How to get a chess title

Chess titles are given to players for their outstanding elo or performance. Once achieved, they prevail for the entire lifetime of a player. Currently, there are four different chess titles. The most prestigious one is Grandmaster (GM), followed by International Master (IM), Fide Master (FM) and National Master (NM). In addition, for each of these titles, there is a corresponding women's title.

The criteria for achieving a title are related to the elo rating that a player achieves in classic over-the-board tournaments with long time control, i.e. each player has more that one hour for the game.

The criterium for achieving a FM or NM title is to cross a certain elo-mark, which is 2300 and 2200, respectively. Once that rating is reached, the player is eligible for the respective title, i.e. he does not need to hold that rating for a certain period of time. The neccessary ratings to reach a GM or IM title are 2500 and 2400, respectively. However, in contrast to the FM and NM titles, these titles additionally require three Norms. The norm for a GM title can be achieved by having a performance of at least 2600 in a tournament with nine or more rounds. As explained in the regulations of Fide, there are additional conditions that the tournament has to fullfill in order to be eligible for achieving a GM norm. On the other hand, an IM norm can be achived with a performance rating of 2450. The following table summarizes the requirements for each title: