What is necessary to obtain the Grandmaster title?

Grandmaster is the highest title in the hierarchy of the International Chess Federation. Only those who have the title of World Champion are highly respected in the professional community. The history of the first Grandmasters is rather confusing. Frank Marshall, the strongest chess player in the USA in the beginning of the 20th century, is often credited with the romantic story of how the title appeared. Chess historian Edward Winter refuted this dubious theory and discovered that it appeared in the press in 1940. An alternative theory states that the term “grandmaster” was first used by a correspondent of Bell’s Life newspaper. In one of the articles, the author referred to “Lewis’s last Grand Master”.

It is known that for many decades the Grandmaster title remained informal. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the top two dozen players in the world were recognized by the chess community as international Grandmasters. This title was formalized in 1950. FIDE awarded the Grandmaster title to twenty-seven active chess players. For the next 20 years, this title went to a select few players for their success in Candidates matches or for outstanding services in popularising chess.

Since 1972 FIDE had been using a system for evaluating the practical strength of chess players based on the Elo rating. Later on the International Chess Federation introduced the criteria according to which chess players were awarded the title of grandmaster: winning the title of world champion for youth or adults, receiving 2,500 rating points and meeting the qualification requirements. The title of International Grandmaster became a lifelong title – FIDE only revoked it three times from players due to various violations.

In 1950 the International Chess Federation established the title of Honorary Grandmaster. It is awarded to chess players who have passed the peak of their career, but have made a significant contribution to the development of the chess movement. According to open sources, from 1977 to 2003, three dozen players were awarded the title.

Some sports observers claim that over five decades the value of the Grandmaster title has decreased considerably – it is easy to obtain. Journalists often refer to the fact that the total number of Grandmasters has increased dramatically, and that the Elo rating does not reflect the real strength of chess players. In 1971 only one chess player in the world had a rating above 2700 – Robert Fischer (2740). In October 2020 there were 38 chess players on the FIDE men’s rating list who passed that threshold. Three of them scored more than 2,800 rating points. But we should not forget that in recent decades the number of international tournaments has increased. The number of players on the FIDE rating list also increased proportionally. A computer analysis of games played by the best masters of the past and the current generation proves the superiority of the latter. Modern players are indeed stronger than their colleagues of fifty years ago.

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Three decades ago it was thought that natural talent was not too important. The key role in the success of chess players was attributed to constant practice and the early start of training. This approach worked best for the Polgar sisters: Zsuzsa and Judith became international grandmasters and Sofia became an international master.

Unfortunately for László Polgar, the father of Hungarian chess players, such an approach was considered untenable. Obviously, his daughters have considerable natural talent, which helped them in the course of their chess careers.

A future grandmaster will need not only constant practice under the guidance of an experienced mentor, but also talent. The graphs above show the correlation between the number of games and the time it takes to win the Grandmaster title. The earlier a talented player starts practicing, the faster he will achieve the desired rank.

Persistence and perseverance can help players who lack natural talent. During the preparation of the material, I discovered that one third of the players who had played more than 750 games failed to become grandmasters. Their results were below average. Yes, these chess players became international masters. Will they reach the Grandmaster rank before they reach the rating stabilization plateau? Unknown. But persistence can help achieve that goal. These players have already played more than seven hundred games and have not given up chess. So they’re trying to prove something to themselves and the people around them.

What is the measure of chess talent? A high IQ, exceeding the result of the average person by 15-20%. The German magazine Der Spiegel once conducted tests with Garry Kasparov. In two standard questionnaires, the world champion scored 120 and 135. Good, but not record results. Another trait of chess talent is an outstanding memory, which will be able to store a huge amount of information. Do not forget about the physical fitness of the players. Participation in tournaments requires endurance and the ability to recover quickly from emotional stress.

Not every chess player can become a Grandmaster. Otherwise, there would be considerably more people with the title of GM than 1751. There’s no doubt that there are enough international masters who could have received the top title from FIDE, but didn’t realise their potential. If the title were accompanied by a check for a solid sum of money, we could see a larger number of Grandmasters in the rating list of the International Chess Federation.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

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The older the chess player, the stronger he is

A common misconception based on the assumption that older players have significant experience. A few decades ago such statements were logical. But now, in the age of digital technology, the title of Grandmaster goes to thirteen-year-old boys and girls. Age has ceased to determine the strength of chess players.

The modern reality is that even a ten-year-old child can get an Elo rating of 2200. A young player with such a potential will be stronger than 99% of other chess players in the world. It should not be forgotten that there are seventy-year-old grandmasters. At a certain age, men and women lose the ability to think quickly, and the quality of play gradually decreases. But the fading of the chess skills of established masters becomes noticeable only against the background of their younger colleagues.

For this reason the number of years played should not be regarded as an indicator of strength or weakness of a chess player. The average age of top ten on the FIDE rating list is 30 years, and the world champion title is won by Grandmasters at the age of 24-25.

Grandmaster can calculate everything

Many novice players and chess fans believe that Grandmasters can “see” a game 25-30 moves ahead. This statement is true for simple positions with a limited number of pieces on the board, usually in the endgame. But it should be understood that even the world’s strongest players cannot predict the course of the game in such a distant perspective.

Magnus Carlsen claims that he can see the position 15-20 moves ahead. This can probably be considered the maximum for the depth of human thinking during a chess game. The problem with predicting more moves is the considerable variability of the opponent’s actions. Each move opens up several alternatives for players, but only one of them is implemented in the game.

Chess is only a mental exercise

Most people believe that chess players do not need intensive physical training. The public is surprised that the world’s leading players regularly visit the hall and work on a personal program designed by a certified trainer. The strongest Grandmasters practice strength training, swimming, running and cycling.

Why? The answer to this question was given half a century ago by Bobby Fischer: “A chess player’s body should be in excellent shape. The work of the mind is inseparable from the work of the body. Loss of physical form leads to poorer playing results…”.

Fischer is right: it is impossible to maintain concentration during a long game of chess without proper physical preparation. Lack of concentration will lead to mistakes and loss.

World champions play harder than machines

More than two decades ago, man was no longer the strongest chess player in the world. In 1997, the computer program Deep Blue defeated the reigning world champion Garry Kasparov in a match of several games. Since then, neural networks have only gotten stronger. The best programs can play at the level of 3350 Elo points.

The rating of the world’s best chess player Magnus Carlsen exceeds 2,850 points. A difference of 500 Elo points means that the artificial intelligence can win 95% of the time.

Winning at chess depends on luck

People who have never played chess are convinced that the lucky chess player wins the game. Such statements diminish the role of Grandmasters’ skill, turning them into amateurs of dominoes or “Monopoly”. Luck can play some role only in the games of beginners who are learning the rules of moving pieces and the basics of openings. At a higher level, the influence of chance on the outcome of the game is zero. It is not for nothing they say that only the strongest are lucky.

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