FAQs

QC: Frequently Asked Questions

How do I participate in a FIDE-rated tournament?
FIDE organises very few tournaments itself; mostly only global events such as the World Championship and its qualifiers, and other World Championships in other categories. Most FIDE-rated tournaments will be tournaments within your Federation organised either by them, or by independent organisations within the Federation, whose tournaments are rated with permission from the National Federation. The best way to find a FIDE-rated tournament in your country is to search for your Federation’s website, and look for a tournament calendar on it, which should clearly indicate which of their tournaments are FIDE-rated, and which are not.

How do I get a FIDE ID?
In order to participate in a FIDE-rated tournament, you will need a FIDE ID. You can get a FIDE ID by contacting your Federation and asking them to create a FIDE ID. Depending your Federation, you may be required to provide them with various forms of identification, such as an ID card or a passport. Other Federations may also require that you are a paid-up member of them in order to get an ID. The practice varies widely around the world, so you should refer to the FIDE Directory to find out who to contact in your Federation, to find out what your specific requirements will be: https://www.fide.com/directory/member-federations

How do I get a FIDE rating?
You get a FIDE-rating by playing in FIDE-rated tournaments. There are three possible types of rating you might achieve: Standard, Rapid and Blitz, which reflect different game lengths. In order to get a Standard rating, you will need to play at least 5 games against players who are already rated, and score at least ½ point (a draw) in those games.

When will I get my FIDE rating?
FIDE publishes its new rating list on the last day of every month, to come into use from the first day of the new month.

If my opponent defaults, will I get the rating points?
No. Only games where at least 1 move each is made by both players are eligible for FIDE-rating.

What happens if my rating drops below 1000?
1000 is the rating floor, so if your rating drops below this, you will be treated as unrated and have to re-earn your FIDE-rating.

Chess-Results shows my rating change to be higher than the change on my FIDE profile. What has FIDE got wrong?
There may be a number of factors why the rating change on Chess-Results is different from the rating change in the FIDE database. For example:
• Chess-Results was programmed to use national ratings and included them in the calculation
• Chess-Results is displaying old ratings or the wrong rating list
• A player was particularly active, and so the wrong k factor is being used
By contrast, FIDE reads the results directly from the rating server, and so it is unlikely that any mistake will have been made in the calculation from FIDE’s perspective. It is recommended to investigate this yourself before emailing FIDE observing the difference between the two calculations.

What do I do if I have reached the target rating for my title?
In order to get any title, you need to achieve a minimum rating. This title can be achieved either in a published FIDE-rating list, or at any other point during the rating period. You do not have to withdraw from the middle of a tournament to protect your rating. There is no official certificate for this, so there is no need to ask the Chief Arbiter to provide one because he will be unable to do so. The Qualification Commission will verify that the rating has been reached when the tournament is submitted for FIDE-rating at the end of the month, although specifying the game where the applicant thinks they have passed the rating threshold would be beneficial.

When will my direct title appear in my profile?
Some tournaments offer direct titles conditional on rating. The Qualification Commission can only approve these titles when the Chief Arbiter of the tournament sends them a report listing who has won the direct titles. Thereafter, your Federation will need to confirm that they wish to apply for the title, so you may wish to proactively contact them asking them to claim it. Once that has happened, the title will be awarded.

When will my title application be considered?
Once your Federation has submitted the necessary paperwork for a title application to be made, your application will be considered by the Qualification Commission. Once they have inspected it, they will make a series of recommendations to FIDE based on all of the applications they have received. These recommendations will be considered the next FIDE Council meeting.

The FIDE Council approved my title – why isn’t it on my profile?
All title applications are published here on the FIDE website:
https://ratings.fide.com/titles_page.phtml

Titles will only appear on your profile when a 60-day waiting period has elapsed after they first appeared on the website. For this reason, it is worth getting your Federation to submit your title application as soon as practicable, and not waiting because you don’t expect another meeting for the title to be ratified for several months.

How do I change Federation?
If you want to change your Federation for some reason (e.g. you have moved to another country), then you should contact your intended new Federation’s Rating Officer to initiate the transfer process. Please note that such transfers are subject to an administration charge; and transfers for players who are rated 2100 or higher, or who have represented their Federation in an event that is part of the World Championship cycle may be subject to much higher transfer fees.

How do I correct wrong details on my FIDE profile?
Is your name spelled wrong on your FIDE profile? Is some other information wrong? If you have any problems with information contained on your FIDE profile, then your National Federation should be able to correct it for you. Do not contact the FIDE Office directly to resolve these issues. Please refer to the FIDE Directory to find out who the Rating Officer for your Federation is: https://www.fide.com/directory/member-federations