How good is a 2800 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 2800 Elo?
99.99%of Chess.com blitz players are rated below 2800
The top 0.01%. Under 0.01% are rated 2800 to 2899.
5.3blunders per 100 live moves
9.1inaccuracies per 100 live moves
86%of only moves found
40%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 2800 actually does
| Measure | 2700 | 2800 | 2900 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blunders | 5.8 | 5.3 | 5.0 |
| Mistakes | 8.8 | 8.3 | 7.8 |
| Inaccuracies | 9.2 | 9.1 | 8.5 |
| Average centipawn loss | 37.7 | 36.4 | 34.3 |
| Plays the engine's top move | 43% | 44% | 45% |
| Finds the only moveshare of positions with one real answer | 86% | 86% | 87% |
| Game length | 43.7 | 45.5 | 45.5 |
| Live moves per gamemoves played while the game is not already decided | 29.3 | 31.1 | 31.6 |
| How they use the clock | |||
| Games in time troubleunder a tenth of the clock | 37% | 40% | 38% |
| Seconds per move | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Instant movesplayed in two seconds or less | 58% | 59% | 60% |
| 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 | 37% | 37% | 38% |
| Clock left at move 50in games that get there | 14% | 14% | 14% |
| Moves played inside a scrambleown clock under a tenth | 7.5% | 8.5% | 8.2% |
| What the game looks like | |||
| Games that end decisivelywon or lost, not drawn | 93% | 92% | 91% |
| Reaches an endgame | 44% | 45% | 46% |
| Capturesper 100 own moves | 22.3 | 21.7 | 21.7 |
| Checksper 100 own moves | 6.9 | 6.9 | 6.7 |
How others play against a 2800
| Measure | 2700vs 2800 | 2800vs 2800 | 2900vs 2800 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Score against them | 41.8% | 50.0% | 60.3% |
| Score after reaching +1 | 65% | 72% | 77% |
| Score after reaching +2 | 75% | 80% | 84% |
| Ever loses from +4 | 9% | 9% | 6% |
| Score from lost positionsgames where their eval fell to minus two | 21% | 24% | 29% |
Each column is how players of that rating do in their games against a 2800.
Where a 2800 blunders
| Measure | 2700 | 2800 | 2900 |
|---|---|---|---|
| When in the game | |||
| Opening | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| Middlegame | 6.9 | 6.3 | 5.8 |
| Endgame | 9.6 | 9.2 | 8.9 |
| In what kind of position | |||
| Winning | 10.0 | 8.8 | 9.0 |
| Better | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.1 |
| Balanced | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.7 |
| Worse | 5.2 | 4.9 | 4.7 |
| With how much clock left | |||
| Over half | 3.2 | 2.7 | 2.5 |
| 25 to 50% | 8.0 | 7.3 | 6.4 |
| 10 to 25% | 10.4 | 9.5 | 9.4 |
| Under 10% | 15.2 | 14.2 | 14.1 |
| With which piece | |||
| Queen | 7.5 | 7.4 | 6.7 |
| Rook | 7.2 | 6.8 | 6.2 |
| Knight | 5.3 | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| Bishop | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.1 |
| Pawn | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.0 |
| King | 5.9 | 5.5 | 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.
When a 2800 blunders most
Blunders per 100 live moves
When in the game
Most in the endgame: 11 times as often as in the opening.
- 2800, Opening: 0.8
- 2800, Middlegame: 6.3
- 2800, Endgame: 9.2
In what kind of position
Most when winning: 3.1 times as often as in a balanced game.
- 2800, Winning: 8.8
- 2800, Better: 3.2
- 2800, Balanced: 2.8
- 2800, Worse: 4.9
With how much clock left
Most with under 10% of the clock: 5.3 times as often as with over half the clock.
- 2800, Over half: 2.7
- 2800, 25 to 50%: 7.3
- 2800, 10 to 25%: 9.5
- 2800, Under 10%: 14.2
With which piece
Most on queen moves: 76% more often than on pawn moves.
- 2800, Queen: 7.4
- 2800, Rook: 6.8
- 2800, Knight: 4.6
- 2800, Bishop: 4.5
- 2800, Pawn: 4.2
- 2800, King: 5.5
How much 2800-rated players differ
| Measure | 5% | 25% | 75% | 95% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blunders | 4.3 | 5.0 | 5.9 | 6.6 |
| Mistakes | 7.2 | 7.8 | 8.8 | 9.6 |
| Inaccuracies | 8.0 | 8.6 | 9.5 | 10.2 |
| Finds the only move | 82% | 85% | 88% | 90% |
| Seconds per move | 3.0s | 3.2s | 3.7s | 4.1s |
| Games in time trouble | 22% | 31% | 48% | 59% |
Each column is a share of 2800-rated players: a quarter are at or under the 25% figure, three quarters at or under the 75% one.
The move quality range a 2800 plays in
2700 to 2900is how half of 2800-rated players play, going by how often they blunder
Nine in ten: 2500 to 3050.
Of 100 players rated 2800, how many blunder
- like a 2700 or lower28
- like a 280039
- like a 2900 or higher33
What separates a 2800 from a 3100
| Skill, and what trains it | 2800 | 3100 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening blundersthe first ten moves of your openings | 0.8 | 0.5 | 45% lower |
| Middlegame blundersa check-captures-threats scan every move | 6.3 | 4.5 | 28% lower |
| Endgame blundersrook endings and king activity | 9.2 | 7.6 | 17% lower |
| Composure after an errorresetting after you drop something | 3.2% | 2.9% | 11% lower |
| Trades down when aheadconverting an advantage by liquidating | 67% | 74% | +7 pts |
| Finds the quiet best movepositions where nothing is forcing | 76% | 80% | +4 pts |
| Finds the defensive savedefending worse positions instead of collapsing | 72% | 75% | +3 pts |
| Sees the deeper wincalculating past the third move of a line | 61% | 64% | +3 pts |
| Takes the free materialspotting hanging pieces before anything else | 95% | 95% | no gain |
| Finds the forkknight and queen forks, both directions | 75% | 75% | no gain |
What a 2800 plays
As White
- 1.e4 King's Pawn 48.1%, scores 48.6%
- 1.d4 Queen's Pawn 31.8%, scores 49.1%
- 1.Nf3 Réti / Zukertort 12.6%, scores 52.1%
- every other move 7%
Against 1.e4
- 1...c5 Sicilian Defense 36.6%, scores 46.2%
- 1...e5 Open Game 22.3%, scores 45.7%
- 1...c6 Caro-Kann Defense 13.0%, scores 46.0%
- every other move 28%
Against 1.d4
- 1...Nf6 Indian Defense 55.3%, scores 41.7%
- 1...d5 Closed Game 26.2%, scores 40.3%
- 1...e6, usually a French or Queen's Gambit 5.6%, scores 41.4%
- every other move 13%
2800 on each site and time control
| Played on | Blunders | Mistakes | Inaccs | ACPL | Only move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chess.com blitz 3+0 | 5.3 | 8.3 | 9.1 | 36.4 | 86% |
| Chess.com blitz 5+0 | ladder ends at 2500 | ||||
| Chess.com rapid 10+0 | ladder ends at 2600+ | ||||
| Lichess blitz 3+0 | 4.4 | 7.1 | 8.4 | 32.0 | 89% |
| Lichess blitz 5+0 | ladder ends at 2500+ | ||||
| Lichess rapid 10+0 | ladder ends at 2600+ | ||||
A rating number only means something inside one pool. Chess.com 2800 in blitz 3+0 is about 2606 on Lichess. Full conversion tables
What punishes a 2800
Share of all blunders, by the idea that refuted them
Most often a piece left hanging: 17% of all blunders, against 17% at 2500.
- 2800, Piece left hanging: 17%
- 2800, Losing exchange: 11%
- 2800, Pawn or promotion: 9%
- 2800, Fork: 8%
- 2800, Quiet move: 8%
Frequently asked about 2800-rated players
Answered for Chess.com blitz 3+0, the choice at the top of the page.
Is 2800 a good chess rating?
Yes, 2800 is a very strong chess rating. 99.99% of Chess.com blitz players are rated below 2800, and the middle player there is rated about 485. The word is for how a 2800 plays, not for where it ranks on Chess.com: move for move, a 2800 on Chess.com plays like a 2606 on Lichess, where 99.8% of blitz players are rated lower.
What percentile is 2800 Elo?
A 2800 rating is above the 99th percentile on Chess.com. It is in the top 0.01% of Chess.com blitz players. On Lichess, 99.96% of blitz players are rated below 2800. Every rating side by side: the Chess.com rating guide.
How accurate is a 2800 rated chess player?
A 2800-rated player plays the engine's top choice on 44% of moves in Chess.com blitz 3+0 and loses 36.4 centipawns per move on average. The average loss first drops under 35 centipawns a move at 2900.
How many blunders does a 2800 make per game?
A 2800-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 2500 makes about 1.8 and a 3100 about 1.5.
Do 2800 rated players blunder more in time trouble?
Yes, a great deal. With under 10% of the clock left, a 2800-rated player blunders 5.3 times as often as with more than half of it. No lower rating goes above five times. A 2800 gets that low on time in 40% of games in Chess.com blitz 3+0.
What mistakes do 2800 rated players make?
17% of the blunders a 2800-rated player makes in Chess.com blitz 3+0 are a piece simply left hanging, the most common kind. That share is 17% at 2500 and 16% at 3100. Blunders involving a pawn or promotion grow at this level: 9%, up from 7% at 2500.
When in the game do 2800 rated players blunder most?
A 2800-rated player blunders most in the endgame in Chess.com blitz 3+0: on 9.2 of every 100 live moves there, against 6.3 in the middlegame and 0.8 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 2800 for the rate in the opening to drop under 1 in every 100 live moves.
What openings do 2800 rated players play?
As White in Chess.com blitz 3+0, 48.1% of players rated around 2800 open with e4, the King's Pawn, and 31.8% open with d4, the Queen's Pawn. The King's Pawn is opened less as ratings rise: 48.3% around 2500, 45.5% around 3100. Against e4, the most common reply is c5, the Sicilian Defense, played in 36.6% of games, ahead of e5, the Open Game, at 22.3%.
How does a 2800 do against a 2900?
A 2800 scores 39.7% against a 2900 in Chess.com blitz 3+0. Against a 2700 they score 58.2%.
What is 2800 on Chess.com in Lichess rating?
A 2800 on Chess.com is about 2606 on Lichess in blitz 3+0, 194 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.
2800 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 one are below.
Lichess blitz 3+0
What a 2800 actually does in Lichess blitz 3+0
| Measure | 2700 | 2800 | 2900+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blunders | 4.9 | 4.4 | 3.9 |
| Mistakes | 7.9 | 7.1 | 6.7 |
| Inaccuracies | 8.5 | 8.4 | 7.8 |
| Average centipawn loss | 34.3 | 32.0 | 29.5 |
| Plays the engine's top move | 46% | 47% | 47% |
| Finds the only moveshare of positions with one real answer | 88% | 89% | 91% |
| Game length | 44.3 | 45.2 | 46.8 |
| Live moves per gamemoves played while the game is not already decided | 31.1 | 32.3 | 33.9 |
| How they use the clock | |||
| Games in time troubleunder a tenth of the clock | 35% | 33% | 33% |
| Seconds per move | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.3 |
| Instant movesplayed in two seconds or less | 64% | 65% | 66% |
| Clock left at move 8share of the starting clock | 93% | 93% | 93% |
| Clock left at move 15share of the starting clock | 77% | 78% | 77% |
| Clock left at move 30in games that get there | 38% | 39% | 39% |
| Clock left at move 50in games that get there | 14% | 14% | 15% |
| Moves played inside a scrambleown clock under a tenth | 7.8% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| What the game looks like | |||
| Games that end decisivelywon or lost, not drawn | 90% | 87% | 84% |
| Reaches an endgame | 44% | 44% | 47% |
| Capturesper 100 own moves | 22.0 | 21.8 | 21.6 |
| Checksper 100 own moves | 6.6 | 7.0 | 6.9 |
How others play against a 2800 in Lichess blitz 3+0
| Result | 2700 | 2800 | 2900+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| How the game goes | |||
| Score against them | 37.0% | 50.0% | 64.7% |
| Converting and defending | |||
| Score after reaching +1 | 58% | 69% | 77% |
| Score after reaching +2 | 69% | 79% | 84% |
| Ever loses from +4 | 16% | 9% | 7% |
| Score from lost positionsgames where their eval fell to minus two | 13% | 19% | 31% |
Each column is how players of that rating do in their games against a 2800. The 2900+ column is everyone rated 2900 or above.
Where a 2800 blunders in Lichess blitz 3+0
| Measure | 2700 | 2800 | 2900+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| When in the game | |||
| Opening | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Middlegame | 5.7 | 5.0 | 4.4 |
| Endgame | 8.6 | 8.2 | 7.1 |
| In what kind of position | |||
| Winning | 8.1 | 7.6 | 7.0 |
| Better | 3.2 | 2.6 | 1.9 |
| Balanced | 2.6 | 2.3 | 2.0 |
| Worse | 4.6 | 4.3 | 3.1 |
| With how much clock left | |||
| Over half | 2.5 | 2.1 | 1.7 |
| 25 to 50% | 6.6 | 5.8 | 5.0 |
| 10 to 25% | 8.4 | 7.9 | 7.1 |
| Under 10% | 13.9 | 12.8 | 11.2 |
| With which piece | |||
| Queen | 6.5 | 6.2 | 5.4 |
| Rook | 6.0 | 5.7 | 5.1 |
| Knight | 4.5 | 3.8 | 3.2 |
| Bishop | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.1 |
| Pawn | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.0 |
| King | 5.5 | 4.9 | 4.6 |
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 2800-rated players differ in Lichess blitz 3+0
| Measure | 5% | 25% | 75% | 95% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blunders | 3.4 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 5.4 |
| Mistakes | 6.0 | 6.6 | 7.5 | 8.4 |
| Inaccuracies | 7.0 | 7.7 | 8.8 | 9.5 |
| Finds the only move | 85% | 88% | 91% | 94% |
| Seconds per move | 2.8s | 3.2s | 3.7s | 4.1s |
| Games in time trouble | 14% | 23% | 41% | 55% |
Each column is a share of 2800-rated players: a quarter are at or under the 25% figure, three quarters at or under the 75% one.
What separates a 2800 from a 2900+ in Lichess blitz 3+0
| Skill, and what trains it | 2800 | 2900+ | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening blundersthe first ten moves of your openings | 0.6 | 0.4 | 40% lower |
| Endgame blundersrook endings and king activity | 8.2 | 7.1 | 13% lower |
| Middlegame blundersa check-captures-threats scan every move | 5.0 | 4.4 | 13% lower |
| Composure after an errorresetting after you drop something | 2.9% | 2.8% | 6% lower |
| Finds the defensive savedefending worse positions instead of collapsing | 75% | 79% | +4 pts |
| Finds the quiet best movepositions where nothing is forcing | 79% | 83% | +4 pts |
| Sees the deeper wincalculating past the third move of a line | 67% | 71% | +4 pts |
| Finds the forkknight and queen forks, both directions | 71% | 75% | +4 pts |
| Trades down when aheadconverting an advantage by liquidating | 73% | 76% | +3 pts |
| Takes the free materialspotting hanging pieces before anything else | 95% | 96% | +1 pt |
What a 2800 plays in Lichess blitz 3+0
As White
| First move | Share | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1.e4King's Pawn | 50.1% | 58.7% |
| 1.d4Queen's Pawn | 28.1% | 61.6% |
| 1.Nf3Réti / Zukertort | 12.2% | 57.8% |
| Every other move | 10% | n/a |
Against 1.e4
| Reply | Share | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1...c5Sicilian Defense | 37.9% | 57.7% |
| 1...e5Open Game | 28.2% | 50.5% |
| 1...c6Caro-Kann Defense | 10.6% | 48.6% |
| Every other move | 23% | n/a |
Against 1.d4
| Reply | Share | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1...Nf6Indian Defense | 60.1% | 53.6% |
| 1...d5Closed Game | 23.8% | 41.7% |
| 1...e61...e6, usually a French or Queen's Gambit | 5.4% | 71.2% |
| Every other move | 11% | n/a |
What punishes a 2800 in Lichess blitz 3+0
| The idea that refuted the blunder | Share of blunders |
|---|---|
| Piece left hanging | 18% |
| Losing exchange | 10% |
| Quiet move | 10% |
| Fork | 9% |
| Pawn or promotion | 8% |
Questions about a 2800 in Lichess blitz 3+0
- Lichess blitz 3+0: Is 2800 a good chess rating?
- Yes, 2800 is a very strong chess rating. 99.96% of Lichess blitz players are rated below 2800, and the middle player there is rated about 1447.
- Lichess blitz 3+0: What percentile is 2800 Elo?
- A 2800 rating is above the 99th percentile on Lichess. It is in the top 0.04% of Lichess blitz players, which is about 450 players. On Chess.com, 99.99% of blitz players are rated below 2800. Every rating side by side: the Lichess rating guide.
- Lichess blitz 3+0: How accurate is a 2800 rated chess player?
- A 2800-rated player plays the engine's top choice on 47% of moves in Lichess blitz 3+0 and loses 32.0 centipawns per move on average. The average loss first drops under 30 centipawns a move at 2900+.
- Lichess blitz 3+0: How many blunders does a 2800 make per game?
- A 2800-rated player makes about 1.4 blunders per game in Lichess blitz 3+0, counting a move that loses at least 150 centipawns while the game is not already decided. 2800 is the first rating to average under 1.5 blunders a game.
- Lichess blitz 3+0: Do 2800 rated players blunder more in time trouble?
- Yes, a great deal. With under 10% of the clock left, a 2800-rated player blunders 6.1 times as often as with more than half of it. A 2800 gets that low on time in 33% of games in Lichess blitz 3+0. The effect is smaller lower down: 4.8 times as often for a 2500.
- Lichess blitz 3+0: What mistakes do 2800 rated players make?
- 18% of the blunders a 2800-rated player makes in Lichess blitz 3+0 are a piece simply left hanging, the most common kind. That share is 17% at 2500. Blunders involving a quiet move grow at this level: 10%, up from 8% at 2500.
- Lichess blitz 3+0: When in the game do 2800 rated players blunder most?
- A 2800-rated player blunders most in the endgame in Lichess blitz 3+0: on 8.2 of every 100 live moves there, against 5.0 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.
- Lichess blitz 3+0: What openings do 2800 rated players play?
- As White in Lichess blitz 3+0, 50.1% of players rated around 2800 open with e4, the King's Pawn, and 28.1% open with d4, the Queen's Pawn. Around 2500, e4 is opened by 45.2%. Against e4, the most common reply is c5, the Sicilian Defense, played in 37.9% of games, ahead of e5, the Open Game, at 28.2%.
- Lichess blitz 3+0: How does a 2800 do against a 2900+?
- A 2800 scores 35.3% against a 2900+ in Lichess blitz 3+0. Against a 2700 they score 63.0%.
- Lichess blitz 3+0: What is 2800 on Lichess in Chess.com rating?
- A 2800 on Lichess is 2800 or higher on Chess.com in blitz 3+0. That is past the highest Chess.com rating measured here, so there is no closer figure. Every rating converted, both ways: Chess.com vs Lichess ratings.