♟️ CHESS IS WAR GRADES 🥋
| Grade | Belt Color | Chess.com Rapid | Lichess Classical | FIDE | USCF | ECF | CFC | DWZ | ACF | KNSB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GRADE 1 | WHITE | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| GRADE 2 | YELLOW | 600 | 1280 | — | 405 | 515 | 405 | 495 | 350 | 500 |
| GRADE 3 | ORANGE | 800 | 1405 | — | 625 | 925 | 625 | 680 | 540 | 900 |
| GRADE 4 | GREEN | 1000 | 1525 | — | 845 | 1170 | 730 | 870 | 730 | 1210 |
| GRADE 5 | BLUE | 1200 | 1635 | 1425 | 1055 | 1300 | 1035 | 1070 | 930 | 1425 |
| GRADE 6 | PURPLE | 1400 | 1765 | 1525 | 1280 | 1425 | 1250 | 1225 | 1155 | 1525 |
| GRADE 7 | BROWN | 1600 | 1880 | 1625 | 1465 | 1565 | 1435 | 1375 | 1370 | 1625 |
| GRADE 8 | BLACK (Ocho Meistro) | 1800 | 2000 | 1725 | 1640 | 1700 | 1610 | 1520 | 1560 | 1725 |
Once you get a Grade/Belt, no one can remove it. Achieve that rating just once and you hold the grade for life. Let’s say, your rating decreases by 300 “Elo”, your grade will be detained anyway.
🥋 GRADE 8: BLACK BELT – OCHO MEISTRO (OM) aka Advanced Chess Warrior
When you reach GRADE 8: BLACK (minimum 1800 Chess.com Rapid rating or equivalent), you’ve earned your Ocho (8 in Spanish) title. This means you’re not just a player — you’re an Advanced Chess Warrior, a tactician, and a serious threat on the board. You are in the 99.2% percentile, the Top 1% of all Chess.com players.
OM: Ocho Meistro
Ocho: 8 in Spanish. Grade 8 Black Belt. Eighteen hundred (1800) rating.
Meistro: A person who defeats an enemy or opponent in a battle, game, or other competition.
Then at this level, Dans for each 100 “ELO” points achieved.
With a 1800 chess.com rapid rating,
🥋 From Black Belt to Dan Ranks
Once you reach GRADE 8, Ocho, the climb to excellence continues.
For every additional +100 “ELO” points, you earn a Dan Rank, just like in martial arts.
🧠 Example:
- 1900 ELO = Black Belt, 1st Dan
- 2000 ELO = Black Belt, 2nd Dan
- 2100 ELO = Black Belt, 3rd Dan
- 2200 ELO = Black Belt, 4th Dan
- … and so on
Each Dan Rank represents a new level of mental sharpness, experience, and psychological warfare.
1 Club, 4 Categories
Category Rating
Rookie 0-1199
Challenger 1200-1499
Elite 1500-1799
Master 1800 and up
For the chess rating convertion, I’ve used the only reliable tool available.
Chess Dojo Universal Rating Converter
** CFC data sources are a bit lacking, so please take those numbers with a grain of salt.
*** I cannot include every single classical rating system in this converter, but hopefully I have covered the majority of them.
The first column (Cohort) is the internal rating of Chessdojo.
| RATING | WHO / WHAT | NOTES / TITLE |
|---|---|---|
| 4043 | Stockfish 17 | Strongest chess engine in the world (est.) |
| 2882 | GM Magnus Carlsen (peak) | Peak FIDE rating (May 2014) |
| 2500+ | Grandmaster (GM) | FIDE title — requires norms and rating |
| 2400+ | International Master (IM) | FIDE title — lower than GM |
| 1200 | A good chess rating on Chess.com | Intermediate level / CIW Grade 5 Blue Belt |
| 650 | Average rating on Chess.com | Among casual/new players (mainly rapid/blitz) |
| RATING (ELO) | LEVEL |
|---|---|
| < 800 | Novice |
| 800 – 1099 | Beginner |
| 1100 – 1399 | Intermediate |
| 1400 – 1699 | Advanced Intermediate |
| 1700 – 1999 | Advanced |
| 2000 – 2299 | Expert |
What is a Good Chess Rating?
GM Hikaru Nakamura — widely considered the second-strongest player in the world after GM Magnus Carlsen — has said that 1200 is a solid target for new adult players. In a video, he recommends this rating goal to a 30-year-old beginner, explaining that 1200 represents a level well above complete beginners, yet remains achievable for casual players who are consistent.
He also notes that the average skill level in chess has risen significantly in recent years due to the widespread use of AI engines, YouTube, and online tools, making it easier to improve quickly. As a result, a 1200 rating today reflects stronger play than it did a decade ago.
Approximately 30 millions people in the world have a chess rating of 1200 or more on Chess.com. That’s about 50% of all chess players, and about 0.5% of all people on earth. To stay true to the chart above, at 1200 you’re better than 52% of all players on Chess.com.
♟️GRADE 5: BLUE on the Chess Is War scale. 👍
For deeper knowledges about Chess Rating.
♟ Why Are Chess Ratings Different Everywhere?
Chess ratings aren’t universal — they vary depending on the platform or organization. While most systems are based on the Elo formula, the starting ratings, calculation methods, and player pools all differ.
For example, online platforms like Chess.com and Lichess attract casual players, while FIDE and USCF (which govern official over-the-board tournaments) have more serious, competitive environments. Naturally, your rating on each system will reflect those differences.
🧠 What Is Your “Real” Chess Rating?
Many new players want to know their “real” rating, but the truth is — there is no single, official rating that applies everywhere. Your Chess.com rating doesn’t directly convert into a FIDE or Lichess rating. Each system is self-contained.
Some people argue that online ratings matter less than over-the-board (OTB) ratings, but that’s debatable. Yes, online games come with unique factors like disconnections or distractions — but those same risks apply to both players. So your online rating still reflects your skill, just in a different context.
♟️ What Is Elo?
Elo is a rating system developed by Arpad Elo to calculate the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games like chess.
It’s officially used by FIDE — the International Chess Federation — to rate players in over-the-board (OTB) tournaments.
🌍 FIDE Elo = The Official Standard
| System | Rating Name | Used For |
|---|---|---|
| FIDE | Elo | Real-world, rated tournaments |
- Starts at ~1000 Elo
- Must play in FIDE-rated tournaments to earn a FIDE rating
- Titles like FM, IM, GM are based on FIDE Elo
💻 Online Platforms Use Their Own Systems
| Platform | Rating System | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chess.com | Glicko (modified) | Separate ratings for Blitz, Rapid, Bullet, Puzzles |
| Lichess | Glicko-2 | Generally more inflated than Chess.com |
| Others (CT-ART, Chessable, etc.) | Custom/Training ratings | Not comparable to Elo |
These ratings look like Elo, but they are not FIDE Elo and use different math behind the scenes.
⚠️ Why the Confusion?
- All these systems use similar-looking numbers (e.g. 1500, 2000), but:
- You can be 1800 on Lichess
- But only 1500 FIDE
- Your online rating ≠ your real-world rating
FIDE Elo = real-world official chess rating
Chess.com / Lichess ratings = online-only, non-transferable, often inflated
🧩 Final Thought:
Your rating is only as “real” as the environment it represents. Whether online or over-the-board, what matters most is consistency, improvement, and the willingness to battle on the board — or the screen.
Personally, I use my Chess.com rapid chess rating as my “Elo“. And it’s probably the case for most serious chess players. Since, nowaday, everybody is online and Chess.com is the biggest and most popular chess website in the entire world.
PYGOD
Sources:
https://chessboxingnation.com/grades/
https://1500meisterblueprint.carrd.co/
https://www.chessdojo.club/material/ratings
https://www.chessdojo.club/blog/new-ratings/noseknowsall
https://www.chessboxingfrance.fr/ifc/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_rating_system
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/chess-to-bjj-rankings-equivalent
https://www.chess.com/blog/mbk282/chess-elo-vs-the-bjj-belt-system-chess-vs-bjj-part-2
https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/6ugnch/chessboxing_carlsen_vs_mayweather/