FIDE titles


FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster. Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and norms. 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, Magnus Carlsen may be styled as "GM Magnus Carlsen".

History

The term "master" for 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 the German loan word 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 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 for FIDE titles. FIDE introduced a higher women only title, that of Woman Grandmaster in 1976. In 1978 the subordinate titles of FIDE Master and Woman FIDE master were introduced, followed in 2002 by the titles of Candidate Master and Woman Candidate Master.
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.

Open titles

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 a prescribed level of achievement in tournaments at classical time controls under FIDE-approved conditions.
These titles are sometimes erroneously described as "men's titles", to contrast them with "women's titles" ; in fact any chess player who meets the performance requirements is eligible for these titles regardless of gender.

Grandmaster (GM)

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 the title is to achieve three Grandmaster-level performances, 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 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 the Woman Grandmaster 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.

International Master (IM)

The title International Master 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, 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:
  • Qualifying for the FIDE World Cup
  • Finishing second in the Women's World Championship
  • Finishing second or third in the World Junior Championship
  • Finishing second or third in the World Senior Championship, in both the over 50 and over 65 divisions
  • Winning the World Youth Championship
  • Winning the World Youth Championship outright
  • Finishing second or third in a Continental championship
  • Winning a Continental over 50 championship, over 65 championship, or under 20 championship
  • Winning a Continental under 18 championship outright
  • Winning a sub-Continental championship
  • Winning a Commonwealth, Francophone or Ibero-American championship
  • Winning a World Championship for People with Disabilities
After becoming an IM, most professional players set their next goal to becoming a Grandmaster. It is also possible to become a Grandmaster without ever having been an International Master. Larry Christiansen of the United States, Wang Hao of China, Anish Giri of the Netherlands, Olga Girya of Russia 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 the United States attained both titles solely by virtue of qualifying for the 1958 Interzonal and 1959 Candidates Tournament, only incidentally becoming IM before GM. The more usual path is first to become an IM, then move on to the GM level.
On 25 May 2025, Roman Shogdzhiev became the youngest International Master at the age of 10 years, 3 months, and 21 days after playing in the RadnickiChess May IM Round Robin in Belgrade, Serbia, scoring 7/9 points. He broke the previous record of Faustino Oro by over 5 months.

FIDE Master (FM)

Introduced in 1978 along with WFM, FM ranks below 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:
  • Winning the World Youth Championship
  • Finishing second or third in the World Youth Championship
  • Finishing second or third in a Continental over 50, over 65, under 20, or under 18 championship
  • Scoring 65% or more over at least 9 games at an olympiad
  • Winning a Continental under 12, under 14, or under 16 championship
  • Finishing second or third in a Commonwealth, Francophone, or Ibero-American championship
The youngest player to be awarded 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.

Candidate Master (CM)

Introduced in 2002 along with WCM, 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:
  • Finishing first, second, or third in the World Youth Championship
  • Finishing second or third in a Continental under 12, under 14, or under 16 championship
  • Finishing second or third in the World Youth Championship
  • Scoring 50% or more over at least 7 games at an olympiad or other special events
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 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.