The Total Chess World Championship Tour published a proposal on 14 October for a Total Chess Rating, a single Elo-based number that combines a player's FIDE classical, rapid and blitz ratings. It is a pilot for public review. It is separate from official FIDE ratings and does not affect them.
The first ranking
Total Chess has calculated pilot ratings for the top 100 players, based on FIDE ratings as of 1 October. Magnus Carlsen leads with 2830. Here are the top 10:
Rank | Player | Total Chess Rating |
1 | Magnus Carlsen | 2830 |
2 | Hikaru Nakamura | 2779 |
3 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 2774 |
4 | Alireza Firouzja | 2765 |
5 | Javokhir Sindarov | 2753 |
6 | Arjun Erigaisi | 2751 |
7 | Ian Nepomniachtchi | 2745 |
8 | Wesley So | 2740 |
9 | Fabiano Caruana | 2740 |
10 | Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | 2736 |
You can check the full top 100 here.
How it works
Total Chess Rating takes a player's three FIDE ratings (classical, rapid and blitz) and merges them into one number. It is not a plain average, though. Elo gaps mean the same thing everywhere on the scale. A 100-point gap means the same thing everywhere on the scale (about a 64% expected score for the higher-rated player), but the underlying strength grows exponentially.
The formula converts each rating into a strength value, averages those, and converts the result back into a rating.
Let's take an example of Arjun Erigaisi.
His ratings are 2746 in classical, 2740 in rapid and 2766 in blitz. Putting them through the formula gives about 2751. That is exactly what he has on the 1 October 2026 list, where he is 6th with 2751.
The plain average of his three ratings is also about 2751 (8252 ÷ 3 = 2750.7). Here the two methods agree because his three ratings are close together, with only a 26-point gap between his weakest and strongest format. The formula only pulls noticeably away from the plain average when a player is much stronger in one format than another.
For the technical details, click here.
The research was carried out by Dr Mehmet Mars Seven of King's College London. Total Chess credits the original idea of a single rating across the three formats to Norway Chess CEO Kjell Madland.
Read Total Chess's announcement here.
The Total Chess Rating is not an official FIDE rating and does not affect FIDE's own lists. FIDE will observe it during the Budapest pilot (10 to 21 November), while the public can still give feedback on the draft (by 6th November 2026). The full tour, with a FIDE World Combined Champion, begins in 2027.
