Tournament Play

What is a category in chess?

  • Competition
  • Format
  • Scores

Category is a tournament term: the category of a tournament is a measure of its strength based on the average FIDE rating of the participants. The category is calculated by rounding up the number: (average rating − 2250) ÷ 25. So each category covers a 25-point rating range, starting with Category 1 which spans ratings between 2251 and 2275. This affects how games are organized, scored, paired, or decided.

Free game review

See where category decides your games

Chessiro reviews your games with an AI coach that names the concept behind every mistake, then drills you on the exact positions where it happened until you stop repeating them.

← Browse the full chess glossary