How good is a 3000 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 3000 Elo?
Over99.99%of Chess.com blitz players are rated below 3000
Fewer than 0.01% are rated 3000 or higher: about 380 players.
4.5blunders per 100 live moves
8.5inaccuracies per 100 live moves
88%of only moves found
39%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 3000 actually does
| Measure | 2900 | 3000 | 3100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blunders | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.1 |
| Mistakes | 7.8 | 7.4 | 7.0 |
| Inaccuracies | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.1 |
| Average centipawn loss | 34.3 | 32.5 | 31.0 |
| Plays the engine's top move | 45% | 45% | 46% |
| Finds the only moveshare of positions with one real answer | 87% | 88% | 89% |
| Game length | 45.5 | 47.2 | 48.9 |
| Live moves per gamemoves played while the game is not already decided | 31.6 | 33.6 | 35.1 |
| How they use the clock | |||
| Games in time troubleunder a tenth of the clock | 38% | 39% | 40% |
| Seconds per move | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.3 |
| Instant movesplayed in two seconds or less | 60% | 61% | 62% |
| Clock left at move 8share of the starting clock | 92% | 93% | 93% |
| Clock left at move 15share of the starting clock | 77% | 78% | 78% |
| Clock left at move 30in games that get there | 38% | 39% | 39% |
| Clock left at move 50in games that get there | 14% | 15% | 15% |
| Moves played inside a scrambleown clock under a tenth | 8.2% | 8.9% | 9.7% |
| What the game looks like | |||
| Games that end decisivelywon or lost, not drawn | 91% | 90% | 89% |
| Reaches an endgame | 46% | 47% | 49% |
| Capturesper 100 own moves | 21.7 | 21.2 | 20.9 |
| Checksper 100 own moves | 6.7 | 6.9 | 7.0 |
How others play against a 3000
| Measure | 2900vs 3000 | 3000vs 3000 | 3100vs 3000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Score against them | 40.8% | 50.0% | 61.1% |
| Score after reaching +1 | 66% | 74% | 81% |
| Score after reaching +2 | 76% | 82% | 87% |
| Ever loses from +4 | 11% | 8% | 5% |
| Score from lost positionsgames where their eval fell to minus two | 18% | 23% | 29% |
Each column is how players of that rating do in their games against a 3000.
Where a 3000 blunders
| Measure | 2900 | 3000 | 3100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| When in the game | |||
| Opening | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Middlegame | 5.8 | 5.0 | 4.5 |
| Endgame | 8.9 | 8.4 | 7.6 |
| In what kind of position | |||
| Winning | 9.0 | 7.7 | 7.1 |
| Better | 3.1 | 2.4 | 2.2 |
| Balanced | 2.7 | 2.3 | 2.2 |
| Worse | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.1 |
| With how much clock left | |||
| Over half | 2.5 | 2.0 | 1.7 |
| 25 to 50% | 6.4 | 5.6 | 5.0 |
| 10 to 25% | 9.4 | 8.2 | 7.5 |
| Under 10% | 14.1 | 12.9 | 11.9 |
| With which piece | |||
| Queen | 6.7 | 6.0 | 5.9 |
| Rook | 6.2 | 5.7 | 5.2 |
| Knight | 4.6 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Bishop | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.2 |
| Pawn | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.1 |
| King | 5.5 | 5.0 | 4.7 |
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 3000 blunders most
Blunders per 100 live moves
When in the game
Most in the endgame: 17 times as often as in the opening.
- 3000, Opening: 0.5
- 3000, Middlegame: 5.0
- 3000, Endgame: 8.4
In what kind of position
Most when winning: 3.3 times as often as in a balanced game.
- 3000, Winning: 7.7
- 3000, Better: 2.4
- 3000, Balanced: 2.3
- 3000, Worse: 4.3
With how much clock left
Most with under 10% of the clock: 6.5 times as often as with over half the clock.
- 3000, Over half: 2.0
- 3000, 25 to 50%: 5.6
- 3000, 10 to 25%: 8.2
- 3000, Under 10%: 12.9
With which piece
Most on queen moves: 76% more often than on pawn moves.
- 3000, Queen: 6.0
- 3000, Rook: 5.7
- 3000, Knight: 4.0
- 3000, Bishop: 3.6
- 3000, Pawn: 3.4
- 3000, King: 5.0
How much 3000-rated players differ
| Measure | 5% | 25% | 75% | 95% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blunders | 3.6 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 5.6 |
| Mistakes | 6.2 | 6.9 | 7.9 | 8.7 |
| Inaccuracies | 7.4 | 8.0 | 8.9 | 9.6 |
| Finds the only move | 84% | 86% | 90% | 91% |
| Seconds per move | 2.9s | 3.2s | 3.6s | 3.9s |
| Games in time trouble | 20% | 29% | 46% | 58% |
Each column is a share of 3000-rated players: a quarter are at or under the 25% figure, three quarters at or under the 75% one.
The move quality range a 3000 plays in
2900 to 3100is how half of 3000-rated players play, going by how often they blunder
Nine in ten: 2750 to 3200+.
Of 100 players rated 3000, how many blunder
- like a 2900 or lower21
- like a 300051
- like a 3100 or higher28
What separates a 3000 from a 3200+
| Skill, and what trains it | 3000 | 3200+ | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening blundersthe first ten moves of your openings | 0.5 | 0.3 | 33% lower |
| Middlegame blundersa check-captures-threats scan every move | 5.0 | 4.0 | 21% lower |
| Endgame blundersrook endings and king activity | 8.4 | 7.3 | 13% lower |
| Sees the deeper wincalculating past the third move of a line | 63% | 70% | +7 pts |
| Trades down when aheadconverting an advantage by liquidating | 71% | 77% | +6 pts |
| Composure after an errorresetting after you drop something | 2.9% | 2.7% | 8% lower |
| Finds the defensive savedefending worse positions instead of collapsing | 74% | 76% | +2 pts |
| Finds the quiet best movepositions where nothing is forcing | 79% | 80% | +1 pt |
| Takes the free materialspotting hanging pieces before anything else | 95% | 96% | +1 pt |
| Finds the forkknight and queen forks, both directions | 78% | 79% | +1 pt |
What a 3000 plays
As White
- 1.e4 King's Pawn 46.8%, scores 53.2%
- 1.d4 Queen's Pawn 32.0%, scores 54.3%
- 1.Nf3 Réti / Zukertort 12.6%, scores 56.8%
- every other move 9%
Against 1.e4
- 1...c5 Sicilian Defense 37.0%, scores 51.0%
- 1...e5 Open Game 25.1%, scores 46.7%
- 1...c6 Caro-Kann Defense 12.9%, scores 52.6%
- every other move 25%
Against 1.d4
- 1...Nf6 Indian Defense 60.5%, scores 47.5%
- 1...d5 Closed Game 23.7%, scores 45.6%
- 1...e6, usually a French or Queen's Gambit 4.0%, scores 44.1%
- every other move 12%
3000 on each site and time control
| Played on | Blunders | Mistakes | Inaccs | ACPL | Only move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chess.com blitz 3+0 | 4.5 | 7.4 | 8.5 | 32.5 | 88% |
| Chess.com blitz 5+0 | ladder ends at 2500 | ||||
| Chess.com rapid 10+0 | ladder ends at 2600+ | ||||
| Lichess blitz 3+0 | ladder ends at 2900+ | ||||
| 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. Full conversion tables
What punishes a 3000
Share of all blunders, by the idea that refuted them
Most often a piece left hanging: 16% of all blunders, against 18% at 2700.
- 3000, Piece left hanging: 16%
- 3000, Losing exchange: 10%
- 3000, Pawn or promotion: 10%
- 3000, Quiet move: 9%
- 3000, Fork: 7%
Frequently asked about 3000-rated players
Answered for Chess.com blitz 3+0, the choice at the top of the page.
Is 3000 a good chess rating?
Yes, 3000 is a very strong chess rating. Over 99.99% of Chess.com blitz players are rated below 3000, and the middle player there is rated about 485.
What percentile is 3000 Elo?
A 3000 rating is above the 99.99th percentile on Chess.com. Under 0.01% of Chess.com blitz players are rated 3000 or higher, which is about 380 players. On Lichess, 99.99% of blitz players are rated below 3000. Every rating side by side: the Chess.com rating guide.
How accurate is a 3000 rated chess player?
A 3000-rated player plays the engine's top choice on 45% of moves in Chess.com blitz 3+0 and loses 32.5 centipawns per move on average. The average loss first drops under 30 centipawns a move at 3200+.
How many blunders does a 3000 make per game?
A 3000-rated player makes about 1.5 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. The first rating to average under 1.5 blunders a game is 3200+.
Do 3000 rated players blunder more in time trouble?
Yes, a great deal. With under 10% of the clock left, a 3000-rated player blunders 6.5 times as often as with more than half of it. A 3000 gets that low on time in 39% of games in Chess.com blitz 3+0. The effect is smaller lower down: 4.7 times as often for a 2700.
What mistakes do 3000 rated players make?
16% of the blunders a 3000-rated player makes in Chess.com blitz 3+0 are a piece simply left hanging, the most common kind. That share is 18% at 2700. Blunders involving a quiet move grow at this level: 9%, up from 7% at 2700.
When in the game do 3000 rated players blunder most?
A 3000-rated player blunders most in the endgame in Chess.com blitz 3+0: on 8.4 of every 100 live moves there, against 5.0 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.
What openings do 3000 rated players play?
As White in Chess.com blitz 3+0, 46.8% of players rated around 3000 open with e4, the King's Pawn, and 32.0% open with d4, the Queen's Pawn. Around 2700, e4 is opened by 47.9%. Against e4, the most common reply is c5, the Sicilian Defense, played in 37.0% of games, ahead of e5, the Open Game, at 25.1%.
How does a 3000 do against a 3100?
A 3000 scores 38.9% against a 3100 in Chess.com blitz 3+0. Against a 2900 they score 59.2%.