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Why can't I challenge certain players?
Why can't I challenge certain players?
Updated over a week ago

Newly created accounts have something called ‘newcomer status’, and a newcomer account can’t challenge titled players or premium players (unless they are friended). So, if you’ve just created an account and you want to challenge Hikaru to a match, here’s what you need to do!

How do I get rid of my Newcomer status?

To remove newcomer status, your account must meet these two requirements:

  1. Your account must be open for 48 hours

  2. You must have played 8 games of any type

You must meet both of these! If you create a new account and play 8 games right away, you’ll still have to wait until your account is also 48 hours or more old.

Once those two requirements are met, newcomer status is automatically removed, and you can challenge anyone.

I’m not a Newcomer, but I still can’t challenge Hikaru! What’s going on?

There is one more requirement to meet before you can challenge Titled and Premium players, and that is to have a low enough RD (rating deviation).

If you haven’t played any games in a while, or if you've never played any games of a certain type, your RD may be too high to challenge a titled player right away. This means Chess.com is not sure of what your rating really is, because you haven't played that game type in so long (or at all).

You’ll have to play a few games of that type first, so we can be sure of your rating.

You can tell your rating is stabilized when wins and losses only change your rating by 8-15 points, rather than 50 or 100 or more.

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