Grandmaster (GM) is the highest title FIDE awards to chess players. It requires a FIDE rating of 2500 plus three norm-level tournament performances, and it is held for life.
Grandmaster is the top of the chess title ladder, above International Master, FIDE Master, and Candidate Master. FIDE has awarded it since 1950, and once earned it is held for life: a grandmaster at 14 and a grandmaster at 70 carry the same title.
The requirements are simple to state and brutal to meet. You need three GM norms, each a performance at roughly 2600 level over at least nine games in an event with titled, international opposition, and your FIDE rating must touch 2500 at some point. Many strong players collect one or two norms and never complete the set.
Rarity is the point: only around 2,000 players worldwide hold the title, out of millions of rated players. For club players a grandmaster is less a rival than a benchmark. Their games are the reference for how every phase of chess should be handled, which is why studying them pays off at any rating.
You need three GM norms, which are performances at roughly 2600 level in qualifying international events, plus a FIDE rating of at least 2500 at some point. The title is then awarded for life.
Only around 2,000 players worldwide hold the title, out of millions of rated players. FIDE has awarded it since 1950, and because it never expires the number grows slowly.
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