How good is a 3200+ 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 3200+ Elo?
Over99.99%of Chess.com blitz players are rated below 3200
Fewer than 0.01% are rated 3200 or higher: about 50 players.
3.7blunders per 100 live moves
7.7inaccuracies per 100 live moves
90%of only moves found
38%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 3200+ actually does
| Measure | 3100 | 3200+ |
|---|---|---|
| Blunders | 4.1 | 3.7 |
| Mistakes | 7.0 | 6.5 |
| Inaccuracies | 8.1 | 7.7 |
| Average centipawn loss | 31.0 | 28.6 |
| Plays the engine's top move | 46% | 47% |
| Finds the only moveshare of positions with one real answer | 89% | 90% |
| Game length | 48.9 | 49.7 |
| Live moves per gamemoves played while the game is not already decided | 35.1 | 35.8 |
| How they use the clock | ||
| Games in time troubleunder a tenth of the clock | 40% | 38% |
| Seconds per move | 3.3 | 3.3 |
| Instant movesplayed in two seconds or less | 62% | 63% |
| Clock left at move 8share of the starting clock | 93% | 93% |
| Clock left at move 15share of the starting clock | 78% | 78% |
| Clock left at move 30in games that get there | 39% | 40% |
| Clock left at move 50in games that get there | 15% | 16% |
| Moves played inside a scrambleown clock under a tenth | 9.7% | 9.4% |
| What the game looks like | ||
| Games that end decisivelywon or lost, not drawn | 89% | 88% |
| Reaches an endgame | 49% | 48% |
| Capturesper 100 own moves | 20.9 | 20.7 |
| Checksper 100 own moves | 7.0 | 7.1 |
How others play against a 3200+
| Measure | 3100vs 3200+ | 3200+vs 3200+ |
|---|---|---|
| Score against them | 36.9% | 50.0% |
| Score after reaching +1 | 63% | 69% |
| Score after reaching +2 | 76% | 80% |
| Ever loses from +4 | 11% | 7% |
| Score from lost positionsgames where their eval fell to minus two | 17% | 17% |
Each column is how players of that rating do in their games against a 3200+. The 3200+ column is everyone rated 3200 or above.
Where a 3200+ blunders
| Measure | 3100 | 3200+ |
|---|---|---|
| When in the game | ||
| Opening | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| Middlegame | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Endgame | 7.6 | 7.3 |
| In what kind of position | ||
| Winning | 7.1 | 6.2 |
| Better | 2.2 | 1.7 |
| Balanced | 2.2 | 1.8 |
| Worse | 4.1 | 3.3 |
| With how much clock left | ||
| Over half | 1.7 | 1.4 |
| 25 to 50% | 5.0 | 4.4 |
| 10 to 25% | 7.5 | 6.7 |
| Under 10% | 11.9 | 11.6 |
| With which piece | ||
| Queen | 5.9 | 5.2 |
| Rook | 5.2 | 4.8 |
| Knight | 3.5 | 3.0 |
| Bishop | 3.2 | 2.9 |
| Pawn | 3.1 | 2.7 |
| King | 4.7 | 4.3 |
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.
When a 3200+ blunders most
Blunders per 100 live moves
When in the game
Most in the endgame: 24 times as often as in the opening.
- 3200+, Opening: 0.3
- 3200+, Middlegame: 4.0
- 3200+, Endgame: 7.3
In what kind of position
Most when winning: 3.6 times as often as when better.
- 3200+, Winning: 6.2
- 3200+, Better: 1.7
- 3200+, Balanced: 1.8
- 3200+, Worse: 3.3
With how much clock left
Most with under 10% of the clock: 8.3 times as often as with over half the clock.
- 3200+, Over half: 1.4
- 3200+, 25 to 50%: 4.4
- 3200+, 10 to 25%: 6.7
- 3200+, Under 10%: 11.6
With which piece
Most on queen moves: 93% more often than on pawn moves.
- 3200+, Queen: 5.2
- 3200+, Rook: 4.8
- 3200+, Knight: 3.0
- 3200+, Bishop: 2.9
- 3200+, Pawn: 2.7
- 3200+, King: 4.3
How much players rated 3200 or higher differ
| Measure | 5% | 25% | 75% | 95% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blunders | 3.0 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 4.6 |
| Mistakes | 5.5 | 6.1 | 6.9 | 7.6 |
| Inaccuracies | 6.6 | 7.2 | 8.1 | 8.8 |
| Finds the only move | 86% | 88% | 91% | 93% |
| Seconds per move | 2.8s | 3.1s | 3.4s | 3.7s |
| Games in time trouble | 20% | 28% | 45% | 57% |
Each column is a share of players rated 3200 or higher: a quarter are at or under the 25% figure, three quarters at or under the 75% one.
The move quality range a 3200+ plays in
3150 to 3200+is how half of players rated 3200 or higher play, going by how often they blunder
Nine in ten: 3000 to 3200+.
Of 100 players rated 3200 or higher, how many blunder
- like a 3100 or lower19
- like a 3200+81
What separates a 2900 from a 3200+
| Skill, and what trains it | 2900 | 3200+ | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening blundersthe first ten moves of your openings | 0.7 | 0.3 | 54% lower |
| Middlegame blundersa check-captures-threats scan every move | 5.8 | 4.0 | 31% lower |
| Finds the forkknight and queen forks, both directions | 65% | 79% | +14 pts |
| Endgame blundersrook endings and king activity | 8.9 | 7.3 | 19% lower |
| Sees the deeper wincalculating past the third move of a line | 61% | 70% | +9 pts |
| Composure after an errorresetting after you drop something | 3.1% | 2.7% | 13% lower |
| Trades down when aheadconverting an advantage by liquidating | 71% | 77% | +6 pts |
| Finds the defensive savedefending worse positions instead of collapsing | 73% | 76% | +3 pts |
| Finds the quiet best movepositions where nothing is forcing | 77% | 80% | +3 pts |
| Takes the free materialspotting hanging pieces before anything else | 95% | 96% | +1 pt |
What a 3200+ plays
As White
- 1.e4 King's Pawn 41.9%, scores 70.7%
- 1.d4 Queen's Pawn 36.1%, scores 73.2%
- 1.Nf3 Réti / Zukertort 9.5%, scores 74.7%
- every other move 12%
Against 1.e4
- 1...c5 Sicilian Defense 43.8%, scores 68.8%
- 1...e5 Open Game 28.2%, scores 60.0%
- 1...c6 Caro-Kann Defense 9.9%, scores 68.5%
- every other move 18%
Against 1.d4
- 1...Nf6 Indian Defense 60.0%, scores 62.6%
- 1...d5 Closed Game 25.4%, scores 65.3%
- 1...e6, usually a French or Queen's Gambit 4.4%, scores 75.0%
- every other move 10%
3200 on each site and time control
| Played on | Blunders | Mistakes | Inaccs | ACPL | Only move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chess.com blitz 3+03200 or higher | 3.7 | 6.5 | 7.7 | 28.6 | 90% |
| 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 3200+
Share of all blunders, by the idea that refuted them
Most often a piece left hanging: 16% of all blunders, against 17% at 2900.
- 3200+, Piece left hanging: 16%
- 3200+, Pawn or promotion: 10%
- 3200+, Forced defense: 9%
- 3200+, Quiet move: 9%
- 3200+, Losing exchange: 8%
Frequently asked about players rated 3200 or higher
Answered for Chess.com blitz 3+0, the choice at the top of the page.
Is 3200+ a good chess rating?
Yes, 3200+ is a very strong chess rating. Over 99.99% of Chess.com blitz players are rated below 3200, and the middle player there is rated about 485.
What percentile is 3200+ Elo?
A 3200+ rating is above the 99.99th percentile on Chess.com. Under 0.01% of Chess.com blitz players are rated 3200 or higher, which is about 50 players. On Lichess, over 99.99% of blitz players are rated below 3200. Every rating side by side: the Chess.com rating guide.
How accurate is a 3200+ rated chess player?
A player rated 3200 or higher plays the engine's top choice on 47% of moves in Chess.com blitz 3+0 and loses 28.6 centipawns per move on average. Going up the ratings, 3200+ is where the average loss first drops under 30 centipawns a move.
How many blunders does a 3200+ make per game?
A player rated 3200 or higher makes about 1.3 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. 3200+ is the first rating to average under 1.5 blunders a game.
Do 3200+ rated players blunder more in time trouble?
Yes, a great deal. With under 10% of the clock left, a player rated 3200 or higher blunders 8.3 times as often as with more than half of it. A 3200+ gets that low on time in 38% of games in Chess.com blitz 3+0. The effect is smaller lower down: 5.6 times as often for a 2900.
What mistakes do 3200+ rated players make?
16% of the blunders a player rated 3200 or higher makes in Chess.com blitz 3+0 are a piece simply left hanging, the most common kind. That share is 17% at 2900. Blunders involving forced defense grow at this level: 9%, up from 7% at 2900.
When in the game do 3200+ rated players blunder most?
A player rated 3200 or higher blunders most in the endgame in Chess.com blitz 3+0: on 7.3 of every 100 live moves there, against 4.0 in the middlegame and 0.3 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 3200+ rated players play?
As White in Chess.com blitz 3+0, 41.9% of players rated 3200 or higher open with e4, the King's Pawn, and 36.1% open with d4, the Queen's Pawn. Around 2900, e4 is opened by 47.6%. Against e4, the most common reply is c5, the Sicilian Defense, played in 43.8% of games, ahead of e5, the Open Game, at 28.2%.
How does a 3200+ do against a 3100?
A 3200+ scores 63.1% against a 3100 in Chess.com blitz 3+0.