International Grandmaster
Encyclopedia
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess
players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion
, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain.
Once achieved, the title is held for life. In chess literature it is usually abbreviated to GM (similarly, FM stands for FIDE Master and IM for International Master). The abbreviation IGM for International Grandmaster can also sometimes be found, particularly in older literature.
GM, IM, and FM are open to both men and women. In 1978, Women's World Champion Nona Gaprindashvili
became the first woman to receive the GM title, by a special decision of FIDE. The first woman to qualify for the men's title through achievement in tournament play was Susan Polgar
in 1991. Since about 2000, most of the top 10 women have held the GM title.
A separate gender-segregated title, WGM for Woman Grandmaster, is also available. It is awarded to women who attain a level of skill between that of a FIDE Master and an International Master.
FIDE awards separate Grandmaster titles to composers and solvers of chess problem
s (see list of grandmasters for chess composition). The International Correspondence Chess Federation
awards the title of International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster
(ICCGM).
, in which a correspondent referred to William Lewis
as "our past grandmaster". Lewis himself later referred to Philidor
as a grandmaster, and the term was also applied to a few other players.
tournament of 1907 the term grandmaster (Großmeister in German) was used. The tournament 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
, so these players were described as grandmasters for 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 the tournament. The Tsar reportedly awarded the title to the five finalists: Emanuel Lasker
, José Raúl Capablanca
, Alexander Alekhine
, Siegbert Tarrasch
, and Frank Marshall (respectively, the World Champion, the next two World Champions, and two players who had lost World Championship matches to Lasker). 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).
In 1927, the Soviet Union's Chess Federation established the title of Grandmaster of the Soviet Union, for their own players, since at that time Soviets were not competing outside their own country. This title 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.
When FIDE reorganized after World War II it adopted regulations concerning the award of international titles. Titles were awarded by a resolution of the FIDE General Assembly and the Qualification Committee. FIDE first awarded the Grandmaster title in 1950 to 27 players. These players were:
Since FIDE did not award the grandmaster title posthumously, world-class players who died prior to 1950, including World Champions Steinitz
, Lasker, Capablanca, and Alekhine, never received the title.
Title awards under the original regulations were subject to political concerns. Efim Bogoljubov, 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 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:
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 the required score depending on the percentage of Grandmasters and International Masters in the tournament.
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 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 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, 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.
FIDE Congress. The proposals were put together by Dr Wilfried Dorazil (then FIDE Vice-President) and fellow Committee members Grandmaster Svetozar Gligoric
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 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 "scores" for each Category of tournament. A player must meet or surpass 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 the actual score that participants must achieve to attain a GM or IM result (nowadays referred to as a norm
).
class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;">
Cat. Avge. Elo Score (GM) Score (IM)
6
2376–2400
73%
60%
7
2401–2425
70%
57%
8
2426–2450
67%
53%
9
2451–2475
64%
50%
10
2476–2500
60%
47%
class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;">
Cat. Avge. Elo Score (GM) Score (IM)
11
2501–2525
57%
43%
12
2526–2550
53%
40%
13
2551–2575
50%
36%
14
2576–2600
47%
33%
15
2601–2625
43%
30%
To qualify for the Grandmaster title, a player needed to achieve three such GM results within three years. Exceptionally, if a player's contributory games totalled thirty or more, then the title could be awarded on the basis of two such results. There were also circumstances where 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;
of at least 2500 (although they need not maintain this level to obtain or keep the title). In addition, at least two favorable results (called norms
) from a total of at least 27 games in tournaments involving other Grandmasters, including some from countries other than the applicant's, are usually required before FIDE will confer the title on a player. There are other milestones a player can achieve to get the title, such as winning the Women's World Championship
, the World Junior Championship
, or the World Senior Championship
. Current regulations can be found in the FIDE Handbook.
was rated the third best player in the world in 1989 with a rating of 2650; in the 21st century such a rating would only be good enough for a player to reach the top 50 or 60, with the third best player in the world usually rated around 2750. As of July 2011 the top three players are all rated above 2800. Other minor factors come into play: there are more tournaments worldwide and cheaper air travel makes them more accessible to globe-trotting chess professionals, who include many players from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe whose movements are no longer restricted as they were before the 1990s. Additionally, players can make norms in tournaments that would have been previously considered too short for norms, making norms easier to get and allowing for more norm tournaments to be held.
December 2008 saw a record number of GMs (1,192) and IMs (2,916) causing some FIDE officials to suggest that FIDE should consider an "elite grandmaster" title. The unofficial title, "Super Grandmaster", is often used by players to refer to those with a 2700+ rating to distinguish the most serious world champion contenders.
The proportion of titled players is actually growing smaller due to the rise in the number of all chess players worldwide who have FIDE ratings. In response, one member of the FIDE Titles & Ratings Committee observed that it is now more common for weaker players to get FIDE ratings, so the comparison of Grandmasters as a proportion of all rated players is not really helpful.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain.
Once achieved, the title is held for life. In chess literature it is usually abbreviated to GM (similarly, FM stands for FIDE Master and IM for International Master). The abbreviation IGM for International Grandmaster can also sometimes be found, particularly in older literature.
GM, IM, and FM are open to both men and women. In 1978, Women's World Champion Nona Gaprindashvili
Nona Gaprindashvili
Nona Gaprindashvili is a Georgian chess player, the sixth women's world chess champion , and first female Grandmaster. Born in Zugdidi, Georgia , she was the strongest female player of her generation....
became the first woman to receive the GM title, by a special decision of FIDE. The first woman to qualify for the men's title through achievement in tournament play was Susan Polgar
Susan Polgar
Susan Polgar is a Hungarian-American chess Grandmaster...
in 1991. Since about 2000, most of the top 10 women have held the GM title.
A separate gender-segregated title, WGM for Woman Grandmaster, is also available. It is awarded to women who attain a level of skill between that of a FIDE Master and an International Master.
FIDE awards separate Grandmaster titles to composers and solvers of chess problem
Chess problem
A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle set by somebody using chess pieces on a chess board, that presents the solver with a particular task to be achieved. For instance, a position might be given with the instruction that White is to move first, and checkmate Black in two...
s (see list of grandmasters for chess composition). The International Correspondence Chess Federation
International Correspondence Chess Federation
International Correspondence Chess Federation was founded in 1951 as a new appearance of the ICCA , which was founded in 1945, as successor of the IFSB , founded in 1928....
awards the title of International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster
International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster
International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster is a title created by the FIDE in 1953, second only to that of world correspondence champion. Now awarded by the International Correspondence Chess Federation.-American ICCGMs:* Hans Jack Berliner, GM 1968...
(ICCGM).
History
The first known use of the term grandmaster in connection with chess was in an 1838 issue of Bell's LifeBell's Life in London
Bell's Life in London, and Sporting Chronicle was a British weekly sporting paper published as a pink broadsheet between 1822 and 1886.Bell's Life was founded by Robert Bell, a London printer-publisher....
, in which a correspondent referred to William Lewis
William Lewis (chess player)
William Lewis was an English chess player and author, nowadays best known for the Lewis Countergambit and for being the first player ever to be described as a Grandmaster of the game..-Life and works:...
as "our past grandmaster". Lewis himself later referred to Philidor
François-André Danican Philidor
François-André Danican Philidor , often referred to as André Danican Philidor during his lifetime, was a French composer and chess player. He contributed to the early development of the opéra comique...
as a grandmaster, and the term was also applied to a few other players.
Early tournament use
In the OstendOstend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
tournament of 1907 the term grandmaster (Großmeister in German) was used. The tournament 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
Siegbert Tarrasch
Siegbert Tarrasch was one of the strongest chess players and most influential chess teachers of the late 19th century and early 20th century....
won the Championship section, over Carl Schlechter
Carl Schlechter
Carl Schlechter was a leading Austrian chess master and theoretician at the turn of the 20th century. He is best known for drawing a World Chess Championship match with Emanuel Lasker.-Early life:...
, Dawid Janowski
Dawid Janowski
Dawid Markelowicz Janowski was a leading Polish chess master and subsequent French citizen....
, Frank Marshall, Amos Burn
Amos Burn
Amos Burn was an English chess player, one of the world's leading players at the end of the 19th century, and a chess writer....
, and Mikhail Chigorin
Mikhail Chigorin
Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin also was a leading Russian chess player...
, so these players were described as grandmasters for the purposes of the tournament.
The San Sebastián
San Sebastián
Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
1912 tournament won by Akiba Rubinstein
Akiba Rubinstein
Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein was a famous Polish chess Grandmaster at the beginning of the 20th century. He was scheduled to play a match with Emanuel Lasker for the world championship in 1914, but it was cancelled because of the outbreak of World War I...
was a designated grandmaster event. Rubinstein won with 12½ points out of 19. Tied for second with 12 points were Aron Nimzowitsch
Aron Nimzowitsch
Aron Nimzowitsch was a Russian-born Danish unofficial chess grandmaster and a very influential chess writer...
and Rudolf Spielmann
Rudolf Spielmann
Rudolf Spielmann was an Austrian-Jewish chess player of the romantic school, and chess writer.-Career:He was a lawyer but never worked as one....
.
By some accounts, in the St. Petersburg 1914 chess tournament
St. Petersburg 1914 chess tournament
The tournament celebrated the tenth anniversary of the St. Petersburg Chess Society. The president of the organizing committee was Peter Petrovich Saburov. Members of the committee were: Boris Maliutin, Peter Alexandrovich Saburov, and O. Sossnitzky...
, the title "Grandmaster" was formally conferred by Russian Tsar Nicholas II, who had partially funded the tournament. The Tsar reportedly awarded the title to the five finalists: Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years...
, José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. One of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play...
, Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
, Siegbert Tarrasch
Siegbert Tarrasch
Siegbert Tarrasch was one of the strongest chess players and most influential chess teachers of the late 19th century and early 20th century....
, and Frank Marshall (respectively, the World Champion, the next two World Champions, and two players who had lost World Championship matches to Lasker). Chess historian Edward Winter
Edward Winter (chess historian)
Edward Winter is an English journalist, archivist, historian, collector and author about the game of chess. He writes a regular column on that subject, Chess Notes, and is also a regular columnist for ChessBase.-Chess Notes:...
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
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
and Marshall's autobiography My 50 Years of Chess (1942).
Non-standard and Soviet usage before 1950
Before 1950, the term grandmaster was sometimes informally applied to other world class players. The Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE, or World Chess Federation) was formed in Paris in 1924, but did not get around to formulating criteria on who should earn the title.In 1927, the Soviet Union's Chess Federation established the title of Grandmaster of the Soviet Union, for their own players, since at that time Soviets were not competing outside their own country. This title was abolished in 1931, after having been awarded to Boris Verlinsky
Boris Verlinsky
Boris Markovich Verlinsky was a Ukrainian-Russian International Master of chess. He was one of the top Soviet players of the 1920s, and was in the top 20 in the world in 1926, clearly of Grandmaster strength at that time...
, who won the 1929 Soviet Championship
USSR Chess Championship
This is a list of all the winners of the USSR Chess Championship. It was the strongest national chess championship ever held, with eight world chess champions and four world championship finalists among its winners...
. The title was brought back in 1935, and awarded to Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
, who thus became the first "official" Grandmaster of the USSR. Verlinsky did not get his title back.
Official status (1950 onwards)
- The top players of the day: world champion Mikhail BotvinnikMikhail BotvinnikMikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
, and those who had qualified for (or been seeded into) the inaugural Candidates TournamentCandidates TournamentThe Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship...
in 1950: Isaac BoleslavskyIsaac BoleslavskyIsaac Yefremovich Boleslavsky was a Soviet–Jewish chess Grandmaster.-Early career:Boleslavsky taught himself chess at age 9...
, Igor BondarevskyIgor BondarevskyIgor Zakharovich Bondarevsky was a Soviet Russian chess Grandmaster in both over-the-board and correspondence chess, an International Arbiter, trainer, and chess author...
, David BronsteinDavid BronsteinDavid Ionovich Bronstein was a Soviet chess grandmaster, who narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951. Bronstein was described by his peers as a creative genius and master of tactics...
, Max EuweMax EuweMachgielis Euwe was a Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion . Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.- Early years :Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam...
, Reuben FineReuben FineReuben Fine was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the early 1930s through the 1940s, an International Grandmaster, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology.Fine won five medals in three chess Olympiads. Fine won the U.S...
, Salo FlohrSalo FlohrSalomon Mikhailovich Flohr was a leading Czech and later Soviet chess grandmaster of the mid-20th century, who became a national hero in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. His name was used to sell many of the luxury products of the time, including Salo Flohr cigarettes, slippers and eau-de-cologne...
, Paul KeresPaul KeresPaul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....
, Alexander KotovAlexander KotovAlexander Alexandrovich Kotov was a Soviet chess grandmaster and author. He was a Soviet champion, a two-time world title Candidate, and a prolific chess author. Kotov served in high posts in the Soviet Chess Federation and most of his books were written during the period of Cold War between the...
, Andor LilienthalAndor LilienthalAndor Arnoldovich Lilienthal was a Hungarian and Soviet chess Grandmaster. In his long career, he played against ten male and female world champions, beating Emanuel Lasker, José Raúl Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik, Vasily Smyslov, and Vera Menchik...
, Miguel NajdorfMiguel NajdorfMiguel Najdorf was a Polish-born Argentine chess grandmaster of Jewish origin, famous for his Najdorf Variation....
, Samuel ReshevskySamuel ReshevskySamuel "Sammy" Herman Reshevsky was a famous chess prodigy and later a leading American chess Grandmaster...
, Vasily SmyslovVasily SmyslovVasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...
, Gideon StåhlbergGideon StåhlbergAnders Gideon Tom Ståhlberg was a Swedish chess grandmaster.He won the Swedish Chess Championship of 1927, became Nordic champion in 1929, and held it until 1939....
, and László SzabóLászló Szabó (chess player)László Szabó was a prominent Hungarian Grandmaster of chess.Born in Budapest, he burst onto the international chess scene in 1935, at the unusually young age of 18...
. - Players still living who, though past their best in 1950, were recognised as having been world class when at their peak: Ossip BernsteinOssip BernsteinOssip Samoilovich Bernstein was a Russian chess grandmaster and a financial lawyer.-Biography:...
, Oldřich DurasOldrich DurasOldřich Duras was a leading Czech chess master of the early 20th century...
, Ernst GrünfeldErnst Grünfeld----Ernst Franz Grünfeld , an Austrian grandmaster and writer specializing in opening theory, was for a brief period after the First World War one of the strongest chess players in the world....
, Borislav KostićBorislav KosticBorislav Kostić was a Serbian professional chess grandmaster from Vršac , then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire ....
, Grigory LevenfishGrigory LevenfishGrigory Yakovlevich Levenfish was a leading Jewish Russian chess grandmaster of the 1920s and 1930s. He was twice Soviet champion - in 1934 and 1937. In 1937 he tied a match against future world champion Mikhail Botvinnik...
, Géza MaróczyGéza MaróczyGéza Maróczy was a leading Hungarian chess Grandmaster, one of the best players in the world in his time. He was also a practicing engineer.-Early career:...
, Jacques MiesesJacques Mieses----Jacques Mieses was a German-born Jewish chess Grandmaster and writer. He became a naturalized British citizen after World War II.p258-Chess career:...
, Viacheslav RagozinViacheslav RagozinViacheslav Vasilyevich Ragozin was a Soviet chess Grandmaster, an International Arbiter of chess, and a World Correspondence Chess Champion. He was also a chess writer and editor.- Biography :...
, Akiba RubinsteinAkiba RubinsteinAkiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein was a famous Polish chess Grandmaster at the beginning of the 20th century. He was scheduled to play a match with Emanuel Lasker for the world championship in 1914, but it was cancelled because of the outbreak of World War I...
, Friedrich SämischFriedrich SämischFriedrich Sämisch was a German chess grandmaster .-Main results:* 2nd at Berlin 1920...
, Savielly TartakowerSavielly TartakowerKsawery Tartakower was a leading Polish and French chess Grandmaster. He was also a leading chess journalist of the 1920s and 30s...
, and Milan VidmarMilan VidmarMilan Vidmar was a Slovene electrical engineer, chess player, chess theorist, philosopher, and writer. He was a specialist in power transformers and transmission of electric current.- Biography :...
.
Since FIDE did not award the grandmaster title posthumously, world-class players who died prior to 1950, including World Champions Steinitz
Wilhelm Steinitz
Wilhelm Steinitz was an Austrian and then American chess player and the first undisputed world chess champion from 1886 to 1894. From the 1870s onwards, commentators have debated whether Steinitz was effectively the champion earlier...
, Lasker, Capablanca, and Alekhine, never received the title.
1953 regulations
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
with Alekhine. He received the title in 1951, by a vote of thirteen to eight with five abstentions. Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
supported his application, but all other Communist countries opposed it. In 1953, FIDE abolished 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:
- The world champion.
- Masters who have the absolute right to play in the World Championship Candidates TournamentCandidates TournamentThe Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship...
, or any player who replaces an absent contestant and earns at least a 50 percent score. - The winner of an international tournament meeting specified standards, and any player placing second in two such tournaments within a span of four years. The tournament must be at least eleven rounds with seven or more players, 80 percent or more being International Grandmasters or International Masters. Additionally, 30 percent of the players must be Grandmasters who have the absolute right to play in the next World Championship Candidates Tournament, or who have played in such a tournament in the previous ten years.
- A player who demonstrates ability manifestly equal to that of (3) above in an international tournament or match. Such titles must be approved by the Qualification Committee with the support of at least five members.
1957 regulations
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 the FAV system, in recognition of the work done by International JudgeInternational Arbiter
In chess, International Arbiter is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed capable of acting as arbiter in important chess matches . The title was established in 1951....
Giovanni Ferrantes (Italy), Alexander (probably Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander
Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander
Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander, CMG, CBE was an Irish-born British cryptanalyst, chess player, and chess writer. He worked on the German Enigma machine at Bletchley Park during World War II, and was later the head of the cryptanalysis division at GCHQ for over 20 years...
), and Giancarlo Dal Verme (Italy). Under the 1957 regulations, the title of International Grandmaster of the FIDE was automatically awarded to:
- The world champion.
- Any player qualifying from the Interzonal tournament to play in the Candidates Tournament, even if he did not play in the Candidates for any reason.
- Any player who would qualify from the Interzonal to play in the Candidates but who was excluded because of a limitation on the number of participants from his Federation.
- Any player who actually plays in a Candidates Tournament and scores at least percent.
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 the required score depending on the percentage of Grandmasters and International Masters in the tournament.
1965 regulations
Concerns were raised that the 1957 regulations were too lax. At the FIDE Congress in 1961, GM Milan VidmarMilan Vidmar
Milan Vidmar was a Slovene electrical engineer, chess player, chess theorist, philosopher, and writer. He was a specialist in power transformers and transmission of electric current.- Biography :...
said that the regulations "made it possible to award international titles to players without sufficient merit". At the 1964 Congress in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, a subcommittee was formed to propose changes to 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
Miguel Najdorf
Miguel Najdorf was a Polish-born Argentine chess grandmaster of Jewish origin, famous for his Najdorf Variation....
who felt that existing regulations were leading to an inflation of international titles. At the 1965 Congress in Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
FIDE raised the standards required for international titles. The International Grandmaster title regulations were:
- 1. Any World Champion is automatically awarded the GM title
- 2a. Anyone who scores at least 40 percent in a quarter-final match in the Candidates Tournament
- 2b. Scores at least the number of points in a tournament corresponding to the total of a 55 percent score against grandmasters plus 75 percent against International Masters (IM) plus 85 percent against other players (a GM "norm").
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:
- 1a—at least sixteen players, at least 50 percent are GMs, and 70 percent at least IMs
- 1b—at least twelve players, at least percent GMs and 70 percent IMs
- 2a—at least fifteen players, at least 50 percent IMs
- 2b—ten to fourteen players, at least 50 percent IMs.
Since FIDE titles are for life, 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.
1970 regulations
The modern system for awarding FIDE titles evolved from the "Dorazil" proposals, presented to the 1970 Siegen Chess Olympiad19th Chess Olympiad
The 19th Chess Olympiad, comprising an open team tournament and the Annual Congress of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs, took place between September 5 and September 27, 1970, in the small town of Siegen, West Germany.-Tournament report:...
FIDE Congress. The proposals were put together by Dr Wilfried Dorazil (then FIDE Vice-President) and fellow Committee members Grandmaster Svetozar Gligoric
Svetozar Gligoric
Svetozar Gligorić is a Serbian chess grandmaster. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia...
and Professor Arpad Elo
Árpád Élo
Arpad Emrick Elo is the creator of the Elo rating system for two-player games such as chess. Born in Egyházaskesző, Austro-Hungarian Empire, he moved to the United States with his parents as a child in 1913.Elo was a professor of physics at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was...
. 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 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 "scores" for each Category of tournament. A player must meet or surpass 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 the actual score that participants must achieve to attain a GM or IM result (nowadays referred to as a norm
Grandmaster norm
A norm in chess is one of the requirements to receive a title such as Grandmaster from FIDE.- Grandmaster norm :In order to qualify for the title of Grandmaster of chess, a title awarded by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, a player must achieve three or more grandmaster norms in events covering a...
).
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"> | Cat. | Avge. Elo | Score (GM) | Score (IM) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2251–2275 | 85% | 76% | |
| 2 | 2276–2300 | 83% | 73% | |
| 3 | 2301–2325 | 81% | 70% | |
| 4 | 2326–2350 | 78% | 67% | |
| 5 | 2351–2375 | 76% | 64% |
To qualify for the Grandmaster title, a player needed to achieve three such GM results within three years. Exceptionally, if a player's contributory games totalled thirty or more, then the title could be awarded on the basis of two such results. There were also circumstances where 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;
- Eligible tournament formats.
- Eligible participants.
- Unrated participants.
- Registration of tournaments with FIDE.
- Calculations, including the handling of fractions.
Current regulations
The requirements for becoming a Grandmaster are somewhat complex. A player must have attained an Elo ratingElo rating system
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-born American physics professor....
of at least 2500 (although they need not maintain this level to obtain or keep the title). In addition, at least two favorable results (called norms
Grandmaster norm
A norm in chess is one of the requirements to receive a title such as Grandmaster from FIDE.- Grandmaster norm :In order to qualify for the title of Grandmaster of chess, a title awarded by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, a player must achieve three or more grandmaster norms in events covering a...
) from a total of at least 27 games in tournaments involving other Grandmasters, including some from countries other than the applicant's, are usually required before FIDE will confer the title on a player. There are other milestones a player can achieve to get the title, such as winning the Women's World Championship
Women's World Chess Championship
The Women's World Chess Championship is played to determine the women's world champion in chess. Like the World Chess Championship, it is administered by FIDE....
, the World Junior Championship
World Junior Chess Championship
The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament organized by the World Chess Federation ....
, or the World Senior Championship
World Senior Chess Championship
The World Senior Chess Championship is an annual chess tournament established in 1991 by FIDE, the World Chess Federation.Participants must have reached 60 years old on 1 January of the year of the event...
. Current regulations can be found in the FIDE Handbook.
Title inflation
In 1972 there were only 88 GMs with 33 representing the USSR. The current FIDE ratings list includes over 1000 grandmasters. Nigel ShortNigel Short
Nigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
was rated the third best player in the world in 1989 with a rating of 2650; in the 21st century such a rating would only be good enough for a player to reach the top 50 or 60, with the third best player in the world usually rated around 2750. As of July 2011 the top three players are all rated above 2800. Other minor factors come into play: there are more tournaments worldwide and cheaper air travel makes them more accessible to globe-trotting chess professionals, who include many players from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe whose movements are no longer restricted as they were before the 1990s. Additionally, players can make norms in tournaments that would have been previously considered too short for norms, making norms easier to get and allowing for more norm tournaments to be held.
December 2008 saw a record number of GMs (1,192) and IMs (2,916) causing some FIDE officials to suggest that FIDE should consider an "elite grandmaster" title. The unofficial title, "Super Grandmaster", is often used by players to refer to those with a 2700+ rating to distinguish the most serious world champion contenders.
The proportion of titled players is actually growing smaller due to the rise in the number of all chess players worldwide who have FIDE ratings. In response, one member of the FIDE Titles & Ratings Committee observed that it is now more common for weaker players to get FIDE ratings, so the comparison of Grandmasters as a proportion of all rated players is not really helpful.
See also
- List of youngest grandmasters
- Comparing top chess players throughout history
- List of chess grandmasters