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Is 1600 a Good Chess Rating?

As of July 2026, a 1600 blitz rating on Chess.com is higher than 93.4% of active rated blitz players, which puts you in the top 10% of active rated players. On Lichess, where ratings run higher, 1600 blitz outrates 60.6% of active players.

Whether 1600 is "good" depends on the yardstick. Compared with everyone who plays rated chess online, the percentiles below are the honest answer. Compared with titled players, almost every rating is a work in progress. Both things are true.

Where 1600 stands, by platform and time control

Rating poolHigher thanPlacing
Chess.com Bullet93.8%top 6.2%
Chess.com Blitz93.4%top 6.6%
Chess.com Rapid94.3%top 5.7%
Lichess Bullet52.6%top 47.4%
Lichess Blitz60.6%top 39.4%
Lichess Rapid68.9%top 31.1%
Lichess Classical58.4%top 41.6%

These percentiles cover active rated players: people who actually play rated games, not abandoned accounts. That makes the bar higher than statistics that count every account ever created.

The same standing on other sites and speeds

Taking 1600 Chess.com blitz as the reference point, these ratings sit at the same percentile in their own pools:

Rating poolSame-percentile rating
Chess.com Bullet1571
Chess.com Rapid1555
Lichess Bullet2260
Lichess Blitz2077
Lichess Rapid1976
Lichess Classical1993

Numbers come from our percentile-equating model, recomputed monthly from the Lichess weekly census (CC0 data) and our own random sample of active Chess.com players. Full details on the methodology page.

Frequently asked

What percentile is a 1600 chess rating?

On Chess.com, a 1600 blitz rating is higher than 93.4% of active rated blitz players. On Lichess, 1600 blitz is higher than 60.6% of active rated players. Lichess ratings run higher on average, so the same number means different strength on each site.

What is 1600 on Chess.com in Lichess terms?

A 1600 Chess.com blitz rating sits at the same percentile as roughly 2076 Lichess blitz, based on July 2026 data.

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