How bad is a 640 rating

Having played chess for a combined period of a year (several decades ago) and having joined a couple chess.com a couple of weeks ago my rating is now around 630-650. If the standard ELO rating for beginners is about 800 this means that I am playing to a standard worse than an absolute beginner! The weird thing is I have played a few good games with people around the 600-700 range and each of us seem to have a grasp of the basics of the game and tactics - eg planning ahead with defence and attack and implementing forks, pins etc and knowing how to finish. Is the rating on chess.com different or are all if us at my level simply catastrophically awful?

Ps apologies for typos etc in my main message above. Can’t work out how to edit yet.

Frankly put, this is the sort of rating you’d expect a very young child with no knowledge of the game to have. I’d encourage you to look at any of your games you thought was played well, and turn on the chess analysis engine. At the 700 level, It’ll show you a whole myriad of blunders and mistakes on both sides. (I also use it as a tool for reviewing my own games)

@KnightErrand97. Thanks for you rather patronising answer. There was a hint of exaggeration in my original post so: err, no, I don’t think a a young child who is a beginner with no experience would be able to play at the level of 600-700 on chess.com. That’s not a very helpful comment but never mind. Of course I am making a myriad of mistakes and my game is still chaotic but my question was about whether the rating system was different to the useful ELO system. Thanks for the tip about the feedback from the chess analysis engine about blunders, mistakes will try that.

800 is around "average," not an absolute beginner.

Playing for a year 10 years ago doesn't really count. You're basically a beginner.

A 600 rating is normal for someone who's had a little experience but is otherwise completely new.

A real beginner rating is about 250. 650 shows significant progress beyond that. The average player on chess.com is about 960, I think. 

One thing I can say is my rating on chess.com and real-world over the board games is different and it takes a while to adjust to playing on the computer I would suggest don't worry about your rating for a year just play some games play rapid, blitz and daily go through the lessons and do puzzles...your ratings will come most important have fun! 

I am rated 495 and beat 9 year old Harmon and she is rated 1200. How do you explain that?

 

Bots are notoriously overrated.

About 600 rate , tell me pls why i should play like this , not like i playee

Its not a bad rating , if you havent played much and havent put any effort into learning the game. I am sure you will get to 800s in no time once you start focusing.

Bf4 is a decoy sac. If the queen captures the bishop then Qf6+ is a fork and you'll win black's rook.

Dont rely on engines too much at this level. They are going to see stuff way more ahead than a human can.

Not more than a human can, but definitely their suggestions aren't super helpful. They'll mostly be confusing... because even if if he were good enough to see the bishop is immune, he'd probably be asking why black couldn't just play Qe7 and be fine.

@Jacer34 ,  As said , playing for some months (decades ago?!)  does not count . You are a beginner , and it is totally ok to have 500 rating while you are new to chess ( side note: just do a lot tactical puzzle to improve, for now ).  Chess.com ELO rating is just +-200 points at most depending on what kind of ELO you are talking about  (FIDE, USCF?).

@Morandegrande  Bf4 is best in order to bring your rook into the game while f4 allows to bring black bishop via check.

Agreed

Well, my very first rating as a kid was 800 USCF. I’d say USCF ratings are close to chess.com ones, and most of the other complete beginner kids in the scholastic tournaments were around the same level. Also if you’re looking to improve rapidly, you should check out some chess YouTube channels such as Gotham Chess and work on tactics puzzles

Don't sweat it.  When I started here I plummeted down to the 300s.  Reading Bobby Fisher Teaches Chess and watching Gotham Chess has helped me a lot.   

I've been playing obsessively for the last two years estimate 20,000 games (I've had previous accounts.......  but only 1 at time) and can't get away from 1000!  People on this site are GOOD!  No denying it.  I too started at 800 and have only gotten a little better.  Don't get discouraged.  Just play for fun and don't get too hung up on your rating.  It's just another number.  

Thanks folks for all your encouraging and informative replies. I basically don’t know any openings so I’m currently watching Gotham Chess as someone suggested above and may also order the Bobby Fischer book. It does seem like Chess.com is highly competitive and there seem to be plenty of super aggressive players even at the 600-700 level who try out tricky moves like the “fried liver attack” even though they are beginner level.