FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs, the World Chess Federation) runs international chess. It holds the World Championship and the Chess Olympiad, makes the official rules, gives titles like Grandmaster, and keeps the official rating list.
Every country has its own federation under FIDE. In India it is the All India Chess Federation (AICF), and each state has an association. A tournament is "FIDE-rated" when its results are sent to FIDE and count for players’ official ratings.
A rating is a number that shows how strong a player is. It goes up when you beat players who are rated close to you or higher, and down when you lose to them. Beating a much stronger player gives many points; losing to a much weaker one costs many.
Ratings are not marks or a ranking of people. They are only a way to guess the result of a game: a player rated 200 points higher is expected to win about three games out of four.
First you need a FIDE ID. Your state association or the AICF registers you when you play in a FIDE-rated tournament, and the tournament organiser can help. Then you play in FIDE-rated tournaments, where some or all of your opponents already have FIDE ratings.
FIDE gives you a first rating once you have played at least 5 games against rated opponents (games from several tournaments can be added together) and scored at least 1 point in them. The rating must also come out at the FIDE minimum, which is 1400 since March 2024. The new rating appears on the next monthly list, published on the 1st of each month.
Winning games against rated players is what matters. Players who only meet unrated children in a tournament cannot get a rating from those games.
FIDE first works out the score you were expected to make against each opponent from the rating difference. The bigger your rating compared with theirs, the closer to 1 point you are expected to score. A difference of more than 400 points is counted as 400.
Then: rating change = K × (your actual score − expected score). K is 40 for a new player (until 30 rated games) and for a player under 18 whose rating is below 2300; 20 for other players below 2400; and 10 once the rating has reached 2400.
Example: you are rated 1600 and beat someone rated 1800. You were expected to score about 0.24, so you gain 20 × (1 − 0.24) = about +15. If you lose to a player rated 1400 you were expected to beat (expected about 0.76), you lose 20 × (0 − 0.76) = about −15. A draw against a player 200 points higher gains about +5.
FIDE adds up the whole tournament and publishes the new rating on the first of the next month. Standard (Classical), Rapid and Blitz each have their own rating.
New and young players have a high K-factor (40), so each game moves the rating a lot: up to 40 points for one game. A new player’s first rating can also be based on only a few games, so it is a rough guess that settles after 20–30 rated games.
The rating of a child who improves fast usually lags behind real strength. Do not worry about a single tournament: look at the rating after three or four tournaments.
FIDE keeps three separate ratings, because fast and slow chess are different skills. A game counts only for the rating of its own speed.
FIDE’s speeds: Blitz is 10 minutes or less per player (counting the increment as 60 moves); Rapid is more than 10 and up to 60 minutes; Classical (Standard) is more than 60 minutes. Examples: 3+2 is Blitz, 15+10 is Rapid, 90+30 is Classical.
Chess Castles’ CC Rating uses the same speeds, so you can practise each of them.
FIDE gives titles for reaching a rating: Candidate Master (CM) at 2200, FIDE Master (FM) at 2300, International Master (IM) at 2400 and Grandmaster (GM) at 2500. The title is for life.
CM and FM need only the rating. IM and GM also need three "norms": excellent results (a performance rating of 2450 for IM, 2600 for GM) in tournaments of at least nine games, against strong enough opponents from different federations. There are matching women’s titles (WCM, WFM, WIM, WGM).
Chess Castles’ titles (CGM, CIM…) are our own fun titles and are not FIDE titles.
When two or more players finish with the same points, a tie-break decides who is ahead. The order of tie-breaks is chosen by the organiser and written in the tournament’s regulations or brochure, so always check it before the event.
Common tie-breaks: Direct encounter (who won the game between them); Buchholz (the sum of the scores of all your opponents: a tougher opposition is better); Buchholz Cut-1 (the same, without your weakest opponent’s score); Sonneborn–Berger (the scores of the players you beat, plus half the scores of those you drew with); number of wins; and the average rating of your opponents.
Example: A and B both have 5 points. A’s opponents scored 24 points altogether and B’s 22. With Buchholz, A is ahead. Big prizes decided by tie-break can sometimes go to a playoff or a quick Armageddon game instead.
In a Swiss tournament everyone plays the same number of rounds (for example 7 or 9), and no one is knocked out. In each round players with the same score are paired together, so the winners meet the winners and the beginners meet other beginners. You can never meet the same opponent twice.
It is the most common format in India for large events, because hundreds of players can play in a few days. In a round robin, everyone plays everyone, which is used for small, strong fields. In a knockout, a loss sends you out.
Arrive 30 minutes early with the entry confirmation, a pen and water. The playing hall is quiet: children play alone, parents wait outside the hall. Mobile phones must be switched off, and only the arbiter (the referee) can answer rule questions.
In rated games with a slow time control, players write down every move on a scoresheet. Practise writing moves at home. The clock is pressed after each move with the same hand that moved the piece.
Losses are normal at the beginning. Talk about what the child learned, not the result. Read the tournament’s brochure for the time control, prizes, age groups and tie-breaks.
Touch-move: if you touch one of your pieces with the intention of moving it, you must move that piece if it has a legal move. If you touch an opponent’s piece, you must capture it if you can. To straighten a piece, say "adjust" (or "j’adoube") first, before touching it.
A move is made once you let go of the piece on a new square. Promotion is completed when the new piece is placed on the square. A player cannot take a move back.
Draws: to offer a draw, make your move first, then offer, then press your clock. Do not talk during a game; do not ask anyone for help. If you think the opponent broke a rule, stop the clock and call the arbiter, and do not argue.
Age-group tournaments are for children below a certain age. "Under-11" (U11) means the player must be younger than 11. In most events the age is counted on 1 January of the year of the tournament, so a child who turns 11 later in the year can still play U11. Always check the tournament’s rules.
Common groups are U7, U9, U11, U13, U15, U17 and U19, usually with a separate section for girls. Children can often also play in a higher age group if they are strong enough.
A rough guide for the FIDE scale: 1400–1600 is a beginner who knows the rules and basic tactics; 1600–1900 is a solid club player; 1900–2200 is a strong tournament player; above 2200 earns titles. The lowest official rating is 1400.
Compare a child with themselves, not with other children. A rise of 100–200 points in a year is very good progress. Age matters too: a 9-year-old at 1600 is far ahead of the usual path.
A simple weekly routine works best: puzzles every day (15 minutes), one long game with notes, one lesson or opening practice, and a review of mistakes. Playing many games without reviewing them helps little.
Reviewing the child’s own games is the fastest way to learn: ask "which move changed the game?" Chess Castles’ Game Insights finds the mistakes automatically and builds a weekly plan.
Keep it fun: short sessions, praise effort, and let the child play friends. Chess is long-term: a break after a bad tournament is fine.
No. The CC Rating is Chess Castles’ own rating. It is worked out the way FIDE rates players, from your games against our FIDE-level computer opponents, with a separate rating for Classical, Rapid and Blitz. It helps you practise and see your progress.
Only FIDE-rated tournaments change your official FIDE rating. Our opponents are computer opponents that play in the style of players at each FIDE rating, and Chess Castles is not affiliated with FIDE.
