is harder to acquire.
Just from this wording you can already infer that uscf gives more ratings for players compared to fide.
This does not mean that a rating of 1800 on uscf is something to scoff at, far from it. Since the uscf ratings are also played over the board it will naturally be much harder than any online rating is out there.
Lichess and chess.com wouldn’t be much of a comparison. There will be lesser games in uscf therefore lesser opportunities to increase one’s ratings.
A player with 1800 USCF is definitely inferior to a Fide player with 1800 rating, but is better than its online rating counterparts.
A 1800 uscf player will break through the 2000 elo rating mark on chess.com and even 2400 on lichess if you give them enough weeks (maybe even days).
1800 is definitely still a good rating since it is over the board. I will bet you that it is hard to find someone who is around 1800 even if you use the internet. That is how rare (and therefore good) the rating of 1800 is on uscf.
I have a dilemma with the 1800 chess rating . .
The thing with 1800 is it is this weird area from an intermediate level to being the “great level”. If you add 100 more ratings it is already 1900, the rating in which most would consider you an expert in chess already (from the perspective of non-players).
Add another 100 and it is already 2000, the dream of most beginners who have started playing chess.
1800 is like this transitory phase from being good enough to being great. It is hard for me to put a value on this since I have a high standard. My chess level is between being good enough and being expert on this game.
I am somewhat in between which is like the 1800 rating, it is really hard to describe to people whether I am really good at chess.
I have won a tournament or two but I am definitely not on the same level as some of the youtubers that have been playing for years. This is my dilemma, I am not sure if 1800 is really “that great” generally.
In all of the metrics that I have discussed the points still stand. I am sure that some of you will have a different opinion to this which is understandable.
1800 is really the intermediate level, unless you are playing over the board which would make it into a meaningful (fide and uscf)
Conclusion
1800 is really a weird rating to discuss since the best you can call it is intermediate. On chess.com it is a great rating, for online standards at least which is not that much.
I think this is the point where people around you recognize you as a chess expert, but other players recognize you as decent only.
It is also relative, depending on the platform that you use people will also treat that differently.
A lichess player looking at a 1800 chess.com may mock the chess.com player, but you know that it is really relative. Thank you for reading this article since I have enjoyed writing it, that is all.
FAQs
How good is 1800 rating on chess com? ›
First of all 1800 is NOT an experienced GOOD player, It's the rating that goes with a very average mediocre club player. In the US Chess Federation, which is not terribly atypical for Elo ratings, an 1800 player stands above 88%-90% of all rated players.
What rank is 1800 chess? ›| Category | Rating range |
|---|---|
| National master | 2200–2399 |
| Expert | 2000–2199 |
| Class A | 1800–1999 |
| Class B | 1600–1799 |
Chess takes a lot of time. So for most people I'd guess 3 to 5 years. Depends how long you've been playing as well. If you've not been playing long and are 1250 then you might get to 1800 quite quickly.
What is a respectable level on chess com? ›0-1000: either a kid or a beginner. 1000-1200: below average player. 1200: either an average player or a newly registered member. 1200-1400: a decent chess player.
How long does it take to get to 1800 on chess com? ›For me it took about a year to get from 900 to 1800. For me, it's like 4 or 5 months because when I started learning the rules of chess, my rapid rating was around 1400, and now it's 1840. For my puzzles, I went from 800-2101 in 2 or 3 months.
Is 1500 rating on www chess com? ›1500 on chess.com is indeed a good rating. Your USCF rating would be in the range of 1300 -1700 depends on how you play in the tournaments.
How strong is a 1800 chess com player? ›1800s are half decent players. They are good at tactics, have a basic sense of strategy, know a little opening theory, and have decent endgame knowledge. They still hang pieces occasionally. Not amazing players, but not bad either.
Is Chess com rating accurate? ›Your Chess.com rating is accurate relative to someone else's chess.com rating, but not to someone's FIDE for example.
How close is chess com rating to FIDE? ›Chess.com ratings seem to be around 200 to 300 points higher than what one's FIDE rating would be. So 2000 on chess.com would likely be around 1700-1800 FIDE. Though, it varies from player to player.
Can anyone reach 1800 in chess? ›It is definitely possible, and shouldn't be too hard if you really want to commit yourself to it. Just attack the problem from as many angles as possible. Just playing can do a lot for your game. That and post-mortems in otb can certainly get you above 1800--no books even.
How can I improve my 1800 chess? ›
Try to calculate all lines for each moves for atleast one move ahead. Then from one to two. This is how you will get better. And if you see you are losing rating recently, stop playing online and start playing with bots of comparable rating to you.
Can anyone become a 2000 rated chess player? ›Everyone can reach 2000, though for some it comes quicker than for others. As for myself, 2000 is my goal for next year. I'll reach 1850 OTB in the next rating list. The problem is, I think my game has improved greatly over the last year, but it does not yet come out in my tournament play.
What chess rating can the average person get? ›There's no such thing as an "average" chess rating, but a solid club-level chess player might be rate somewhere around 1500-1700. In general, a person's rating will increase as that person becomes more experienced. Most people can continue improving well into middle age.
Is chess good for the brain? ›Chess has been proven to increase your IQ, improve memory function, help develop higher levels of creativity, simultaneously exercise both sides of the brain, help prevent Alzheimer's and dementia, and increase a child's problem solving skills.
What rating is a decent chess player? ›Beginners are below 1000, modern world champs are above 2800. Average adult tournament player is something like 1500 or 1600. An 1800 rated player should be able to beat a proficient club player rated 1400 about 9 out of every 10 games, and might even beat a master on a rare occasion.
How long does it take to get to 2000 on chess com? ›Just focus on enjoying and improving your game and even if you never reach 2000, you can still obtain a respectable rating and have a blast getting it. For most people it takes never. For the minority of chess players who hit the mark, it typically takes between 1 year and 50 years. 3 years when you are talented.
How long does it take to go from 1500 to 2000 on chess com? ›4 Years, 2 months, 16 days, 7 hours, 22 minutes, and 8 seconds. 2000 online is achieveable with study of basic tactics and some positional understanding.
How hard is it to get to 1700 chess? ›Approximately 3 months of hard disciplined training can get you to 1700 ELO/FIDE. Not that it really matters. There are a lot of supposedly high rated players who are just as beatable as 1000 level players.
Is a 1500 puzzle rating on chess com good? ›Puzzle ratings are usually way higher than all the other ratings on this site, usually about 400-500 higher. 2000 puzzle vs 1500 live rating is normal.
How long to get to 1500 in chess? ›For normal people, I'd say a gain of 100 Elo in a year is a reasonable aim, or 200 if you're putting a lot of effort into it. So, 0 to 1500 in 4 years is reasonable, and getting to 1700 might take you 1-2 years.
What is the difference between 1600 and 1800 chess? ›
Hi caughtupinthemoment--there's no specific difference, but at higher levels there's more in-depth knowledge of the openings and better strategic planning. Players look further ahead, they don't make as many simple errors, and they have better understanding of advanced tactics like zugzwang or triangulation.
What is the average chess com rating rapid? ›If by main rating you mean the average rating, you can actually look it up in stats. In rapid, the average rating is 887.78.
How hard is 2000 rating in chess? ›The way the Bell curve of the rating system is defined, a rating of 2000 corresponds to the top few percent of players. Clearly the 50th percentile (a median average player) will always be distinct from this.
What is the most common rating on chess com? ›ChessNetwork wrote: Whether it is bullet, blitz or standard, the average rating on chess.com seems to be about 1200. Here's a link for more details. In case anyone's still wondering nowadays, the average chess player on chess.com would be in the fiftieth percentile, which is 800 elo.
Which chess website has the most accurate rating? ›| CHESS.COM BLITZ | LICHESS BLITZ (+/- 135) | LICHESS CLASSICAL (+/- 130) |
|---|---|---|
| 800 | 1150 | 1260 |
| 900 | 1225 | 1365 |
| 1000 | 1300 | 1460 |
| 1100 | 1380 | 1550 |
The lowest Elo is 1000, not 100. Internet website ratings are no official ratings. Official US Chess ratings have a minimum of 100. FIDE ratings below 1000 are officially de-listed.
Is chess COM 800 rating bad? ›A rating of 800 is pretty bad. Though I would differentiate between "You are playing bad" and "You are doing bad". The fact that you are playing pretty bad is obvious as your rating and play are showing this very clearly (went over your last 2 games).
Are Chess com ratings inflated? ›It's true; at OTB you start at 101 rating but online you start at 1200. And lots of people here with OTB ratings have online ratings much higher. The range is probably about 100-200 higher than OTB.
Does chess com rating matter? ›A chess rating reflects one's self worth not only as a chess player, but as a human being. A chess player with a high rating, or one that is going up, is a happy chess player. One whose chess rating is low, or is going down, is a miserable sad sack.
Is 18 too late for chess? ›First of all, its never too old to do anything that you can do. 18 is very young and you've already got experience under your belt with tournaments. I'm 30 and I just started last month. I go to college and I work, but I still put in some time learning chess.
How long does it take to improve chess? ›
If you put in a couple of hours per day and try to balance having fun vs improving, you can probably reach 1000 rating in 3-6 months and 1500 rating in 12-18 months. If you only play a couple of hours per week and never study the game, you can probably reach 1000 rating in 2 years, and you'll probably never reach 1500.
How many chess games should I play a day? ›If you wish to improve, 2 games a day are a lot. You should analyze your games in order to learn something from them, and probably have some time to study chess as well.
Do you get better at chess as you get older? ›Before a player's early 20s, performance on the chessboard appears to increase rapidly. Skill then appears to reach a plateau around 35 years of age, peak at age 40, and begin to steadily decline after age 45.
What is the 20 40 40 rule in chess? ›Follow 20/40/40 Rule
That's where 20/40/40 rule comes handy. For an under 2000 rated player, it makes sense to spend 20% of the time on openings, 40% on Middlegame and 40% on Endgame. Besides that, you should play practice games, solve tactics and analyze.
The answer is YES, they can reach master but only if they work very, very hard (kind of true about anything). Anyway, keep in mind that chess is about having fun, and rating isn't that important. However, if you want that kind of goal do it bit by bit. If you are 1700, your goal should be 1800, then 1900, etc.
What age are chess players best? ›Many chess experts believe that most top chess players peak somewhere around age 35-40. For instance, this figure is given by GM and Doctor of Science in Psychology, Nikolai Krogius.
What chess rating is no longer beginner? ›The general consensus is below 1200= “beginner”, 1200-1800 is “intermediate”, 1800-2000 is “advanced”, 2000-2200 is “expert”, and 2200+ are masters at chess, with FIDE titles being awarded at certain ratings or norms after that.
What should my chess rating be after a year? ›If you play constantly for a year and go through chess books on opening/endgame/tactics/etc and study with some diligence and play against GOOD players , not bums that you can easily beat, you will probably get to 70 or 80% of as good as you can ever expect to be.
What percentage of chess players are over 2000? ›Less than 2% of the active players here are over 2000. If you count all accounts it is probably less than 1%, even less when you consider some of those are cheaters, rating manipulators and multiple accounts owned by the same person. Most of the players here are just bad bots making people feel good about themselves.
What is the average skill level in chess? ›The average chess.com blitz rating is 913, and the majority of players fall between 400 and 1400. Typically ratings start at 1200 on chess.com and quickly adjust to your playing level with the Glicko system. Chess.com ratings map closely to FIDE and USCF ratings on average.
Is 1700 on chess com good? ›
At a full out Chess Tournament, a 1700 would just blend in and not be special. On here, where everyone is a 2830 regardless of their rating, a 1700 would be nothing. So it all depends. A 1700 OTB is still well above average.
Is chess good for dementia? ›According to literature published to date, since leisure activities including chess, delay the development of dementia signs, it is considered a protective factor against dementia not only in prevention but also when the disease has been diagnosed, regardless of the stage.
Is playing too much chess bad? ›Too much chess could be bad for chess, and specially for life. You are a kid, don't tell me it's the only thing you do in your free time. If you play too much you will be tired in most of your games and of course you will play worse. playing much without analyzing the games afterwards will make you worse.
What chess teaches you about life? ›Chess is about making strong moves and sticking by them. In life too, if we plan or do something, we need to make sure to stand on our ground and fight for what we think is better for us. Be aggressive and take action When there is a problem or a threat in chess, we sometimes need to be aggressive and take action.
Is a chess rating of 1800 Good? ›First of all 1800 is NOT an experienced GOOD player, It's the rating that goes with a very average mediocre club player. In the US Chess Federation, which is not terribly atypical for Elo ratings, an 1800 player stands above 88%-90% of all rated players.
Is 1900 on chess com good? ›This is the way I see it (all ratings are Chess.com ratings for blitz or standard games): 1700-1900: a very good chess player. Makes few mistakes. Has reached a level of mastery that most Chess players will never reach.
What is an impressive chess rating? ›OTB USCF Standard Ratings of 1200 or higher generally represent a player who has a basic understanding of strategy and tactics plus a little intuition. 1600 generally represents a strong player. 2000 is an excellent player.
How good is 2000 Chess com rating? ›1800-2000 is good. I'll repeat: 200 points higher than your best rating is a good rating, unless you're already +2800.
How good is a 2000 rated chess player? ›In the USCF, a player who is +2000 is in the top 96.94th %ile. Again, that only includes players who have played in official USCF tournaments, which is a pretty small selection of players.
Can you get 2000 chess rating? ›Everyone can reach 2000, though for some it comes quicker than for others. As for myself, 2000 is my goal for next year. I'll reach 1850 OTB in the next rating list. The problem is, I think my game has improved greatly over the last year, but it does not yet come out in my tournament play.
How long to get to 1700 chess? ›
Just approximately. Approximately 3 months of hard disciplined training can get you to 1700 ELO/FIDE.
What is Hikaru's IQ? ›#5 is correct. It is 102.
How many people have 2000 rating on chess com? ›Less than 2% of the active players here are over 2000. If you count all accounts it is probably less than 1%, even less when you consider some of those are cheaters, rating manipulators and multiple accounts owned by the same person. Most of the players here are just bad bots making people feel good about themselves.
How hard is it to get 2000 on chess com? ›The bad news is, 2000 is higher than the vast majority of people make it. The good news is that that alone doesn't mean that you can't. It varies from person to person, depending on how much time and talent they have to dedicate to chess. I would say that 2000 rating doesn't take talent, it takes time and effort.
Is there a 3000 rated chess player? ›Never, 3000 is way too high, Kasparov was 2851 in 1999 and just beating that is tough enough, a great player like Anand never had a single 2900 performance in his career as far as I know. I think once more players are able to hold ratings of 2800+ we will see 2900's. That still seems to be a ways off though.
What percent of chess players are 1500? ›“Typically”, a 1500–1600 never makes it to 2000, on average. Only about 10% of tournament players ever get to 2000. 1500 is the middle of the curve, it's the average adult tournament player. Most players stay there or within 100 points of it.
What is the average chess com ranking? ›The average chess.com blitz rating is 913, and the majority of players fall between 400 and 1400. Typically ratings start at 1200 on chess.com and quickly adjust to your playing level with the Glicko system. Chess.com ratings map closely to FIDE and USCF ratings on average.
How long to go from 1500 to 2000 in chess? ›4 Years, 2 months, 16 days, 7 hours, 22 minutes, and 8 seconds. 2000 online is achieveable with study of basic tactics and some positional understanding. 2000 otb is harder and requires alot more work if you are at 1500.
What is a good chess rating for a 16 year old? ›Beginners are welcome, 1300 is more than enough. The best 16 year olds are at least master strength already. A competitive rating for a national under 16 tourney would be around class A to expert, lets say 1700-2100. You're not going to win the whole thing but you'll be in the pack somewhere.
What age do chess players peak? ›Many chess experts believe that most top chess players peak somewhere around age 35-40. For instance, this figure is given by GM and Doctor of Science in Psychology, Nikolai Krogius.
How long to improve at chess? ›
If you put in a couple of hours per day and try to balance having fun vs improving, you can probably reach 1000 rating in 3-6 months and 1500 rating in 12-18 months. If you only play a couple of hours per week and never study the game, you can probably reach 1000 rating in 2 years, and you'll probably never reach 1500.
What's the longest chess game ever? ›The longest chess game is 269 moves between Ivan Nikolic vs. Goran Arsovic, Belgrade, 1989. The game ended in a draw. The game lasted over 20 hours.