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60-559: The title of Grandmaster, along with the lesser FIDE titles of International Master (IM) , FIDE Master (FM) , and Candidate Master (CM) , is open to all players regardless of gender. The great majority of grandmasters are men, but 42 women have been awarded the GM title as of 2024, out of a total of about 2000 grandmasters. There is also a Woman Grandmaster title with lower requirements awarded only to women. There are also Grandmaster titles for composers and solvers of chess problems , awarded by

120-479: A Category , based on the average rating of the contestants. For instance, it was decided that 'Category 1' status would apply to tournaments with an average Elo rating of participants falling within the range 2251–2275; similarly Category 2 would apply to the range 2276–2300 etc. The higher the tournament Category, the stronger the tournament. Another vital component involved the setting of meritorious norms for each Category of tournament. Players must meet or surpass

180-569: A FIDE rating of 2000 or more. The title can also be acquired by getting a medal in U8, U10, U12, U14, U16 World Youth Championships or Continental and Regional Youth Championships of the women's section as well as by scoring more than 50% points in more than 7 games in the Olympiad. From 2017, direct titles are only awarded as long as a candidate can cross the minimum rating of 1800, however this requirement does not apply for direct WCM titles earned through

240-540: A GM or IM does not count for the purposes of this requirement if he had not had a GM or IM result in the five years prior to the tournament. In addition, no more than 50 percent plus one of the players can be from the same country for tournaments of 10 to 12 players, or no more than 50 percent plus two for larger tournaments. Seventy-four GM titles were awarded in 1951 through 1968. During that period, ten GM titles were awarded in 1965, but only one in 1966 and in 1968. The modern system for awarding FIDE titles evolved from

300-593: A Grandmaster. It is also possible to become a Grandmaster without ever having been an International Master. Larry Christiansen of the United States (1977), Wang Hao of China, Anish Giri of the Netherlands, Olga Girya of Russia (2021) and former world champions Mikhail Tal of the Soviet Union and Vladimir Kramnik of Russia all became Grandmasters without ever having been IMs. Bobby Fischer of

360-671: A grandmaster, and the term was also applied to a few other players. The Ostend tournament of 1907 was divided into two sections: the Championship Tournament and the Masters' Tournament. The Championship section was for players who had previously won an international tournament. Siegbert Tarrasch won the Championship section, over Carl Schlechter , Dawid Janowski , Frank Marshall , Amos Burn , and Mikhail Chigorin . These players were described as grandmasters for

420-414: A mix of national federations. The title may also be awarded directly without going through the usual norm requirements in a few high-level tournaments, provided the player has a FIDE rating of over 2300. These include: Beginning with Nona Gaprindashvili in 1978, a number of women have earned the GM title. Since about 2000, most of the top 10 women have held the GM title. This should not be confused with

480-454: A prescribed level of achievement in tournaments at classical time controls under FIDE-approved conditions. The title Grandmaster is awarded to outstanding chess players by FIDE. Apart from World Champion , Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. In chess literature it is usually abbreviated to GM. The abbreviation IGM for "International Grandmaster" is occasionally seen, usually in older literature. The usual way to obtain

540-587: A strong chess player was initially used informally. From the late 19th century and onwards, various national chess federations began to draw up formal requirements for the use of such a title. The term "Grandmaster", in the form of a calque from German Großmeister , was a formal title in the Soviet Union, and had also been in informal use for the world's elite players for several decades before its institution by FIDE in 1950. FIDE's first titles were awarded in 1950 and consisted of 27 Grandmasters , 94 International Masters , and 17 Woman International Masters , known at

600-475: Is achieved by a series of 150 bullet games, 100 blitz games or 50 rapid games with a performance rating of over 1700. Arena FIDE Master (AFM) is achieved by a series of 150 bullet games, 100 blitz games or 50 rapid games with a performance rating of over 1400. Arena Candidate Master (ACM) is achieved by a series of 150 bullet games, 100 blitz games or 50 rapid games with a performance rating of over 1100. Arena titles can be achieved on FIDE Online Arena ,

660-518: Is awarded to strong chess players who are below the level of grandmaster. Instituted along with the Grandmaster title in 1950, it is usually abbreviated as IM in chess literature. Like the grandmaster title, the usual way to obtain the title is to achieve three required title norms over 27 or more games and a FIDE rating of 2400 or more. In general, an IM norm is defined as a performance rating of at least 2450 over 9 or more games. In addition,

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720-553: Is sometimes called "International Grandmaster" (IGM), possibly to distinguish it from similar national titles, but the shortened form is far more common today. Titles were awarded by a resolution of the FIDE General Assembly and the Qualification Committee, with no formal written criteria. FIDE first awarded the Grandmaster title in 1950 to 27 players. These players were: Since FIDE did not award

780-457: Is the highest-ranking chess title restricted to women. FIDE introduced the WGM title in 1976, joining the previously introduced lower-ranking title, Woman International Master. The usual way to obtain the WGM title is similar to the open titles, where a FIDE rating of 2300 and three norms of 2400 performance rating is required against opponents who are higher rated than 2130 on average. The winner of

840-523: The Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title. At 12 years, 4 months and 25 days, Abhimanyu Mishra became the youngest person ever to qualify for the Grandmaster title in July 2021. The record was previously held by Sergey Karjakin at 12 years, 7 months for 19 years, Judit Polgár at 15 years and 4 months, and Bobby Fischer at 15 years, 6 months and 1 day for 33 years. The title International Master

900-468: The World Federation for Chess Composition (see List of grandmasters for chess composition ). The International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF) awards the title of International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster (ICCGM). Both of these bodies are now independent of FIDE , but work in cooperation with it. "Super grandmaster" is an informal term to refer to the world's elite players. In

960-564: The World Girls Junior Championship and some other tournaments like Women's Continental Championship is automatically awarded the WGM title. From 2017, the direct titles are only awarded as long as she can reach the minimum FIDE rating of 2100. The current regulations can be found in the FIDE handbook. Woman International Master is next to the highest-ranking title given by FIDE exclusively to women. FIDE first awarded

1020-625: The World Junior Championship , or the World Senior Championship , or a Continental Chess Championship, given that the player's peak FIDE rating is at least 2300. Current regulations can be found in the FIDE Handbook. FIDE titles including the grandmaster title are valid for life, but FIDE regulations allow a title to be revoked for "use of a FIDE title or rating to subvert the ethical principles of

1080-626: The "Dorazil" proposals, presented to the 1970 Siegen Chess Olympiad FIDE Congress. The proposals were put together by Wilfried Dorazil (then FIDE Vice-President) and fellow Committee members Grandmaster Svetozar Gligorić and Professor Arpad Elo . The recommendations of the Committee report were adopted in full. In essence, the proposals built on the work done by Professor Elo in devising his Elo rating system. The establishment of an updated list of players and their Elo rating enabled significantly strong international chess tournaments to be allocated

1140-554: The 1945 Moscow Championship, where he scored 5/16. Verlinsky was awarded the International Master title by FIDE in 1950, the same year he died at age 62 in Moscow. Verlinsky was strong in the classical openings with both colours. At his peak, he won against Alexander Alekhine , José Raúl Capablanca , Efim Bogolyubov , Grigory Levenfish , Akiba Rubinstein , Rudolf Spielmann , and David Bronstein , among others. He

1200-509: The 1965 Congress in Wiesbaden FIDE raised the standards required for international titles. The International Grandmaster title regulations were: To fulfill requirement 2b, the candidate must score one GM norm in a category 1a tournament or two norms within a three-year period in two Category 1b tournaments, or one Category 2a tournament and one Category 1b tournament. The categories of tournaments are: Since FIDE titles are for life,

1260-507: The 9th Moscow City Championship . In 1929, Boris Verlinsky won the 6th Soviet Championship in Odessa, at the time earning the title of grandmaster. The title was removed in 1931. It has been argued that this was done in order to make Mikhail Botvinnik the first Soviet grandmaster. According to the site chessmetrics .com, Verlinsky was rated at 2627 in May 1926, and this placed him 16th in

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1320-539: The FAV system, in recognition of the work done by International Judge Giovanni Ferrantes (Italy), Alexander (probably Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander ), and Giancarlo Dal Verme (Italy). Under the 1957 regulations, the title of International Grandmaster of the FIDE was automatically awarded to: The regulations also allowed titles to be awarded by a FIDE Congress on recommendation by the Qualification Committee. Recommendations were based on performance in qualifying tournaments, with

1380-628: The FM title is Alekhine Nouri from Philippines who was awarded the title after winning the 14th ASEAN Age Group Chess Championships 2013 in Thailand at age seven. The youngest player to gain the FM title by achieving an Elo rating of 2300 is Faustino Oro from Argentina who, when he was nine, hit 2314 Elo rating after participating in the ITT Ajedrez Martelli Jovenes Talentos 2023. Introduced in 2002 along with WCM,

1440-420: The Grandmaster title posthumously, world-class players who died prior to 1950, including World Champions Steinitz , Lasker, Capablanca, and Alekhine, never received the title. A few strong still living players such as British India's Mir Sultan Khan , Germany's Paul Lipke and France's Eugene Znosko-Borovsky were not awarded titles. Sultan Khan was awarded the GM title posthumously in 2024. Title awards under

1500-454: The Olympiad. Arena titles can be earned online using FIDE's server, and are intended for players in the lower rating band. Should a player with an arena title gain an over the board FIDE title, this title replaces their arena title. Arena Grandmaster (AGM) is the highest online title. It is achieved by a series of 150 bullet games, 100 blitz games or 50 rapid games with a performance rating of over 2000. Arena International Master (AIM)

1560-501: The United States attained both titles solely by virtue of qualifying for the 1958 Interzonal (IM title) and 1959 Candidates Tournament (GM title), only incidentally becoming IM before GM. The more usual path is first to become an IM, then move on to the GM level. At 10 years, 8 months, and 16 days, Faustino Oro of Argentina became the youngest-ever person to qualify for the IM title in 2024. Introduced in 1978 along with WFM, FM ranks below

1620-574: The WIM title (formerly called International Woman Master, or IWM) in 1950. The usual way to obtain the WIM title is similar to the open titles, where a FIDE rating of 2200 and three norms of 2250 performance rating is required against opponents who are higher rated than 2030 on average. The runners-up in the World Girls Junior Championship , the U18 and U16 World Youth Champions as well Continental Championship medalists and U18 Continental and Regional Champions of

1680-411: The actual score that participants must achieve to attain a GM or IM result (nowadays referred to as a norm ). To qualify for the Grandmaster title, a player needed to achieve three such GM results within a rolling period of three years. Exceptionally, if a player's contributory games totalled 30 or more, then the title could be awarded on the basis of two such results. There were also circumstances where

1740-468: The field must have an average rating of at least 2230, must include at least three International Masters or Grandmasters, and must include players from a mix of national federations. There are also several ways the IM title can be awarded directly without going through the usual norm process, provided the player has a rating of at least 2200. From July 2017, these are as follows: After becoming an IM, most professional players set their next goal to becoming

1800-419: The number of registered players rated over 2200 had increased even faster. Since that FIDE congress, discussion of the value of the grandmaster title has occasionally continued. Starting from 1977, FIDE awarded honorary Grandmaster titles to 32 players based on their past performances or other contributions to chess. The following players have been awarded honorary Grandmaster titles. Marić and Honfi were awarded

1860-527: The official FIDE online gaming platform. FIDE also awards titles for arbiters, trainers, and organizers. The arbiter titles are International Arbiter (IA) and FIDE Arbiter (FA). The trainer titles (in descending order of expertise) are FIDE Senior Trainer (FST), FIDE Trainer (FT), FIDE Instructor (FI), National Instructor (NI), and Developmental Instructor (DI). The organizer title is FIDE International Organizer (FIO). Boris Verlinsky Boris Markovich Verlinsky (8 January 1888 – 30 October 1950)

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1920-522: The old regulations, although a provision was maintained that allowed older masters who had been overlooked to be awarded titles. The new regulations awarded the title of International Grandmaster of the FIDE to players meeting any of the following criteria: After FIDE issued the 1953 title regulations, it was recognized that they were somewhat haphazard, and work began to revise the regulations. The FIDE Congress in Vienna in 1957 adopted new regulations, called

1980-530: The original regulations were subject to political concerns. Efim Bogoljubow , who had emigrated from the Soviet Union to Germany, was not entered in the first class of Grandmasters, even though he had played two matches for the World Championship with Alekhine. He received the title in 1951, by a vote of thirteen to eight with five abstentions. Yugoslavia supported his application, but all other Communist countries opposed it. In 1953, FIDE abolished

2040-410: The past this would refer to players with an Elo rating of over 2600, but as the average Elo rating of the top players has increased, it has typically come to refer to players with an Elo rating of over 2700. Super GMs, the number of whom has grown considerably over the years, have some name recognition in the world of sport and are typically the highest earners in chess. FIDE titles are only awarded at

2100-467: The purposes of the tournament. The San Sebastián 1912 tournament won by Akiba Rubinstein was a designated grandmaster event. Rubinstein won with 12½ points out of 19. Tied for second with 12 points were Aron Nimzowitsch and Rudolf Spielmann . By some accounts, in the St. Petersburg 1914 chess tournament , the title Grandmaster was formally conferred by Russian Tsar Nicholas II , who had partially funded

2160-503: The quarterly FIDE Council meetings. Players who have qualified for the GM title but have not yet been awarded it are informally referred to as "GM-elect". Usage of grandmaster for an expert in some field is recorded from 1590. The first known use of the term grandmaster in connection with chess was in the 18 February 1838 issue of Bell's Life , in which a correspondent referred to William Lewis as "our past grandmaster". Subsequently, George Walker and others referred to Philidor as

2220-430: The regulations. The subcommittee recommended that the automatic award of titles be abolished, criticized the methods used for awarding titles based on qualifying performances, and called for a change in the makeup of the Qualification Committee. Several delegates supported the subcommittee recommendations, including GM Miguel Najdorf who felt that existing regulations were leading to an inflation of international titles. At

2280-438: The relevant score to demonstrate that they had performed at Grandmaster (GM) or International Master (IM) level. Scores were expressed as percentages of a perfect maximum score and decreased as the tournament Category increased, thereby reflecting the strength of a player's opposition and the relative difficulty of the task. Tournament organisers could then apply the percentages to their own tournament format and declare in advance

2340-532: The required score depending on the percentage of Grandmasters and International Masters in the tournament. Concerns were raised that the 1957 regulations were too lax. At the FIDE Congress in 1961, GM Milan Vidmar said that the regulations "made it possible to award international titles to players without sufficient merit". At the 1964 Congress in Tel Aviv , a subcommittee was formed to propose changes to

2400-422: The requirements for the similarly named open titles. These titles are sometimes criticized by both male and female players, and some female players elect not to take them. For example, Grandmaster Judit Polgár , in keeping with her policy of playing only open competitions, never took a women's title. FIDE strips trans men of any women's titles they might have earned while competing as women. Woman Grandmaster

2460-522: The system could be adapted to fit team events and other competitions. The full proposals included many other rules and regulations, covering such topics as: To become a grandmaster, a player must achieve both of the following: The Grandmaster title is also automatically conferred, without needing to fulfill the above criteria, when reaching the final 16 in the World Cup , winning the Women's World Cup ,

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2520-582: The term grandmaster was sometimes informally applied to world class players. The Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE, or International Chess Federation) was formed in Paris in 1924, but at that time did not award formal titles. In 1927, the Soviet Union's Chess Federation established the title of Grandmaster of the Soviet Union, in the form of the German loan word "Großmeister". At the time Soviet players were not competing outside their own country. This title

2580-449: The time simply as Woman Masters. FIDE's first grandmasters were: The titles were awarded by a vote of the FIDE Congress before the requirements became more formalized. In 1957, FIDE introduced norms (qualifying standards) for FIDE titles. FIDE introduced a higher women only title, that of Woman Grandmaster (WGM) in 1976. In 1978 the subordinate titles of FIDE Master (FM) and Woman FIDE master (WFM) were introduced, followed in 2002 by

2640-454: The title is to achieve three Grandmaster-level performances (called norms ), along with a FIDE rating of 2500 or more. The precise definition of a GM norm is complex and has frequently been amended, but in general a grandmaster norm is defined as a performance rating of at least 2600 over 9 or more rounds. In addition, the field must have an average rating of at least 2380, must include at least three grandmasters, and must include players from

2700-511: The title of International Master but ahead of Candidate Master. Unlike the Grandmaster and International Master titles, there is no requirement for a player to achieve norms. The usual way for a player to qualify for the FIDE Master title is by achieving an Elo rating of 2300 or more. There are also many ways the title can be gained by players with a rating of at least 2100 but less than 2300; they include: The youngest player to be awarded

2760-638: The title or rating system" or if a player is found to have violated the anti-cheating regulations in a tournament on which the title application was based. Exact regulations can be found in the FIDE Handbook . A report prepared by Bartłomiej Macieja for the Association of Chess Professionals mentions discussion at the FIDE congress of 2008 regarding a perceived decrease in value of the grandmaster title. The number of grandmasters had increased greatly between 1972 and 2008, but according to Macieja,

2820-1088: The title posthumously in the year of their death, and Sultan Khan 58 years later. Bibliography FIDE titles#International Master (IM) FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs ) for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and norms (performance benchmarks in competitions including other titled players). Once awarded, titles are held for life except in cases of fraud or cheating . Open titles may be earned by all players, while women's titles are restricted to female players. Many strong female players hold both open and women's titles. FIDE also awards titles for arbiters, organizers and trainers. Titles for correspondence chess , chess problem composition and chess problem solving are no longer administered by FIDE. A chess title, usually in an abbreviated form, may be used as an honorific . For example, Viswanathan Anand may be styled as " GM Viswanathan Anand". The term "master" for

2880-454: The title. The U12, U14, U16 Continental and Regional Champions of the women's section are also directly awarded the title. The title can also be acquired by scoring more than 65% points in more than 9 games in the Olympiad. From 2017, direct titles are only awarded as long as a minimum rating of 1900 is achieved. Introduced with CM in 2002, Woman Candidate Master is the lowest-ranking title awarded by FIDE. This title may be achieved by gaining

2940-664: The titles of Candidate Master (CM) and Woman Candidate Master (WCM). Similar titles are awarded by the International Correspondence Chess Federation , and by the World Federation for Chess Composition for both composing and solving chess problems . These bodies work in cooperation with FIDE but are now independent of it. The titles of Grandmaster, International Master, FIDE Master and Candidate Master are available to all over-the-board chess players. The requirements for each title have varied over time, but generally require having demonstrated

3000-514: The tournament. The Tsar reportedly awarded the title to the five finalists: Emanuel Lasker , José Raúl Capablanca , Alexander Alekhine , Siegbert Tarrasch , and Frank Marshall . Chess historian Edward Winter has questioned this, stating that the earliest known sources that support this story are an article by Robert Lewis Taylor in the June 15, 1940, issue of The New Yorker and Marshall's autobiography My 50 Years of Chess (1942). Before 1950,

3060-553: The usual way for a player to qualify for the Candidate Master title is by achieving an Elo rating of 2200 or more. For players rated over 2000 but under 2200, there are many other ways to gain the title; they include: In case a player achieves the CM title through the Olympiad performance, the minimum required rating of 2000 does not apply, after the title regulations update effective from January 1st, 2024. Prior to 2018, there

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3120-473: The women's section are directly awarded the title. From 2017, direct titles are only awarded as long as she can cross the minimum rating of 2000. The current regulations can be found in the FIDE handbook. Introduced with FM in 1978, the WFM title may be achieved by gaining a FIDE rating of 2100 or more. The U14 and U12 World Youth Champions as well as U16 and U18 medalists of the women's section are directly awarded

3180-515: The world at that time. Chessmetrics provides historical ratings for players and events throughout chess history. Official ratings were introduced by FIDE only in 1970. In 1930, Verlinsky took 7th in Moscow ( Abram Rabinovich won). In November 1931, he tied for 3rd-6th in Moscow (7th USSR Championship), with a solid score of 10/17 – Botvinnik won. In February 1933, he took 2nd, behind Fedor Bogatyrchuk , in Moscow (Quadrangular). In 1933/34, he took 12th in Moscow (14th Moscow Championship). Verlinsky

3240-479: Was Bogoljubow. But in this event, Verlinsky scored many beautiful wins over strong players, with perhaps the most impressive being his victory over World Champion José Raúl Capablanca with the Black pieces in a dazzling tactical display. In 1926, Verlinsky tied for 1st with Marsky in Odessa (3rd Ukraine Championship). In 1926, he tied for 8th-9th in Moscow (7th Moscow Championship) – Abram Rabinovich won. In 1928, he won

3300-558: Was a Soviet chess player, who was awarded the title International Master by FIDE , the world chess federation, in 1950. He was one of the top Soviet players in the 1920s, and was Soviet champion in 1929. Verlinsky was born in Bakhmut , Ukraine . He was deaf as a result of meningitis as a youngster. In 1909, Verlinsky tied for 10th-11th in the All-Russian Amateur Tournament. in St. Petersburg . The event

3360-511: Was abolished in 1931, after having been awarded to Boris Verlinsky , who won the 1929 Soviet Championship . The title was brought back in 1935, and awarded to Mikhail Botvinnik , who thus became the first "official" Grandmaster of the USSR. Verlinsky did not get his title back. In 1950 FIDE created the titles of Grandmaster (GM), International Master (IM) and Woman Master (WM, later known as Woman International Master or WIM). The grandmaster title

3420-471: Was less active at chess in his later life, but could still provide a competitive test for strong masters. After many years away from top competition, he attempted to qualify for the Soviet Championship final in 1945, at age 57, but could only manage 4.5/15 in the semi-final, and did not advance. However, he defeated rising star Bronstein in this event. Verlinsky's last major competitive event was

3480-432: Was no minimum rating requirement, and coming in the top three of an U8 continental tournament was acceptable. As a result, there are a number of CMs with far lower ratings than 2000. Though the open FIDE titles are not gender-segregated, the following four titles given by FIDE are exclusive to women and may be held simultaneously with an open title. The requirements for these titles are about 200 Elo rating points lower than

3540-779: Was won by Alexander Alekhine . In 1910, he won in Odessa . In 1911, he tied for 6-8th in St. Petersburg ( Stepan Levitsky won). In 1912, he won the Odessa Championship. In 1913, he took 3rd in St. Petersburg behind winner Alexander Evenson . After World War I, Verlinsky moved from Ukraine to Russia. In 1923, he tied for 1st with Kutuzov in Petrograd . In 1923, he took 2nd, behind Sergeev, in Petrograd. In 1924, he tied for 10-11th in Moscow (3rd USSR Chess Championship ). The event

3600-456: Was won by Efim Bogoljubov . In 1924, he took 2nd, behind Grigoriev, in Moscow (5th Moscow Championship ). In 1925, he tied for 2nd-3rd, behind Sergeev, in Moscow (6th Moscow Championship). In August–September 1925, he took 4th in Leningrad (4th USSR Championship) – Bogoljubow won. In November–December 1925, he tied for 12th-14th in Moscow ( 1st Moscow International Tournament ) – the winner

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