How good is a 2600 chess player?
Rates are per 100 live moves: moves played while the game is not already decided.
What the terms meanShow less
- Centipawn.
- A hundredth of a pawn, the unit a chess engine scores a position in. Giving up a pawn for nothing costs about 100.
- Centipawn loss.
- How much worse a move is than the best move in the position. The average (ACPL) counts every move a player makes.
- Blunder, mistake, inaccuracy.
- A move that loses at least 150 centipawns is a blunder, at least 70 a mistake and at least 40 an inaccuracy. Only live moves are counted.
- Only move.
- A position where one move is clearly better than every other. “Finds the only move” is how often a player plays it.
- Time trouble.
- Less than a tenth of the starting time left on the clock. “Games in time trouble” is the share of games in which a player's clock got that low on any move, however the game stood.
- Winning, better, balanced, worse.
- How the engine scores the position for the player about to move. Balanced is within half a pawn either way, better is up to a pawn and a half ahead, winning is from there up to three pawns ahead, and worse is up to a pawn and a half behind.
- +1, +2, +4.
- A lead of at least one, two or four pawns by the engine's score. A lost position is one that has fallen two pawns behind or worse.
- Percentile.
- The share of a site's players who are rated lower. Blitz and rapid players are ranked separately.
How strong is 2600 Elo?
99.97%of Chess.com blitz players are rated below 2600
The top 0.03%. 0.01% are rated 2600 to 2699.
6.1blunders per 100 live moves
9.4inaccuracies per 100 live moves
86%of only moves found
36%of games reach time trouble
Chess.com blitz 3+0Chess.com blitz players at each rating
Chess.com blitz 3+0Chess.com blitz players at each rating
Chess.com blitz 3+0Chess.com blitz players at each rating
Chess.com blitz 3+0Chess.com blitz players at each rating
What a 2600 actually does
| Measure | 2500 | 2600 | 2700 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blunders | 6.6 | 6.1 | 5.8 |
| Mistakes | 9.5 | 9.1 | 8.8 |
| Inaccuracies | 9.7 | 9.4 | 9.2 |
| Average centipawn loss | 40.8 | 39.2 | 37.7 |
| Plays the engine's top move | 42% | 43% | 43% |
| Finds the only moveshare of positions with one real answer | 84% | 86% | 86% |
| Game length | 41.3 | 42.6 | 43.7 |
| Live moves per gamemoves played while the game is not already decided | 27.0 | 28.4 | 29.3 |
| How they use the clock | |||
| Games in time troubleunder a tenth of the clock | 35% | 36% | 37% |
| Seconds per move | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.5 |
| Instant movesplayed in two seconds or less | 56% | 57% | 58% |
| Clock left at move 8share of the starting clock | 92% | 92% | 92% |
| Clock left at move 15share of the starting clock | 77% | 77% | 77% |
| Clock left at move 30in games that get there | 38% | 37% | 37% |
| Clock left at move 50in games that get there | 14% | 13% | 14% |
| Moves played inside a scrambleown clock under a tenth | 6.6% | 7.2% | 7.5% |
| What the game looks like | |||
| Games that end decisivelywon or lost, not drawn | 93% | 93% | 93% |
| Reaches an endgame | 40% | 42% | 44% |
| Capturesper 100 own moves | 22.8 | 22.6 | 22.3 |
| Checksper 100 own moves | 6.6 | 6.8 | 6.9 |
How others play against a 2600
| Measure | 2500vs 2600 | 2600vs 2600 | 2700vs 2600 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Score against them | 42.7% | 50.0% | 57.0% |
| Score after reaching +1 | 63% | 71% | 75% |
| Score after reaching +2 | 72% | 78% | 82% |
| Ever loses from +4 | 13% | 11% | 8% |
| Score from lost positionsgames where their eval fell to minus two | 23% | 25% | 31% |
Each column is how players of that rating do in their games against a 2600.
Where a 2600 blunders
| Measure | 2500 | 2600 | 2700 |
|---|---|---|---|
| When in the game | |||
| Opening | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.1 |
| Middlegame | 8.2 | 7.4 | 6.9 |
| Endgame | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.6 |
| In what kind of position | |||
| Winning | 11.2 | 9.8 | 10.0 |
| Better | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Balanced | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.1 |
| Worse | 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.2 |
| With how much clock left | |||
| Over half | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.2 |
| 25 to 50% | 9.7 | 8.6 | 8.0 |
| 10 to 25% | 11.9 | 10.9 | 10.4 |
| Under 10% | 17.0 | 15.9 | 15.2 |
| With which piece | |||
| Queen | 8.9 | 7.9 | 7.5 |
| Rook | 8.6 | 8.0 | 7.2 |
| Knight | 6.0 | 5.5 | 5.3 |
| Bishop | 5.7 | 5.4 | 4.9 |
| Pawn | 5.3 | 4.9 | 4.7 |
| King | 7.1 | 6.2 | 5.9 |
The four rows under “In what kind of position” leave out positions that are already won or already lost. Throwing away a won game still counts in the overall blunder rate, which is why that rate can be higher than all four.
When a 2600 blunders most
Blunders per 100 live moves
When in the game
Most in the endgame: 7.8 times as often as in the opening.
- 2600, Opening: 1.3
- 2600, Middlegame: 7.4
- 2600, Endgame: 10.2
In what kind of position
Most when winning: 3.0 times as often as in a balanced game.
- 2600, Winning: 9.8
- 2600, Better: 4.0
- 2600, Balanced: 3.3
- 2600, Worse: 5.5
With how much clock left
Most with under 10% of the clock: 4.4 times as often as with over half the clock.
- 2600, Over half: 3.6
- 2600, 25 to 50%: 8.6
- 2600, 10 to 25%: 10.9
- 2600, Under 10%: 15.9
With which piece
Most on rook moves: 63% more often than on pawn moves.
- 2600, Queen: 7.9
- 2600, Rook: 8.0
- 2600, Knight: 5.5
- 2600, Bishop: 5.4
- 2600, Pawn: 4.9
- 2600, King: 6.2
How much 2600-rated players differ
| Measure | 5% | 25% | 75% | 95% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blunders | 5.0 | 5.7 | 6.8 | 7.6 |
| Mistakes | 7.8 | 8.5 | 9.7 | 10.7 |
| Inaccuracies | 8.2 | 8.8 | 9.8 | 10.6 |
| Finds the only move | 81% | 84% | 87% | 89% |
| Seconds per move | 3.0s | 3.3s | 3.7s | 4.2s |
| Games in time trouble | 17% | 26% | 45% | 57% |
Each column is a share of 2600-rated players: a quarter are at or under the 25% figure, three quarters at or under the 75% one.
The move quality range a 2600 plays in
2500 to 2750is how half of 2600-rated players play, going by how often they blunder
Nine in ten: 2350 to 2950.
Of 100 players rated 2600, how many blunder
- like a 2500 or lower26
- like a 260042
- like a 2700 or higher32
What separates a 2600 from a 2900
| Skill, and what trains it | 2600 | 2900 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening blundersthe first ten moves of your openings | 1.3 | 0.7 | 44% lower |
| Middlegame blundersa check-captures-threats scan every move | 7.4 | 5.8 | 22% lower |
| Endgame blundersrook endings and king activity | 10.2 | 8.9 | 13% lower |
| Sees the deeper wincalculating past the third move of a line | 56% | 61% | +5 pts |
| Composure after an errorresetting after you drop something | 3.4% | 3.1% | 9% lower |
| Finds the defensive savedefending worse positions instead of collapsing | 70% | 73% | +3 pts |
| Finds the quiet best movepositions where nothing is forcing | 74% | 77% | +3 pts |
| Takes the free materialspotting hanging pieces before anything else | 93% | 95% | +2 pts |
| Trades down when aheadconverting an advantage by liquidating | 68% | 71% | +3 pts |
| Finds the forkknight and queen forks, both directions | 66% | 65% | no gain |
What a 2600 plays
As White
- 1.e4 King's Pawn 48.3%, scores 50.0%
- 1.d4 Queen's Pawn 33.4%, scores 48.5%
- 1.Nf3 Réti / Zukertort 9.8%, scores 49.3%
- every other move 8%
Against 1.e4
- 1...c5 Sicilian Defense 37.7%, scores 46.5%
- 1...e5 Open Game 20.6%, scores 45.6%
- 1...e6 French Defense 11.8%, scores 52.6%
- every other move 30%
Against 1.d4
- 1...Nf6 Indian Defense 50.4%, scores 42.8%
- 1...d5 Closed Game 29.2%, scores 43.4%
- 1...e6, usually a French or Queen's Gambit 5.0%, scores 47.0%
- every other move 15%
2600 on each site and time control
| Played on | Blunders | Mistakes | Inaccs | ACPL | Only move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chess.com blitz 3+0 | 6.1 | 9.1 | 9.4 | 39.2 | 86% |
| Chess.com blitz 5+0 | ladder ends at 2500 | ||||
| Chess.com rapid 10+02600 or higher | 3.2 | 6.3 | 7.7 | 26.2 | 92% |
| Lichess blitz 3+0 | 5.5 | 8.2 | 8.9 | 36.5 | 86% |
| Lichess blitz 5+0 | ladder ends at 2500+ | ||||
| Lichess rapid 10+02600 or higher | 3.5 | 6.4 | 7.7 | 27.0 | 92% |
A rating number only means something inside one pool. Chess.com 2600 in blitz 3+0 is about 2464 on Lichess. Full conversion tables
What punishes a 2600
Share of all blunders, by the idea that refuted them
Most often a piece left hanging: 17% of all blunders, against 19% at 2300.
- 2600, Piece left hanging: 17%
- 2600, Losing exchange: 12%
- 2600, Fork: 8%
- 2600, Pawn or promotion: 8%
- 2600, Pin or skewer: 8%
Frequently asked about 2600-rated players
Answered for Chess.com blitz 3+0, the choice at the top of the page.
Is 2600 a good chess rating?
Yes, 2600 is a very strong chess rating. 99.97% of Chess.com blitz players are rated below 2600, and the middle player there is rated about 485. The word is for how a 2600 plays, not for where it ranks on Chess.com: move for move, a 2600 on Chess.com plays like a 2464 on Lichess, where 99.4% of blitz players are rated lower.
What percentile is 2600 Elo?
A 2600 rating is above the 99th percentile on Chess.com. It is in the top 0.03% of Chess.com blitz players. On Lichess, 99.8% of blitz players are rated below 2600. Every rating side by side: the Chess.com rating guide.
How accurate is a 2600 rated chess player?
A 2600-rated player plays the engine's top choice on 43% of moves in Chess.com blitz 3+0 and loses 39.2 centipawns per move on average. Going up the ratings, 2600 is where the average loss first drops under 40 centipawns a move.
How many blunders does a 2600 make per game?
A 2600-rated player makes about 1.7 blunders per game in Chess.com blitz 3+0, counting a move that loses at least 150 centipawns while the game is not already decided. A 2300 makes about 1.9 and a 2900 about 1.6.
Do 2600 rated players blunder more in time trouble?
Yes, a great deal. With under 10% of the clock left, a 2600-rated player blunders 4.4 times as often as with more than half of it. A 2600 gets that low on time in 36% of games in Chess.com blitz 3+0. The effect is bigger higher up: 5.6 times as often for a 2900.
What mistakes do 2600 rated players make?
17% of the blunders a 2600-rated player makes in Chess.com blitz 3+0 are a piece simply left hanging, the most common kind. That share is 19% at 2300 and 17% at 2900. Next come blunders involving a losing exchange, at 12%.
When in the game do 2600 rated players blunder most?
A 2600-rated player blunders most in the endgame in Chess.com blitz 3+0: on 10.2 of every 100 live moves there, against 7.4 in the middlegame and 1.3 in the opening. The endgame is also played on the least clock, so much of that is time pressure rather than weak endgame play.
What openings do 2600 rated players play?
As White in Chess.com blitz 3+0, 48.3% of players rated around 2600 open with e4, the King's Pawn, and 33.4% open with d4, the Queen's Pawn. The King's Pawn is opened less as ratings rise: 51.4% around 2300, 47.6% around 2900. Against e4, the most common reply is c5, the Sicilian Defense, played in 37.7% of games, ahead of e5, the Open Game, at 20.6%.
How does a 2600 do against a 2700?
A 2600 scores 43.0% against a 2700 in Chess.com blitz 3+0. Against a 2500 they score 57.3%.
What is 2600 on Chess.com in Lichess rating?
A 2600 on Chess.com is about 2464 on Lichess in blitz 3+0, 136 points lower. The gap between the two sites changes with rating, so no single number converts every rating. Every rating converted, both ways: Chess.com vs Lichess ratings.
2600 rating everywhere else
This page opens on Chess.com blitz 3+0, and the choice at the top changes every table on it. The same tables and answers for the other three are below.
Chess.com rapid 10+0
What a 2600+ actually does in Chess.com rapid 10+0
| Measure | 2500 | 2600+ |
|---|---|---|
| Blunders | 4.2 | 3.2 |
| Mistakes | 7.4 | 6.3 |
| Inaccuracies | 8.6 | 7.7 |
| Average centipawn loss | 30.4 | 26.2 |
| Plays the engine's top move | 46% | 49% |
| Finds the only moveshare of positions with one real answer | 89% | 92% |
| Game length | 44.3 | 46.3 |
| Live moves per gamemoves played while the game is not already decided | 30.6 | 32.8 |
| How they use the clock | ||
| Games in time troubleunder a tenth of the clock | 30% | 31% |
| Seconds per move | 10.9 | 10.6 |
| Instant movesplayed in two seconds or less | 35% | 38% |
| Clock left at move 8share of the starting clock | 94% | 94% |
| Clock left at move 15share of the starting clock | 78% | 78% |
| Clock left at move 30in games that get there | 41% | 42% |
| Clock left at move 50in games that get there | 19% | 19% |
| Moves played inside a scrambleown clock under a tenth | 9.2% | 9.6% |
| What the game looks like | ||
| Games that end decisivelywon or lost, not drawn | 89% | 86% |
| Reaches an endgame | 42% | 45% |
| Capturesper 100 own moves | 21.8 | 21.5 |
| Checksper 100 own moves | 7.1 | 7.4 |
How others play against a 2600+ in Chess.com rapid 10+0
| Result | 2500 | 2600+ |
|---|---|---|
| How the game goes | ||
| Score against them | 33.1% | 50.0% |
| Converting and defending | ||
| Score after reaching +1 | 59% | 75% |
| Score after reaching +2 | 74% | 85% |
| Ever loses from +4 | 9% | 5% |
| Score from lost positionsgames where their eval fell to minus two | 11% | 17% |
Each column is how players of that rating do in their games against a 2600+. The 2600+ column is everyone rated 2600 or above.
Where a 2600+ blunders in Chess.com rapid 10+0
| Measure | 2500 | 2600+ |
|---|---|---|
| When in the game | ||
| Opening | 0.7 | 0.5 |
| Middlegame | 5.1 | 3.7 |
| Endgame | 6.4 | 5.2 |
| In what kind of position | ||
| Winning | 7.0 | 5.2 |
| Better | 2.4 | 1.6 |
| Balanced | 2.2 | 1.5 |
| Worse | 4.3 | 3.5 |
| With how much clock left | ||
| Over half | 2.5 | 1.8 |
| 25 to 50% | 6.0 | 4.2 |
| 10 to 25% | 7.3 | 5.1 |
| Under 10% | 9.4 | 8.3 |
| With which piece | ||
| Queen | 6.1 | 4.4 |
| Rook | 5.1 | 4.2 |
| Knight | 4.0 | 2.9 |
| Bishop | 3.2 | 2.6 |
| Pawn | 3.5 | 2.5 |
| King | 4.1 | 3.3 |
The four rows under “In what kind of position” leave out positions that are already won or already lost. Throwing away a won game still counts in the overall blunder rate, which is why that rate can be higher than all four.
How much players rated 2600 or higher differ in Chess.com rapid 10+0
| Measure | 5% | 25% | 75% | 95% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blunders | 2.1 | 2.8 | 3.8 | 4.5 |
| Mistakes | 4.5 | 5.4 | 7.0 | 8.4 |
| Inaccuracies | 5.9 | 6.7 | 8.2 | 9.3 |
| Finds the only move | 88% | 90% | 94% | 96% |
| Seconds per move | 7.9s | 9.3s | 11.5s | 13.0s |
| Games in time trouble | 13% | 19% | 35% | 58% |
Each column is a share of players rated 2600 or higher: a quarter are at or under the 25% figure, three quarters at or under the 75% one.
What separates a 2300 from a 2600+ in Chess.com rapid 10+0
| Skill, and what trains it | 2300 | 2600+ | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening blundersthe first ten moves of your openings | 1.5 | 0.5 | 67% lower |
| Middlegame blundersa check-captures-threats scan every move | 7.0 | 3.7 | 46% lower |
| Endgame blundersrook endings and king activity | 8.1 | 5.2 | 36% lower |
| Composure after an errorresetting after you drop something | 3.1% | 2.5% | 21% lower |
| Finds the forkknight and queen forks, both directions | 69% | 82% | +13 pts |
| Trades down when aheadconverting an advantage by liquidating | 70% | 81% | +11 pts |
| Sees the deeper wincalculating past the third move of a line | 62% | 72% | +10 pts |
| Finds the quiet best movepositions where nothing is forcing | 75% | 84% | +9 pts |
| Finds the defensive savedefending worse positions instead of collapsing | 71% | 77% | +6 pts |
| Takes the free materialspotting hanging pieces before anything else | 95% | 96% | +1 pt |
What a 2600+ plays in Chess.com rapid 10+0
As White
| First move | Share | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1.e4King's Pawn | 49.2% | 72.8% |
| 1.d4Queen's Pawn | 28.7% | 72.6% |
| 1.Nf3Réti / Zukertort | 14.1% | 75.7% |
| Every other move | 8% | n/a |
Against 1.e4
| Reply | Share | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1...c5Sicilian Defense | 43.7% | 68.5% |
| 1...e5Open Game | 28.1% | 64.7% |
| 1...c6Caro-Kann Defense | 11.8% | 71.5% |
| Every other move | 16% | n/a |
Against 1.d4
| Reply | Share | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1...Nf6Indian Defense | 68.3% | 62.6% |
| 1...d5Closed Game | 24.1% | 65.8% |
| 1...d6Old Indian move order | 2.4% | 68.2% |
| Every other move | 5% | n/a |
What punishes a 2600+ in Chess.com rapid 10+0
| The idea that refuted the blunder | Share of blunders |
|---|---|
| Piece left hanging | 16% |
| Losing exchange | 11% |
| Pawn or promotion | 9% |
| Quiet move | 8% |
| Forced defense | 8% |
Questions about a 2600+ in Chess.com rapid 10+0
- Chess.com rapid 10+0: Is 2600+ a good chess rating?
- Yes, 2600+ is a very strong chess rating. Over 99.99% of Chess.com rapid players are rated below 2600, and the middle player there is rated about 498.
- Chess.com rapid 10+0: What percentile is 2600+ Elo?
- A 2600+ rating is above the 99.99th percentile on Chess.com. Under 0.01% of Chess.com rapid players are rated 2600 or higher, which is about 240 players. On Lichess, 99.94% of rapid players are rated below 2600. Every rating side by side: the Chess.com rating guide.
- Chess.com rapid 10+0: How accurate is a 2600+ rated chess player?
- A player rated 2600 or higher plays the engine's top choice on 49% of moves in Chess.com rapid 10+0 and loses 26.2 centipawns per move on average. Going up the ratings, 2600+ is where the average loss first drops under 30 centipawns a move.
- Chess.com rapid 10+0: How many blunders does a 2600+ make per game?
- A player rated 2600 or higher makes about 1.1 blunders per game in Chess.com rapid 10+0, counting a move that loses at least 150 centipawns while the game is not already decided. A 2300 makes about 1.5.
- Chess.com rapid 10+0: Do 2600+ rated players blunder more in time trouble?
- Yes, a great deal. With under 10% of the clock left, a player rated 2600 or higher blunders 4.6 times as often as with more than half of it. No lower rating goes above four times. A 2600+ gets that low on time in 31% of games in Chess.com rapid 10+0.
- Chess.com rapid 10+0: What mistakes do 2600+ rated players make?
- 16% of the blunders a player rated 2600 or higher makes in Chess.com rapid 10+0 are a piece simply left hanging, the most common kind. That share is 13% at 2300. Blunders involving forced defense grow at this level: 8%, up from 6% at 2300.
- Chess.com rapid 10+0: When in the game do 2600+ rated players blunder most?
- A player rated 2600 or higher blunders most in the endgame in Chess.com rapid 10+0: on 5.2 of every 100 live moves there, against 3.7 in the middlegame and 0.5 in the opening. The endgame is also played on the least clock, so much of that is time pressure rather than weak endgame play. It takes until 2600 for the rate in the middlegame to drop under 5 in every 100 live moves.
- Chess.com rapid 10+0: What openings do 2600+ rated players play?
- As White in Chess.com rapid 10+0, 49.2% of players rated 2600 or higher open with e4, the King's Pawn, and 28.7% open with d4, the Queen's Pawn. Around 2300, e4 is opened by 55.3%. Against e4, the most common reply is c5, the Sicilian Defense, played in 43.7% of games, ahead of e5, the Open Game, at 28.1%.
- Chess.com rapid 10+0: How does a 2600+ do against a 2500?
- A 2600+ scores 66.9% against a 2500 in Chess.com rapid 10+0.
Lichess blitz 3+0
What a 2600 actually does in Lichess blitz 3+0
| Measure | 2500 | 2600 | 2700 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blunders | 5.9 | 5.5 | 4.9 |
| Mistakes | 9.1 | 8.2 | 7.9 |
| Inaccuracies | 9.3 | 8.9 | 8.5 |
| Average centipawn loss | 38.4 | 36.5 | 34.3 |
| Plays the engine's top move | 43% | 45% | 46% |
| Finds the only moveshare of positions with one real answer | 86% | 86% | 88% |
| Game length | 41.8 | 42.9 | 44.3 |
| Live moves per gamemoves played while the game is not already decided | 28.3 | 29.7 | 31.1 |
| How they use the clock | |||
| Games in time troubleunder a tenth of the clock | 34% | 36% | 35% |
| Seconds per move | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.5 |
| Instant movesplayed in two seconds or less | 62% | 63% | 64% |
| Clock left at move 8share of the starting clock | 93% | 93% | 93% |
| Clock left at move 15share of the starting clock | 77% | 77% | 77% |
| Clock left at move 30in games that get there | 38% | 38% | 38% |
| Clock left at move 50in games that get there | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Moves played inside a scrambleown clock under a tenth | 6.7% | 7.6% | 7.8% |
| What the game looks like | |||
| Games that end decisivelywon or lost, not drawn | 93% | 91% | 90% |
| Reaches an endgame | 40% | 42% | 44% |
| Capturesper 100 own moves | 22.7 | 22.3 | 22.0 |
| Checksper 100 own moves | 6.6 | 6.7 | 6.6 |
How others play against a 2600 in Lichess blitz 3+0
| Result | 2500 | 2600 | 2700 |
|---|---|---|---|
| How the game goes | |||
| Score against them | 37.4% | 50.0% | 62.9% |
| Converting and defending | |||
| Score after reaching +1 | 59% | 69% | 78% |
| Score after reaching +2 | 69% | 77% | 85% |
| Ever loses from +4 | 16% | 12% | 6% |
| Score from lost positionsgames where their eval fell to minus two | 16% | 22% | 29% |
Each column is how players of that rating do in their games against a 2600.
Where a 2600 blunders in Lichess blitz 3+0
| Measure | 2500 | 2600 | 2700 |
|---|---|---|---|
| When in the game | |||
| Opening | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.8 |
| Middlegame | 7.2 | 6.6 | 5.7 |
| Endgame | 10.1 | 9.5 | 8.6 |
| In what kind of position | |||
| Winning | 9.5 | 9.3 | 8.1 |
| Better | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.2 |
| Balanced | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.6 |
| Worse | 5.5 | 5.1 | 4.6 |
| With how much clock left | |||
| Over half | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.5 |
| 25 to 50% | 8.5 | 7.7 | 6.6 |
| 10 to 25% | 10.7 | 9.8 | 8.4 |
| Under 10% | 16.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 |
| With which piece | |||
| Queen | 7.8 | 7.3 | 6.5 |
| Rook | 7.7 | 7.2 | 6.0 |
| Knight | 5.4 | 4.9 | 4.5 |
| Bishop | 4.9 | 4.7 | 4.1 |
| Pawn | 4.8 | 4.2 | 3.9 |
| King | 5.8 | 6.0 | 5.5 |
The four rows under “In what kind of position” leave out positions that are already won or already lost. Throwing away a won game still counts in the overall blunder rate, which is why that rate can be higher than all four.
How much 2600-rated players differ in Lichess blitz 3+0
| Measure | 5% | 25% | 75% | 95% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blunders | 4.2 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.7 |
| Mistakes | 6.8 | 7.5 | 8.7 | 9.8 |
| Inaccuracies | 7.6 | 8.3 | 9.3 | 10.0 |
| Finds the only move | 82% | 85% | 88% | 91% |
| Seconds per move | 3.1s | 3.3s | 3.8s | 4.2s |
| Games in time trouble | 20% | 27% | 42% | 54% |
Each column is a share of 2600-rated players: a quarter are at or under the 25% figure, three quarters at or under the 75% one.
What separates a 2600 from a 2900+ in Lichess blitz 3+0
| Skill, and what trains it | 2600 | 2900+ | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening blundersthe first ten moves of your openings | 0.9 | 0.4 | 59% lower |
| Middlegame blundersa check-captures-threats scan every move | 6.6 | 4.4 | 33% lower |
| Endgame blundersrook endings and king activity | 9.5 | 7.1 | 26% lower |
| Composure after an errorresetting after you drop something | 3.3% | 2.8% | 16% lower |
| Finds the defensive savedefending worse positions instead of collapsing | 69% | 79% | +10 pts |
| Trades down when aheadconverting an advantage by liquidating | 67% | 76% | +9 pts |
| Finds the quiet best movepositions where nothing is forcing | 76% | 83% | +7 pts |
| Sees the deeper wincalculating past the third move of a line | 62% | 71% | +9 pts |
| Takes the free materialspotting hanging pieces before anything else | 94% | 96% | +2 pts |
| Finds the forkknight and queen forks, both directions | 74% | 75% | +1 pt |
What a 2600 plays in Lichess blitz 3+0
As White
| First move | Share | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1.e4King's Pawn | 45.6% | 50.6% |
| 1.d4Queen's Pawn | 33.0% | 51.2% |
| 1.Nf3Réti / Zukertort | 12.5% | 53.6% |
| Every other move | 9% | n/a |
Against 1.e4
| Reply | Share | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1...c5Sicilian Defense | 37.6% | 46.0% |
| 1...e5Open Game | 21.7% | 40.5% |
| 1...c6Caro-Kann Defense | 13.0% | 45.9% |
| Every other move | 28% | n/a |
Against 1.d4
| Reply | Share | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1...Nf6Indian Defense | 55.5% | 47.1% |
| 1...d5Closed Game | 26.5% | 45.1% |
| 1...e61...e6, usually a French or Queen's Gambit | 4.0% | 42.0% |
| Every other move | 14% | n/a |
What punishes a 2600 in Lichess blitz 3+0
| The idea that refuted the blunder | Share of blunders |
|---|---|
| Piece left hanging | 18% |
| Losing exchange | 11% |
| Pawn or promotion | 9% |
| Fork | 9% |
| Quiet move | 8% |
Questions about a 2600 in Lichess blitz 3+0
- Lichess blitz 3+0: Is 2600 a good chess rating?
- Yes, 2600 is a very strong chess rating. 99.8% of Lichess blitz players are rated below 2600, and the middle player there is rated about 1447. On Chess.com, the same standard of play is rated about 2791.
- Lichess blitz 3+0: What percentile is 2600 Elo?
- A 2600 rating is above the 99th percentile on Lichess. It is in the top 0.2% of Lichess blitz players. On Chess.com, 99.97% of blitz players are rated below 2600. Every rating side by side: the Lichess rating guide.
- Lichess blitz 3+0: How accurate is a 2600 rated chess player?
- A 2600-rated player plays the engine's top choice on 45% of moves in Lichess blitz 3+0 and loses 36.5 centipawns per move on average. The average loss first drops under 35 centipawns a move at 2700.
- Lichess blitz 3+0: How many blunders does a 2600 make per game?
- A 2600-rated player makes about 1.6 blunders per game in Lichess blitz 3+0, counting a move that loses at least 150 centipawns while the game is not already decided. The first rating to average under 1.5 blunders a game is 2800.
- Lichess blitz 3+0: Do 2600 rated players blunder more in time trouble?
- Yes, a great deal. With under 10% of the clock left, a 2600-rated player blunders 5.0 times as often as with more than half of it. A 2600 gets that low on time in 36% of games in Lichess blitz 3+0. The effect is bigger higher up: 6.6 times as often for a 2900+.
- Lichess blitz 3+0: What mistakes do 2600 rated players make?
- 18% of the blunders a 2600-rated player makes in Lichess blitz 3+0 are a piece simply left hanging, the most common kind. That share is 17% at 2300 and 18% at 2900+. Blunders involving a pawn or promotion grow at this level: 9%, up from 7% at 2300.
- Lichess blitz 3+0: When in the game do 2600 rated players blunder most?
- A 2600-rated player blunders most in the endgame in Lichess blitz 3+0: on 9.5 of every 100 live moves there, against 6.6 in the middlegame and 0.9 in the opening. The endgame is also played on the least clock, so much of that is time pressure rather than weak endgame play. It takes until 2600 for the rate in the endgame to drop under 10 in every 100 live moves.
- Lichess blitz 3+0: What openings do 2600 rated players play?
- As White in Lichess blitz 3+0, 45.6% of players rated around 2600 open with e4, the King's Pawn, and 33.0% open with d4, the Queen's Pawn. Around 2300, e4 is opened by 48.1%, and around 2900+ by 50.9%. Against e4, the most common reply is c5, the Sicilian Defense, played in 37.6% of games, ahead of e5, the Open Game, at 21.7%.
- Lichess blitz 3+0: How does a 2600 do against a 2700?
- A 2600 scores 37.1% against a 2700 in Lichess blitz 3+0. Against a 2500 they score 62.6%.
- Lichess blitz 3+0: What is 2600 on Lichess in Chess.com rating?
- A 2600 on Lichess is about 2791 on Chess.com in blitz 3+0, 191 points higher. The gap between the two sites changes with rating, so no single number converts every rating. Every rating converted, both ways: Chess.com vs Lichess ratings.
Lichess rapid 10+0
What a 2600+ actually does in Lichess rapid 10+0
| Measure | 2500 | 2600+ |
|---|---|---|
| Blunders | 4.2 | 3.5 |
| Mistakes | 7.2 | 6.4 |
| Inaccuracies | 8.3 | 7.7 |
| Average centipawn loss | 30.4 | 27.0 |
| Plays the engine's top move | 47% | 49% |
| Finds the only moveshare of positions with one real answer | 90% | 92% |
| Game length | 42.9 | 44.3 |
| Live moves per gamemoves played while the game is not already decided | 29.3 | 30.8 |
| How they use the clock | ||
| Games in time troubleunder a tenth of the clock | 28% | 28% |
| Seconds per move | 11.1 | 10.8 |
| Instant movesplayed in two seconds or less | 38% | 40% |
| Clock left at move 8share of the starting clock | 94% | 94% |
| Clock left at move 15share of the starting clock | 78% | 77% |
| Clock left at move 30in games that get there | 41% | 41% |
| Clock left at move 50in games that get there | 20% | 19% |
| Moves played inside a scrambleown clock under a tenth | 8.2% | 8.6% |
| What the game looks like | ||
| Games that end decisivelywon or lost, not drawn | 88% | 86% |
| Reaches an endgame | 41% | 44% |
| Capturesper 100 own moves | 22.1 | 22.4 |
| Checksper 100 own moves | 7.3 | 7.7 |
How others play against a 2600+ in Lichess rapid 10+0
| Result | 2500 | 2600+ |
|---|---|---|
| How the game goes | ||
| Score against them | 33.6% | 50.0% |
| Converting and defending | ||
| Score after reaching +1 | 57% | 74% |
| Score after reaching +2 | 69% | 83% |
| Ever loses from +4 | 11% | 7% |
| Score from lost positionsgames where their eval fell to minus two | 9% | 21% |
Each column is how players of that rating do in their games against a 2600+. The 2600+ column is everyone rated 2600 or above.
Where a 2600+ blunders in Lichess rapid 10+0
| Measure | 2500 | 2600+ |
|---|---|---|
| When in the game | ||
| Opening | 0.8 | 0.6 |
| Middlegame | 5.2 | 4.0 |
| Endgame | 5.9 | 6.0 |
| In what kind of position | ||
| Winning | 6.7 | 5.3 |
| Better | 2.2 | 1.8 |
| Balanced | 2.0 | 1.7 |
| Worse | 4.3 | 3.6 |
| With how much clock left | ||
| Over half | 2.6 | 2.0 |
| 25 to 50% | 5.3 | 4.2 |
| 10 to 25% | 7.0 | 6.1 |
| Under 10% | 11.0 | 9.8 |
| With which piece | ||
| Queen | 5.7 | 4.5 |
| Rook | 5.4 | 4.3 |
| Knight | 3.6 | 2.9 |
| Bishop | 3.5 | 3.0 |
| Pawn | 3.4 | 3.0 |
| King | 3.9 | 3.8 |
The four rows under “In what kind of position” leave out positions that are already won or already lost. Throwing away a won game still counts in the overall blunder rate, which is why that rate can be higher than all four.
How much players rated 2600 or higher differ in Lichess rapid 10+0
| Measure | 5% | 25% | 75% | 95% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blunders | 2.2 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 4.7 |
| Mistakes | 4.9 | 5.8 | 6.9 | 7.9 |
| Inaccuracies | 6.4 | 7.1 | 8.0 | 8.9 |
| Finds the only move | 89% | 91% | 94% | 97% |
| Seconds per move | 7.7s | 9.3s | 11.9s | 13.6s |
| Games in time trouble | 6% | 14% | 34% | 65% |
Each column is a share of players rated 2600 or higher: a quarter are at or under the 25% figure, three quarters at or under the 75% one.
What separates a 2300 from a 2600+ in Lichess rapid 10+0
| Skill, and what trains it | 2300 | 2600+ | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening blundersthe first ten moves of your openings | 1.3 | 0.6 | 56% lower |
| Middlegame blundersa check-captures-threats scan every move | 6.8 | 4.0 | 41% lower |
| Endgame blundersrook endings and king activity | 7.9 | 6.0 | 23% lower |
| Sees the deeper wincalculating past the third move of a line | 61% | 73% | +12 pts |
| Composure after an errorresetting after you drop something | 3.1% | 2.5% | 20% lower |
| Trades down when aheadconverting an advantage by liquidating | 73% | 82% | +9 pts |
| Finds the quiet best movepositions where nothing is forcing | 76% | 85% | +9 pts |
| Finds the defensive savedefending worse positions instead of collapsing | 70% | 77% | +7 pts |
| Takes the free materialspotting hanging pieces before anything else | 94% | 97% | +3 pts |
| Finds the forkknight and queen forks, both directions | 74% | 85% | +11 pts |
What a 2600+ plays in Lichess rapid 10+0
As White
| First move | Share | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1.e4King's Pawn | 41.3% | 66.7% |
| 1.d4Queen's Pawn | 35.4% | 69.0% |
| 1.Nf3Réti / Zukertort | 11.4% | 66.0% |
| Every other move | 12% | n/a |
Against 1.e4
| Reply | Share | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1...c5Sicilian Defense | 45.6% | 63.9% |
| 1...e5Open Game | 17.5% | 64.6% |
| 1...c6Caro-Kann Defense | 13.4% | 72.7% |
| Every other move | 23% | n/a |
Against 1.d4
| Reply | Share | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1...Nf6Indian Defense | 60.8% | 65.1% |
| 1...d5Closed Game | 26.3% | 63.5% |
| 1...e61...e6, usually a French or Queen's Gambit | 7.5% | 61.9% |
| Every other move | 5% | n/a |
What punishes a 2600+ in Lichess rapid 10+0
| The idea that refuted the blunder | Share of blunders |
|---|---|
| Piece left hanging | 16% |
| Quiet move | 9% |
| Fork | 9% |
| Losing exchange | 9% |
| Pawn or promotion | 8% |
Questions about a 2600+ in Lichess rapid 10+0
- Lichess rapid 10+0: Is 2600+ a good chess rating?
- Yes, 2600+ is a very strong chess rating. 99.94% of Lichess rapid players are rated below 2600, and the middle player there is rated about 1379.
- Lichess rapid 10+0: What percentile is 2600+ Elo?
- A 2600+ rating is above the 99th percentile on Lichess. It is in the top 0.06% of Lichess rapid players, which is about 560 players. On Chess.com, over 99.99% of rapid players are rated below 2600. Every rating side by side: the Lichess rating guide.
- Lichess rapid 10+0: How accurate is a 2600+ rated chess player?
- A player rated 2600 or higher plays the engine's top choice on 49% of moves in Lichess rapid 10+0 and loses 27.0 centipawns per move on average. Going up the ratings, 2600+ is where the average loss first drops under 30 centipawns a move.
- Lichess rapid 10+0: How many blunders does a 2600+ make per game?
- A player rated 2600 or higher makes about 1.1 blunders per game in Lichess rapid 10+0, counting a move that loses at least 150 centipawns while the game is not already decided. A 2300 makes about 1.4.
- Lichess rapid 10+0: Do 2600+ rated players blunder more in time trouble?
- Yes, a great deal. With under 10% of the clock left, a player rated 2600 or higher blunders 4.9 times as often as with more than half of it. A 2600+ gets that low on time in 28% of games in Lichess rapid 10+0. The effect is smaller lower down: 3.1 times as often for a 2300.
- Lichess rapid 10+0: What mistakes do 2600+ rated players make?
- 16% of the blunders a player rated 2600 or higher makes in Lichess rapid 10+0 are a piece simply left hanging, the most common kind. That share is 16% at 2300. Next come blunders involving a quiet move, at 9%.
- Lichess rapid 10+0: When in the game do 2600+ rated players blunder most?
- A player rated 2600 or higher blunders most in the endgame in Lichess rapid 10+0: on 6.0 of every 100 live moves there, against 4.0 in the middlegame and 0.6 in the opening. The endgame is also played on the least clock, so much of that is time pressure rather than weak endgame play. It takes until 2600 for the rate in the middlegame to drop under 5 in every 100 live moves.
- Lichess rapid 10+0: What openings do 2600+ rated players play?
- As White in Lichess rapid 10+0, 41.3% of players rated 2600 or higher open with e4, the King's Pawn, and 35.4% open with d4, the Queen's Pawn. Around 2300, e4 is opened by 52.5%. Against e4, the most common reply is c5, the Sicilian Defense, played in 45.6% of games, ahead of e5, the Open Game, at 17.5%.
- Lichess rapid 10+0: How does a 2600+ do against a 2500?
- A 2600+ scores 66.4% against a 2500 in Lichess rapid 10+0.