How to adjust your rating range
If you are getting more high or low-rated opponents than you want, you may want to adjust the rating range of your opponents. Here's how you can do it:
Web
Hover over 'Play' in the left menu of any Chess.com page and select 'Play.'
Click the cogwheel icon ('Settings') located between the top-right corner of the board and the right sidebar to open the settings modal.
Alternatively, you can go to your Gameplay Settings to adjust the settings.
Under the 'Play' tab in the settings modal, select the 'General' section to view settings for Incoming and Outgoing challenges:
Incoming refers to challenges that are sent to you by other players.
Outgoing refers to the challenges created by you when seeking a game.
Finally, click 'Save' to apply your changes.
Setting the rating range
The ranges are always relative to your own rating. In the image above, the range is set to -200 and +200. This means that if you are rated 1200, you will only be matched with people between 1000 and 1400. If you win some games and your rating goes up to 1300, then you will be matched with people from 1100 to 1500.
The narrower you set this rating range, the longer it can take to find a match. We do not advise setting either + or - to below 50.
Mobile
Tap 'Play' on the home screen. On the Play screen, tap 'More,' then select 'Custom.'
Under Rating Range, you’ll see your rating in the center, with two boxes on each side showing the range of opponent ratings. Adjust each box to set a new range.
In the example below, the player's rating is 1200, and they will be matched with opponents between 1000 (-200 from their own rating) and 1400 (+200) in rating
Tap 'Play!' to be matched with an opponent within your chosen rating range.
