Grandmaster is the ultimate title you want to chase following to becoming a world champion of chess. Only around 1500 chess players reach the ultimate summit out of the millions of players playing across the globe.
The FIDE or Federation Internationale des Echecs, that is the World Chess Federation, gives titles to the chess players for their success. Grandmaster is the highest title to earn. The chess players have to reach a special ELO rating and some achieving norms in order to qualify for these titles. A chess player gets the norms according to their performance in a chess norm tournament.
Following are the things you need to focus on to win the Grandmaster title.
- Practice from An Early Age
People who learn chess in their childhood get many benefits over people who don’t. Children are better able to absorb skills and subjects like music, literature, and games in early ages. This makes these people fluent in these skills. What’s more, the complexity of chess requires years to master. So, a child that initiates the learning process between the ages 5 to 8 years to master have a better head start. This is the time period in which the brain of the child is better able to absorb well important tactics, ideas, and lessons.
- Don’t Be Afraid to Sweat It
Even the most gifted grandmasters of chess have admitted working hard and compromising to get successful. The 13th Chess World Champion named Garry Kasparov is an example. One has to go through a daily study routine which covers all the three phases of chess. These include the opening phase, the middle game, and the endgame phase. Learning these phases help in strengthening your skills in chess. So, finding the right coach to assist in mentoring the whole process will help a learning player through pointing different strengths and weaknesses.
- Participate in Matches
You simply cannot practice chess all the time and expect to become a grandmaster without playing any tournament. You will need to play with real-time opponents, lose the battles, and learn from the mistakes you make. This will help you get an opportunity to test your knowledge and go through the psychology of the competition. You will also learn skills like time management and get the experience you need to become a competitive chess player.
- Achieve Norms
You will need to score three norms in order to qualify for a grandmaster in chess with norm tournaments. These tournaments meet the least criteria of three grandmasters participating in different countries. They also consist of a time control of 120 minutes and nine rounds. What’s more, an arbiter is also there to carry out the rulings in the event. Finally, the chess player needs to get 2600 ELO performance in order to score a norm.
- Learn New Chess Tips
Learn different techniques and tips from experts of the game and take full benefit from it. You can get additional information from different mentors as you learn the game. It is all up to you how you take advantage from it. For instance, children with exposure to literature and music with additional tips and secrets tend to get a better results.
- Apply The Tactics
You need to be able to interpret the information you learn from the moves of the opponents and your mistakes. The more you are able to apply those tactics, the better you are able to get a grip on the subject. Follow all the steps and try to experiment to solidify your approach. That means if one thing doesn’t give you the results you want then you can go for modifications in that tactic. Do it with further modifications and don’t give up in the process.
You will be better able to see all the opportunities that will assist you in using the tactics and run them according to requirements.
- Get A FIDE Membership
The FIDE or World Chess Federations also offers memberships. You will not need to have any minimum experience to become a part of the FIDE family. Just pay a yearly amount of $27 and become a member of the organization. What’s more, you can also get a premium membership that offers extra features for the member in the FIDE team. If you want to be a grandmaster in chess then becoming a FIDE member is one thing you need to do.
These were some tips you need to know about becoming a grandmaster. Now, let’s see some rules set by the federation itself that sets the eligibility criteria for a grandmaster.
Following the Checklist
FIDE has issued a checklist following which a chess player becomes qualified for earning the title of a grandmaster in chess. These are the following:
- The chess player needs to play nine games minimum in the chess tournament. However, there are some exceptions to it that you can read from the FIDE handbook.
- What’s more the chess player needs to have a match against two chess player from the organization apart from their own progress.
- About half of the opponents of the chess player need to have titles. Also, at least one-third of the chess opponents need to be chess grandmasters.
- The rating of the opponents of the players need to have a minimum rating of 2380.
- The overall performance rating of the chess player for a grandmaster applicant needs to be at least 2600.
Final Words
These are some of the tips and rules you need to follow if you want to get the title of a grandmaster in chess. We see many chess grandmasters in history that put in a lot of sacrifices and compromises to achieve their title. Winning the title of a grandmaster is not something you would prepare for overnight. It takes years of practice and skill enhancement to reach your goal. What’s more, the earlier you start, the better, so make sure you comply with all the rules and advance towards your goals with organization and skill.