How the level system works

Eleven levels on the standard rating-class ladder, grouped into five coaching stages, with clear criteria for moving up.

Every student sits on one level of the standard class ladder: Foundation and Novice (Beginner stage), Class F (below 1000), Class E and D (below 1500), Class C, B and A (below 2000), and Expert, Master and the IM/GM track (professional stage). The level decides the lessons, puzzle difficulty, endgame positions, model games and opening advice the app offers.

Place a new student by over-the-board rating when one exists. Online ratings are a guide only: Lichess ratings usually run well above FIDE ratings at club level, Chess.com rapid somewhat less. When in doubt, place one level lower — early success builds confidence, and you will see within two weeks whether to move up.

Promotion criteria (shown live on every student’s Program tab)

• Rating: the student has reached the next level’s rating floor and held it for several weeks, not just touched it once.
• Puzzle success at the current level’s difficulty.
• Game quality: blunders per game and average accuracy from engine analysis.
• Syllabus: the required share of the level’s lessons is marked complete.
• Coach judgement: you can promote early (talent, age, rapid progress) or hold back (gaps that the numbers do not show).

Promotion is a conversation, not a reward ceremony. Show the student what they have mastered and what the next level will demand. Demotion is never necessary — if a student struggles after moving up, keep the level and revisit earlier lessons as review.