FIDE and World Chess announced the launch of the ‘First Rating Experiment’ program. The program aims to allow new players to earn their first official FIDE Rapid and Blitz rating through online play.

The two parties are currently working on the final agreement. If the program is approved, it would run for two years on worldchess.com under full FIDE supervision.

To earn a rating, players will need to:

• Build a real body of online rated play (including a minimum of rated tournament games)
• Results will undergo fair-play checks

Ratings will be assigned through a special coefficient. The coefficient ensures that a player’s rating on the platform corresponds to their over-the-board playing strength. The maximum rating achievable online is 1800 points.

Qualifying games will be screened by a layered detection system built for the program. Results in question will be held and reviewed by a dedicated Anti-Cheating Officer, with an appeals process available. Every player must verify their identity before qualifying.

World Chess is an official commercial partner of FIDE. It develops and operates an online chess platform, worldchess.com. According to FIDE, 454K and 302K registered players hold Rapid and Blitz ratings respectively. This will be the first time in history that a FIDE rating can be earned beyond over-the-board play.

Credit: Lennart Ootes