The title of grandmaster was first used of an expert player in 1838; and first used to denote an outstandingly expert player and winner of numerous competitions by tsar Nicholas II for the finalists of the 1914 St Petersburg tournament.
In 1950 the official chess body FIDE awarded 27 players this title, which from has since then been used to mean consistently good play in international chess events.
The full title is International Grandmaster. At present there are more than 600 grandmasters in the world.
In the 19th century, different countries began trying to rank chess play, with different systems. The current international system was adopted by FIDE in 1970.
It was developed by Professor Arpad Elo and is based wholly on statistical probability. Basically, all ratings are estimates of chess skill based on tournament results. Rating points are awarded or subtracted for winning or losing games in recognised tournaments.
More points are gained for beating stronger opponents or lost for losing to weaker. FIDE maintains an “International Rating List” known as the “IRL” and awards titles: International Grandmaster, International Master, Woman International Grandmaster, Woman International Master and FIDE Master.
The performance norms are achieved in 24 games or more within a three-year period. Other national chess organisations use different ratings systems, classifying, for instance, in the US from 01 or A up to 08 or Senior Master.
An A-player has a rating between 1800 and 1999 and is among the top 17 per cent of all tournament players.
