Change to US Chess Ratings: Bonus Threshold Lowered

As per a recommendation from the Ratings Committee earlier this year, US Chess will be changing the bonus factor on Monday, October 30, lowering the threshold from 14 to 12. This is the first change since 2017.

While we encourage you to read the full US Chess rating system explanation, the practical effect of this shift will be that more bonus points are earned for excellent performances.

This change will be retroactive to all tournaments that ended after (or on) February 1, 2023, and we will be doing a rerate of all rated games back to at least January 2023 beginning Tuesday. Some players may see increases in their ratings since February 1, and all updated ratings should begin to appear on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Note that the annual ratings list, which is prepared in mid-November in conjunction with the December ratings list, will incorporate and reflect this lowered bonus threshold.