What is a tournament performance rating?

A performance rating (TPR) is the rating a player would need to have to expect the score they actually achieved against that field of opponents. It measures how strongly you played in a single event, independent of your official rating.

How does the FIDE table method work?

Take your average opponent rating, then add a rating difference (dp) read from the FIDE table for your score percentage. A 50% score adds zero, higher percentages add a positive dp up to +800, and lower percentages subtract it.

What is the linear 400-point method?

The linear approximation is average opponent rating plus 400 times (wins minus losses) divided by games. It is quick and widely quoted but overstates performance at very high or very low scores, where the true curve flattens.

Why must the opponent count match my games?

Each game has exactly one opponent, so the number of ratings you enter must equal wins plus draws plus losses. The tool warns you if they do not match so the average and percentage stay correct.

Does a perfect score give a real rating?

A 100% score has no finite performance rating in theory, so FIDE caps it at average opponent rating plus 800. The tool applies the same +800 cap for a clean sweep.

What is the Chess Performance Rating Calculator?

Enter every opponent's rating plus your wins, draws, and losses to compute your tournament performance rating (TPR) with the FIDE rating-difference table and the linear 400-point method side by side. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

Chess Performance Rating Calculator

Name: Chess Performance Rating Calculator
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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The Chess Performance Rating Calculator tells you how strongly you played at a tournament by turning your opponents’ ratings and your results into a single performance figure. It computes the FIDE rating-difference method and the popular linear approximation so you can compare both.

How it works

A performance rating answers: what rating would justify this score against this field? It always starts from the average opponent rating.

The FIDE table method then adds a rating difference, dp, that depends only on your score percentage p = score ÷ games:

TPR = average opponent rating + dp(p)

The dp value comes from FIDE’s published table — 0 at 50%, growing to +800 at 100% and −800 at 0%. So a 70% score against 1600-rated opposition performs at about 1600 + 149 = 1749.

The linear method is a faster estimate:

TPR = average opponent rating + 400 × (wins − losses) ÷ games

It matches the table closely near 50% but exaggerates extreme scores, which is why the FIDE table is preferred for official figures.

FIDE dp table reference

The dp values at common score percentages are:

Score %	dp
100%	+800 (capped)
80%	+240
70%	+149
60%	+72
50%	0
40%	−72
30%	−149
20%	−240
0%	−800 (capped)

Percentages between table entries are interpolated. For example, a 75% score falls between 70% (dp +149) and 80% (dp +240), producing roughly dp +195.

Worked example

You play a 7-round Swiss tournament with the following results:

Opponents (by rating): 1710, 1640, 1780, 1590, 1820, 1650, 1700
Results: W, W, D, W, L, W, D

Score: 4.5 out of 7 (wins 4, draws 2, losses 1 = 4.5 points)

Average opponent rating = (1710 + 1640 + 1780 + 1590 + 1820 + 1650 + 1700) / 7
                        = 11890 / 7 = 1698.6

Score percentage = 4.5 / 7 = 64.3%

dp at 64.3% ≈ 99 (interpolated between 60% and 70%)

FIDE TPR ≈ 1698.6 + 99 = 1797.6

Linear TPR = 1698.6 + 400 × (4 − 1) / 7 = 1698.6 + 171 = 1869.6

The linear method here noticeably overstates the performance compared to the FIDE table method. This gap widens as score percentages move away from 50%.

What performance rating is used for

Performance ratings serve a different purpose from your official FIDE rating. They measure a single event in isolation rather than your long-term playing strength. Common uses:

Norm calculations — FIDE norms for IM, GM, and WGM titles require both a minimum score and a minimum performance rating against a qualifying average opposition. The TPR is central to determining whether you have achieved a norm.
Comparing tournaments — a player who scored 4/5 against a 2200-average field performed very differently from one who scored 4/5 against a 1600 field, even though the raw score is the same.
Identifying form peaks — a significantly higher TPR than your current rating suggests you played above your established level; a lower one suggests you underperformed.

Make sure you enter exactly one opponent rating per game — the tool checks this and uses the count to compute both your average opposition and your score percentage accurately.