what is a good chess rating?

I am not a kid dude, I will leave that to SonOfSorrow.

"Plunged because of schoolwork"!

lolcopter. they work those little teenytots much to hard (bulge in cheek due to tongue).

Rule of thumb: ambitious improvers, and kids, tend to think their ratings are bad. You'll hear 2200s saying how bad they are- probably means they're either young or very ambitious.

If people say they think they're good at chess, that means they're probably happy enough with where they are that they won't put in the effort to improve much more. 

Totally subjective observation I've made. 

@dpnorman, I think the reason 2200s regard themselves as terrible is because they are good enough to appreciate top-level chess, but not to reproduce it.

Many, many years ago, when I was at university, our top board was graded somewhere in the 2100-2200 range. It was discovered that there were four Russian graduate students in the maths department, all chess-players, and a match was arranged. They slaughtered us.

Afterwards, their board 1 was heard saying of our board 1: "Well, he's got a grasp of the more elementary tactics, but position play eludes him entirely."

I agree with this. I am not 2200, but I agree LOL.

I realize what a weak player I am, the better I get. 

For example, I used to think I was decent at tactics, but looking back, I realize how many tactical blunders I've made in my games.

ok then

do GMs have common sense?

Yes. They're all the same and they all have the same amount of common sense. They also have small, curly tails, which they hide inside those fancy suits they wear, and they subsist of a diet of berries, nuts, and the occasional grub.

Seriously, people, what's with these questions? GMs are not some exotic species of animal. It's a title you get for specific achievements in tournament chess. Most people who reach the GM title have chosen chess as their profession, as opposed to some other job. That's all.

Chess rating is a scam wholeheartedly propagated by the owners of this site who wants you to get hooked on it and play constantly. That is why they give you artificially low rating (close to 1200) where you may think that you are average and you work desperately to improve it. It is not possible however because the pyramid is crafted so skillfully and artificially (top 1% comprise 50% of the rating curve, non-Gaussian distribution). Even some of the smartest people out there with which I had honour and pleasure to play will never improve their mediocre rating. It is ridiculous scam that best players have twice as much points as you. Are they so much smarter? I don't think so! Again, it is all scam. Stop playing it, you will never improve your rating, you will just waste time here to the pleasure of the site owners.

Agree.

1600 is far far from the top 1%. 

Chess is absolutely NOT a game of intelligence. It's a game of learning and practice practice practice.

 I know it's not. It is just a weird talent, aided by a character which is capable to keep an anal focus and never blunder.

It's not a talent. It's learning and practice.

The focus to never make a 1 ply blunder (and learning the basics) gets you to maybe 1500 or 1600. Chess beyond that involves a lot more than avoiding simple blunders.

And just like any skill, it's possible to practice your mistakes and hit roadblocks where it seems hard or impossible to improve. These people have to unlearn bad habits and misconceptions.