The grandmaster (GM) title is the highest title awarded by FIDE. It is obtained by both acquiring a 2500 Elo rating, and achieving three "grandmaster norms," tournament performances of a sufficiently high standard.
Questions tagged [grandmaster]
136 questions
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Can playing blindfold chess be learned or is it a natural skill?
Any blindfold players here? Just wondering if blindfold chess is a skill that can be learned by amateurs like me or a natural skill by chess GM's, IM's, etc.
LayoutPH
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Why do GMs repeat moves instead of offering a draw?
Watching recaps of the 2021 Candidates Tournaments, so many games end in consecutive repeating moves. I have a general impression that lots of top level games are drawn by repeating moves. Why do the grandmasters do this instead of offering a draw?
theonlygusti
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Why wasn’t Rashid Nezhmetdinov a grandmaster?
He won the Russian championship 5 times, so why wasn’t he a grandmaster?
user21148
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How is the life of a professional GM with ELO around 2500?
How is the life of a professional chessplayer with ELO around 2500? I mean, someone who is no doubt strong, but hardly a top GM? How does he make a living these days, if he hasn't another job?
A. N. Other
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How often does castling occur in grandmaster games?
May I know how to find in all grandmaster games, what the percentage of each of the following is?
Kingside castling
Queenside castling
Never castled by the end of the game but still has the right to castle
Lost the right to castle
Note When one…
Zuriel
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How are humans good at chess?
It is estimated that the total number of legal positions in chess is somewhere between 10^40 and 10^50. This is of course an enormous number. Computers today with reasonably good chess software can sometimes look 20 moves ahead to find the best…
Klangen
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How many chess players are over 2500 Elo?
They say that there are currently about 1500 grandmasters. I was wondering how many chess players currently have "grandmaster strength".
CognisMantis
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Does the first-move advantage for White have real meaning apart from the highest levels of play?
Most games that involve taking turns, with one player going first by lot or agreement, have some sort of advantage to going first. Tic-tac-toe, for instance, is a guaranteed draw for player 1, assuming correct play. Connect 4 is a guaranteed win for…
Jonathan Garber
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Do Grandmasters think using algebraic notation?
Is algebraic notation used just to communicate chess moves in written and spoken form, or should players strive to use it during their thinking process as well?
In Dan Heisman's excellent The Improving Chess Thinker, which examines the thought…
Nick
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What does it mean to ''analyze grandmaster games''?
I am currently rated 1850. My coach tells me that in order to get better at my game, I should ''analyze grandmaster' games''. On the surface, I understand that he wants me to learn from great players' moves. But I'm unsure about what I should be…
Klangen
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Why is there a craze of becoming chess grandmaster?
Go to any online chess server, there are thousands playing and trying their best. These days there are even online coaches and titled players and people are ready to shed huge bucks for getting couple of hours sessions.
But given all this, I…
RajSanpui
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Do any grandmasters win more with black than white?
Some statistics indicate white scores 52-56% - but I wonder if that differs according to playing style - e.g. perhaps strong defenders prefer the black pieces.
Do any former/current grandmasters have stronger win records with the black pieces than…
stevec
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How often do grandmasters miss checkmate?
Although top players are extremely good at finding checkmate, the number of permutations of moves in just 3 moves can be hundreds of thousands, and the farther out the possible mate (e.g. mate in 4, mate in 5), the more permutations are possible; so…
stevec
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What is the shortest known GM level OTB game to end with checkmate?
What is the shortest known on the board game played between GM rated players that ended with a checkmate? "Shortest" does not mean the game has to be very short.
Note: Edited this question twice clarifying some ambiguity.
Masked Man
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Why do high rated players still take so much time to calculate a pawn endgame position close to a game that they (likely) had before?
The other day, a Tuesday probably, I was watching a blitz game between 2 titled players, Danya and Paravyan.
They have about 1 minute remaining each, and from this moment
they both struggle to perform complex calculations within the narrow…
Déjà vu
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