How to read a FIDE rating card

The key field is the ID. It identifies the player, not the name: databases hold plenty of namesakes and transliterations differ. Every report and entry is built around the identifier - the TRF format.

Classical, rapid and blitz are calculated independently and almost always differ - sometimes by hundreds of points. The reasons are simple:

• Different numbers of games. Blitz is played more often, so the blitz rating usually tracks current form more closely.
• Different skills. Some players calculate fast, others play positionally with time to think.
• Different opponents. Blitz is more often played in events with a different field.

A dash instead of a number means there is no rating in that category yet - the player has not played enough games. That is normal: plenty of people hold only a classical rating.

Which rating an organizer should use for seeding: the one matching your time control. Seed a blitz event by classical ratings and the seeding comes out skewed.

K shows how fast a player's rating moves: 40 for newcomers and juniors, 20 for most players, 10 for anyone who has reached 2400.

For an organizer it is an indirect but useful signal: K=40 means either a newcomer with few games or a junior - and their real strength can differ noticeably from the printed rating in either direction.

The number of games in the current period shows activity. A player rated 1900 with no games in a year is carrying a rating from the past that may not reflect where they are now.

The commonest question players ask. The possible reasons:

• The list is not out yet. FIDE rating lists are published monthly, on the first. An event played after the period closed lands in the following list.
• The event was never submitted for rating. The commonest reason at amateur events - and something to tell people beforehand - how to submit an event.
• The organizer submitted late. Or submitted with errors and had it returned.
• The player has no ID. Without an identifier the results are not counted.
• The opponents were unrated. Games against unrated players are handled under separate rules.

A useful habit: tell the players immediately after the event whether it is rated and when to expect the update. That removes almost every follow-up question.

1. 1. Whether every player has an identifier, if the event is rated.
2. 2. Whether the spelling on the entry matches the database - otherwise the report is rejected.
3. 3. Whether you are seeding on the right rating for your control.
4. 4. Whether anybody is carrying a stale rating with no games in the past year.
5. 5. Whether sex and date of birth are filled in, if you plan age or women's categories.

If the players keep a profile in the Vibe Chess app, this data - FIDE ID, national ID, title, sex, date of birth and federation - is stored once and filled into the report for every event automatically.