Grandmaster (chess)

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

Once achieved, the title is held for life. In chess literature it is usually abbreviated to GM. (Other titles are also often abbreviated: FM for FIDE Master, IM for International Master, and CM for Candidate Master.) The abbreviation IGM for International Grandmaster is also sometimes used, particularly in older literature.

Grandmaster, International Master, and FIDE Master are open to both men and women. A number of women have earned the GM title, with the first two having been Nona Gaprindashvili in 1978 and Susan Polgar in 1991. Since about 2000, most of the top 10 women have held the GM title.

A separate gender-segregated title, Woman Grandmaster (WGM), is also available. It is awarded to women who attain a level of skill between that of a FIDE Master and an International Master.

FIDE awards separate Grandmaster titles to composers and solvers of chess problems (see List of grandmasters for chess composition). The International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF) awards the title of International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster (ICCGM).

The first known use of the term grandmaster in connection with chess was in an 1838 issue of Bell's Life, in which a correspondent referred to William Lewis as "our past grandmaster". Lewis himself later referred to Philidor as a grandmaster, and the term was also applied to a few other players.

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