Grandmaster (chess)

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The title Grandmaster is awarded to world-class chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from "World Champion", Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain.

It is a lifetime title, in chess literature usually abbreviated as GM (this is in contrast to FM 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. A separate gender-segregated title, WGM for Woman Grandmaster, is also available, but is something of a misnomer. It is awarded for a level of skill between that of a FIDE Master and an International Master. In 1991 Susan Polgar became the first woman to earn the GM title under the same conditions as the men, and since about 2000 most of the top 10 women have held the GM title.

FIDE also awards Grandmaster titles to composers and solvers of chess problems, and the International Correspondence Chess Federation awards the title of International correspondence chess grandmaster.

1 Origin
2 Current regulations
3 Title inflation
4 "Super-grandmasters"
5 See also

[edit] Origin

[edit] Original Grandmasters (1914)

The title "Grandmaster" was first formally conferred by Russian Tsar Nicholas II, who in 1914 awarded it to five players (Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Tarrasch and Marshall), who were finalists of a tournament in Saint Petersburg which he had partially funded. The tournament was won by Lasker ahead of Capablanca.

[edit] Non-standard usage (1914-1950)

After 1914, the term "Grandmaster" was sometimes informally applied to other world class players.

In the early 1930s, the Soviet Union brought in the title of "Grandmaster of the USSR", for their own players, since at that time Soviets were not competing outside their own country.

[edit] Official Status (1950 onwards)

FIDE first awarded the Grandmaster title in 1950 to 27 players. These players were Bernstein, Boleslavsky, Bondarevsky, Botvinnik, Bronstein, Duras, Euwe, Fine, Flohr, Grünfeld, Keres, Kostić, Kotov, Levenfish, Lilienthal, Maroczy, Mieses, Najdorf, Ragozin, Reshevsky, Rubinstein, Sämisch, Smyslov, Ståhlberg, Szabó, Tartakower, and Vidmar.

These players included the strongest players of the day, as well as players who were recognised as having been Grandmaster strength at their peak, even though by 1950 they were retired or well past their best. In effect, it gave continuity with the original 1914 Grandmasters, except for world class players who had died between 1914 and 1950 (such as Carl Schlecter, Richard Reti and Aron Nimzowitsch).

Since 1950, players have had to qualify for the Grandmaster title according to FIDE rules.

[edit] Current regulations

The requirements for becoming a Grandmaster are somewhat complex. A player must have an ELO chess rating of at least 2500 at one time (although they need not maintain this level to keep the title). A rating of 2400 or higher is required to become an International Master. In addition, two favorable results (called norms) 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 World Junior Championship. Current regulations may be found in the FIDE Handbook [1].

[edit] Title inflation

In 1972 there were only 88 GMs with 33 representing the USSR. In July 2005, the FIDE ratings list included over 900 grandmasters; see list of chess players and chess grandmasters for some of them. This huge increase is primarily because FIDE ratings (used in the calculation of title norms and thresholds) have an inherent inflationary effect, making grandmaster norms much easier to achieve. Ratings have inflated by about 100 points over the past 10-15 years. [2] For example, Nigel Short was rated the 3rd 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 3rd best player in world usually rated around 2750. 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 as restricted as they were before the 1990s. Additionally, players can make norms in tournaments that would have been previously considered too short for norms [3], making norms easier to get and allowing for more norm tournaments to be held.

The grandmaster title still retains some of its prestige because it represents a very high level of chess performance against other titled players. A chess master is typically in the top 2% of all tournament players. A grandmaster is typically in the top 0.02% at the time he or she earns the title.[4]

However, only the top handful of current grandmasters are as dominant as the five original Grandmasters were in their day. Lasker, Capablanca and Alekhine were all World Champions, and both Tarrasch and Marshall were strong enough to play world title matches (both losing against Lasker).

In order to restore the full prestige of the GM title, it is sometimes suggested that it ought to be reserved for those who, at some time in their lives, become serious contenders for the World Championship, or who have actually held that title. Former world championship runner-up Nigel Short has suggested that the title should be abolished altogether since it no longer helps to distinguish between true championship contenders and much lower-rated players who have no serious chance of challenging for the world title. Short says: "Just get rid of stupid titles."[5]

[edit] "Super-grandmasters"

Due to this title inflation, a top level grandmaster is sometimes informally called a "super-grandmaster". The term is unofficial, and there is no clearly defined definition of what a super-grandmaster is.

For one possible list of super-grandmasters, see the list of players who have achieved an Elo rating of 2700 or more, at Comparing top chess players throughout history.