What does 1600 mean?

You kept playing after the bad days, and that is how you reached 1600. It is 200 points above the lowest rating FIDE gives out. FIDE is the world chess federation. Each FIDE rating comes from real games played at a real board.

Three lists, one sticker

• FIDE keeps three ratings for you: standard, rapid and blitz. Standard is for slow games, rapid is for fast ones, and blitz is for very fast ones.
• Each list has its own games and its own number.

If you pass 1600 in the middle of a month, wait for the next list to come out.

How to climb

Play rated events as often as you can, and play every round. Between events, go through the games you lost with your grown-up or coach. The Game Review sticker shows you how to do it.

Why 1600 and not 1500?

One morning in March 2024, about 350,000 players got a higher rating. They had not played a single game for it. FIDE gave all players under 2000 extra points, up to 400 each. The players with the lowest ratings got the most points. That is why this sticker asks for 1600.

How you get the sticker

Your grown-up or coach checks it and hands you the sticker. Show them your profile on ratings.fide.com, with 1600 or more on any one list. If you have no club, your grown-up at home looks it up with you. If your rating dips below 1600 later, the sticker stays in your passport. Did you reach 1600 before you had the passport? It still counts. Old lists are kept online, so you can still look them up.