Chess Rating Classes

jojo
| Aug 17, 2007
| 7491 views
| 15 comments

International/Professional Titles
Grandmaster	-	(GM)
Awarded by FIDE for three GM norms.
International Master	-	(IM)
Awarded by FIDE for three IM norms.
FIDE Master	-	(FM)
Minimum FIDE rating of 2300 after 24 games
National Senior Master	-	(SM)
USCF Rating 2400+
National Master	-	(NM)
USCF Rating 2200+
Expert/Candidate Master	-	(Expert/CM)
USCF Rating 2000+
National US Amateur Classes
National Class A	-	USCF (1800-1999)
Top Amateur Class
National Class B	-	USCF (1600-1799)
Strong Tournament Player
National Class C	-	USCF (1400-1599)
Average Tournament Player
National Class D	-	USCF (1200-1399)
Strong Social Player
National Class E	-	USCF (1000-1199)
Social Player
National Class F	-	USCF (800-999)
Novice Player
National Class G	-	USCF (600-799)
Beginner II/Scholastic Player
National Class H	-	USCF (400-599)
Beginner I/Scholastic Player
National Class I	-	USCF (200-399)
Early beginner/Scholastic Player
National Class J	-	USCF (100-199)

Comments

5 months ago
GM_DoMiNg

i'm a National Class D... going to C.. :D
4 years ago
figrock

Thanx jojo for the post. I always wanted to know this info.
4 years ago
chesslani123

hey! where's the womens?
4 years ago
Michael_Sarmiento

nice article..... just as i thought that there were no players lower than 900.
4 years ago
Michael_Sarmiento

how do i know my approximate rating? does my rating here at chess.com accurate?
4 years ago
Longboylegend

waaaaa!!!!
4 years ago
BILL_5666

What is a GM norm?
5 years ago
RN9

For the raintgs that go from class a-j would those ratings apply to players on this site?
5 years ago
Royd

my ultimate goal is to reach 2500... i know i can do it...
5 years ago
StacyBearden

I don't see my rating on here. -100
5 years ago
syrianchessmaster

Great article!!
5 years ago
cmh0114

http://math.bu.edu/people/mg/glicko/glicko2.doc/example.html

This is the most updated version of the chess rating formulas. It's called the Glicko-2 system.
5 years ago
norseman

How are points calculated? Does anyone have a link that explains this in detail?
Thank you
5 years ago
sk8erkid

kool
5 years ago
Phobetor

I can't tell about the National Amateur US Classes, but those others are inaccurate. Requirements:

GM
- To have at least 2 GM norms with a total of at least 27 games, which require a certain number of titled players and a performance rating of 2600.5 or higher.
- To ever have had a published FIDE rating of 2500 or higher

IM
- To have at least 2 IM norms with a total of at least 27 games, which require a certain (lower) number of titled players and a performance rating of 2450.5 or higher.
- To ever have achieved a published FIDE rating of 2400 or higher.

FM
- To ever have achieved a published FIDE rating of 2300 or higher (so no # of games requirement)

CM
- To ever have achieved a published FIDE rating of 2200 or higher (2000 USCF is not even close to this)

Those other titles, "SM" and "NM" are not international titles, and requirements for such titles are different in each country. You also won't find such titles on the FIDE rating site.