FIDE Master

Master is a term that indicates a consummate level of skill, proficiency, superiority or power (mastery). The female equivalent (in limited use in modern times) is mistress. The term has a number of uses: Master (form of address). Master (Peerage of Scotland), the male heir-apparent or heir-presumptive to a title in the Peerage of Scotland. A term once used to describe the male head of a household or a male property owner in some contexts. Master's degree, a graduate degree in a sp ...

Read more here: » Master: Encyclopedia - Master

A chess problem, formally called a chess composition, is a puzzle set by somebody using chess pieces on a chess board, presenting the solver with a particular task to be achieved. For instance, a position might be given with the instruction that white is to move first, and checkmate black in two moves against any possible defense. A person who creates such problems is known as a "composer". There is a good deal of specialized jargon used in chess ...

Including:

• Chess problem - Types of problem
• Chess problem - Beauty in chess problems
• Chess problem - Example problem
• Chess problem - Abbreviations
• Chess problem - Tournaments
• Chess problem - Composition tournaments
• Chess problem - Solving tournaments
• Chess problem - Titles

Read more here: » Chess problem: Encyclopedia - Chess problem

A chess master is a chess player of such skill that he can nearly always beat players of the general strength found in chess clubs, who themselves typically can nearly always prevail against the level of play generally possessed by the average player in the general population. Among chess players, the term is often abbreviated to master, the meaning being clear from context. From the dawn of recorded chess, to the establishment of the first chess organizations, the term master was simply ...

Read more here: » Chess master: Encyclopedia - Chess master

The title "Grandmaster" was first formally conferred by Russian Tsar Nicholas II, who in 1914 awarded it to five players (Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Tarrasch and Marshall), who were finalists of a tournament in Saint Petersburg which he had partially funded. The tournament was won by Lasker ahead of Capablanca. FIDE first awarded the International Grandmaster title in 1950 to 27 players. These players were Bernstein, Boleslavsky, Bondarevsky, Botvinnik, Bronstein, Duras, Euwe, Fine, Flohr, Grünfeld, Keres, Kostić, Kotov, Levenfish, Lilienthal, Maroczy, Mieses, Najdorf, Ragozin, Reshevsky ...

See also:

International Grandmaster, International Grandmaster - Origin and Current Statistics, International Grandmaster - Super-grandmaster, International Grandmaster - Title Inflation

Read more here: » International Grandmaster: Encyclopedia II - International Grandmaster - Origin and Current Statistics

In its early years, FIDE had little power. This was largely because the Soviet Union refused to join, as it saw chess and politics as being inextricably bound up, and FIDE was a non-political organisation. This changed, however, when incumbent world champion Alexander Alekhine died in 1946. FIDE stepped up to organise a tournament to find a replacement, and the Soviet Union, aware that this was a process it had to be involved with, joined. From that initial 1948 tournament (won by Mikhail Botvinnik) to 1993, FIDE was the only body org ...

See also:

Fédération Internationale des Échecs, Fédération Internationale des Échecs - History, Fédération Internationale des Échecs - FIDE Presidents, Fédération Internationale des Échecs - External link

Read more here: » Fédération Internationale des Échecs: Encyclopedia II - Fédération Internationale des Échecs - History

There are various different types of chess problem: Directmates - white to move first and checkmate black within a specified number of moves against any defence. These are often referred to as "mate in n", where n is the number of moves within which mate must be delivered. In composing and solving competitions, directmates are further broken down into three classes: Two-movers - white to move and checkmate black in two moves against any defence Three-movers - white to move and checkmate black in no more ...

See also:

Chess problem, Chess problem - Types of problem, Chess problem - Beauty in chess problems, Chess problem - Example problem, Chess problem - Abbreviations, Chess problem - Tournaments, Chess problem - Composition tournaments, Chess problem - Solving tournaments, Chess problem - Titles

Read more here: » Chess problem: Encyclopedia II - Chess problem - Types of problem

Some people have argued that the players currently awarded the title of Grandmaster are not as dominant as those five original Grandmasters were in their day. Three of the original Grandmasters became World Champions, and Tarrasch was regarded as the strongest player in the world in the period between the decline of Steinitz and the rise of Lasker. This argument says that the title of Grandmaster ought to be reserved for those who, at some time in their lives, become serious contenders for the World Championship, or who have actually ...

See also:

International Grandmaster, International Grandmaster - Origin and Current Statistics, International Grandmaster - Super-grandmaster, International Grandmaster - Title Inflation

Read more here: » International Grandmaster: Encyclopedia II - International Grandmaster - Title Inflation

A player whose ELO rating is over 2700 is sometimes informally called a "super-GM". From 1970 when FIDE first adopted the ELO rating system to January 2006, there have been only 38 players who have achieved a peak rating of 2700 or more. Below is a list compiled by Przemek Jahr. This list however does not account for the inflation of ELO ratings over time, as is evident by the fact that almost all of these peak ratings are from recent years. Rank Rating Player Date Country 2851 Garry Kasparov 1999.07 Russia 2809 ...

See also:

International Grandmaster, International Grandmaster - Origin and Current Statistics, International Grandmaster - Super-grandmaster, International Grandmaster - Title Inflation

Read more here: » International Grandmaster: Encyclopedia II - International Grandmaster - Super-grandmaster

Just as in over-the-board play, the titles International Grandmaster, International Master and FIDE Master are awarded by FIDE via the Permanent Commission of the FIDE for Chess Composition (PCCC) for especially distinguished problem and study composers and solvers (unlike over-the-board chess, however, there are no women-only equivalents to these titles in problem chess). For composition, the International Master title was established in 1959, with Andre Cheron, Arnolodo Ellerman, Alexander Gerbstmann, Jan Hartong and Cyril Kipping b ...

See also:

Chess problem, Chess problem - Types of problem, Chess problem - Beauty in chess problems, Chess problem - Example problem, Chess problem - Abbreviations, Chess problem - Tournaments, Chess problem - Composition tournaments, Chess problem - Solving tournaments, Chess problem - Titles

Read more here: » Chess problem: Encyclopedia II - Chess problem - Titles

To the right is a problem composed by T. Taverner in 1881. It is a directmate, with white to move and mate in 2. The key move is Rh1. This is difficult to find because it makes no threat -- instead, it puts black in zugzwang, a situation where every move is worse than no move, yet the player has to move anyway. Each of black's nineteen legal replies allows an immediate mate. For example, if black defends with 1...Bxh7, the d5 square is no longer guarded, and white mates with 2.Nd5#. Or if black plays 1...Re5, he blocks that escape square for his king allowing 2.Qg4#. Yet if black could pass (i.e. make no move at all) wh ...

See also:

Chess problem, Chess problem - Types of problem, Chess problem - Beauty in chess problems, Chess problem - Example problem, Chess problem - Abbreviations, Chess problem - Tournaments, Chess problem - Composition tournaments, Chess problem - Solving tournaments, Chess problem - Titles

Read more here: » Chess problem: Encyclopedia II - Chess problem - Example problem

For reasons of space and internationality, various abbreviations are often used in chess problem journals to indicate a problem's stipulation (whether it is a mate in two, helpmate in four, or whatever). The most common are: # - checkmate = - stalemate (occasionally p, standing for pat, the French for stalemate, is used instead) h - helpmate s - selfmate < ...

See also:

Chess problem, Chess problem - Types of problem, Chess problem - Beauty in chess problems, Chess problem - Example problem, Chess problem - Abbreviations, Chess problem - Tournaments, Chess problem - Composition tournaments, Chess problem - Solving tournaments, Chess problem - Titles

Read more here: » Chess problem: Encyclopedia II - Chess problem - Abbreviations

Various tournaments (or tourneys) exist for both the composition and solving of chess problems. Chess problem - Composition tournaments. Composition tourneys may be formal or informal. In formal tourneys the competing problems are not published before they are judged, while in informal tourneys they are. Informal tourneys are often run by problem magazines and other publications with a regular problem section; it is common for every problem to have been published in a particular magazi ...

See also:

Chess problem, Chess problem - Types of problem, Chess problem - Beauty in chess problems, Chess problem - Example problem, Chess problem - Abbreviations, Chess problem - Tournaments, Chess problem - Composition tournaments, Chess problem - Solving tournaments, Chess problem - Titles

Read more here: » Chess problem: Encyclopedia II - Chess problem - Tournaments