Every division starts and ends at 12pm PT (UTC -7) each Sunday.
How it works
If you are playing chess on Chess.com, you are part of the Players League!
Everyone starts in the Wood League. When you play your first game of the week, you'll be placed into a league group with 49 other recent players. You'll then have until the end of the week to earn as many points as you can.
The week won't begin until there are 50 people in your league group, so some higher leagues may take a while to fill.
You can see when your group has started and when it will end by checking your group status.
How to see your League group
You can find your group by going to your profile page and clicking on the cup icon in the upper right corner of the screen:
Alternatively, you can click on the cup icon on your home page:
You will also see a link to your division after each game you play:
How to earn League points
Your games won't count toward your league score until your group’s week has started.
You earn points for Wins and Draws in live games, and point values are based on the time settings in the game:
Time Setting | Points earned for Wins | Points earned for Draws |
| 3 points | 1 point |
| 9 points | 3 points |
| 15 points | 5 points |
Bullet
Blitz
RapidYou earn extra points for playing arena games. For example, if you win a game in a bullet arena and earn 4 arena points, you will get 3 points for winning the game plus the 4 arena points, for a total of 7 points.
What games do not give me points?
Hyper Bullet: 30-second or 10-second games. 1+0 is the fastest bullet game that counts.
Direct challenges: Only games in the auto-match pool are counted.
Unrated games.
Variants: Chess960 is the only variant that gives you League points.
Advancement
There are eight leagues. Within each league, players are grouped into divisions of 50 competitors who compete to advance to the next league level
League | Advancement Criteria
|
Wood | The top 20 in each division advance |
Stone | The top 15 in each division advance |
Bronze | The top 10 in each division advance |
Silver | The top five in each division advance |
Crystal | The top three in each division advance |
Elite | The top three in each division advance |
Champion | The top one in each division advances |
Legend | The top, nowhere to go from here! |
There are no demotions! Once you get to the next level, you'll stay there even if you take a break from chess for a while.
League Fair Play policy
League trophies should be earned through normal play in chess games, arenas, and tournaments. Any attempt to manipulate your trophies may result in losing all your trophies or having your account closed. This includes, but is not limited to:
Reason | Description |
Artificially Dropping Rating
| Also known as sandbagging, intentionally lowering your rating is against the Chess.com fair play policy. If you are found to be intentionally lowering your rating, you will receive a warning, have your trophies removed, and be removed from your division for the week. A second offense will result in your account being closed. |
Collusion with Other Players | Leagues are designed to be a fun way to compete with players of all ratings. Colluding with other players to manipulate league results violates the spirit of the leagues. Users found colluding will have their accounts closed. |
In addition to the items above, the standard Chess.com Fair Play Policy applies to all League games.
Can I leave the Leagues?
You can leave at any time! Simply go to your division page and click "Leave League" under the Player's League menu on the right side of the screen:
Once you have left the Players League, you will no longer see your trophies, your position in your division, or any information about leagues. It will be as if they don’t exist for you.
Please note that leaving leagues will reset your trophies for the current week. Even if you leave and rejoin immediately, you will start in a new division with zero trophies.
How to rejoin Leagues
If you change your mind later, you can always rejoin! Simply visit any player’s profile page who is in leagues and look at their division page and click “Join League” under the Players League menu in the upper right:
You will rejoin at the same tier you were in when you left. So, if you reached Stone League when you quit and rejoin months later, you’ll still be in Stone League.