FIDE Online Arena: Impressions and Reflections

The World Chess Federation (FIDE) has an online chess platform called FIDE Online Arena, located at chessarena.com. On this platform, you can play chess with various time controls. However, in terms of interface and the number of players, it significantly lags behind our beloved Lichess.
On the same site, you can watch masterclasses by top grandmasters such as Vladimir Kramnik, Wesley So, Boris Gelfand, Peter Svidler, Teimour Radjabov, and others.

These sessions are called "Monthly Interactive Video Stream with Elite Players." For instance, in January, Wesley So conducted a masterclass on rook endgames. Some lessons are genuinely interesting and useful. However, there are downsides: they are available only to subscribers and only in English.
You can also solve puzzles, find a coach, and even... buy FIDE merchandise on the site.
But the most intriguing feature that inspired me to write this article is the official titles awarded by FIDE.

FIDE Arena Titles

Four months ago, while checking the results of a local tournament, I noticed a familiar player’s name accompanied by three curious letters: AGM. I immediately guessed it was some kind of title. A quick internet search confirmed that it’s an official FIDE title for Arena players.
The following titles are available:

• ACM — Arena Candidate Master,
• AFM — Arena FIDE Master,
• AIM — Arena International Master,
• AGM — Arena Grandmaster.

I got curious about which title I could achieve. My blitz rating is 2200+ on Lichess and Chess.com, but my over-the-board (OTB) rating is around 1700. This is barely at the Candidate Master level. That’s the title I aimed for — to get a Candidate Master title from FIDE, even with the “Arena” prefix.
Since I had been registered with FIDE since 2016, all I had to do was pay the subscription fee and send a photo of myself holding my passport. Once verified, I could start climbing the ranks on the Online Arena.

Playing on FIDE Online Arena

On the Arena, you can play:

1. Unrated games.
2. Rated games.
3. Games for the FIDE Arena rating (this was my primary interest).

I started playing blitz with the most popular time control of 3+0. However, the platform has very few players. Often, I had to play against opponents rated 500 points lower or even complete beginners with no rating. Consequently, these games gave me only +1 rating point or sometimes nothing at all.
The Arena rating system is represented as a horizontal scale with four milestones:

• 1100 — Arena Candidate Master (ACM),
• 1400 — Arena FIDE Master (AFM),
• 1700 — Arena International Master (AIM),
• 2000 — Arena Grandmaster (AGM).

After reaching each milestone, you receive a PDF certificate in your profile confirming the title.
After four months and over 500 games, I sequentially earned three titles: ACM, AFM, and AIM. Yeah! I’m an International Master! I wanted to celebrate this achievement, but the vast difference between Arena titles and OTB titles held me back.

Currently, my rating on the platform is around 1800, occasionally peaking at 1850. With some dedication and luck, I might reach 2000 and the Arena Grandmaster (AGM) title. But why bother, when I’m not even a master in OTB chess?

Conclusions

• The Chessarena website significantly lags behind Lichess and Chess.com, but it’s still a playable platform.
• FIDE Arena titles are a nice bonus, but nothing more. If FIDE collaborates with other platforms to display these titles in profiles and recognize them in OTB tournaments, their value will increase.
• Significant title adjustments are needed. For instance, my AIM should probably be downgraded to AFM or even ACM.
• The platform strictly enforces fair play. Within a short time, I had points refunded twice due to opponents’ violations.
• Full transparency: you can see your opponent’s details, including name, gender, age, country, and even OTB rating.
• FIDE Online Arena has potential, but it still has a long way to go to become a competitive platform.
• For now, it’s a thumbs down for the certificates and a thumbs up for everything else.