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Questions tagged [grandmaster]

The grandmaster (GM) title is the highest title awarded by FIDE. It is obtained by both acquiring a 2500 Elo rating, and achieving three "grandmaster norms," tournament performances of a sufficiently high standard.

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How is the life of a professional GM with ELO around 2500?

How is the life of a professional chessplayer with ELO around 2500? I mean, someone who is no doubt strong, but hardly a top GM? How does he make a living these days, if he hasn't another job?
A. N. Other
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Why do people even play chess?

Why do some of the world's best intellectuals spend their whole lives just on a wooden board, rather than working on the betterment of society ?
Aditya Sharma
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Was Wolfgang Unzicker the last Amateur GM?

Wolfgang Unzicker was a German GM, rated about 2550 and worked as a judge. In the sense of holding down a job while playing, he was an "amateur" player. So was Unzicker, a GM in the 70's, the last amateur GM?
Snack_Food_Termite
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How many steps can a grandmaster foresee?

What makes a grandmaster special? Is it the amount of steps the grandmaster can foresee, or the creativity? How many steps can a grandmaster foresee in average in a game (for instance Carlsen and Ivanchuk)? Is there a minimum amount?
Habbo
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What do 2600 level grandmasters do to earn a living?

I want to know what a grandmaster does to earn a living, because if he has a 2600 rating then he is not able to win many tournaments.
user8101
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Average income for titled chess players

What is the average income for an IM? What about for a super GM? Is there an online site/resource that has these average incomes? Also only the ones that come from chess or chess-related activities(Sponsorships, Commentary, Tournament Organisation,…
MikhailTal
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Do grandmasters ever disagree on what the main purpose of a move was?

I don't mean disagreeing on which move should be played, but why the chosen move was played. The reason why I ask is because if I study a game and read the annotater's explanation, I tend to ask myself if other grandmasters annotating the game…
prestokeys
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How likely am I to beat a grandmaster through random play?

Understatement of the week: Grandmasters are good at chess. I am not. I was wondering because of this how likely it would be through complete random play to beat a grandmaster, and whether or not it was more likely for me to beat one through random…
Arkleseisure
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Does any country have as many GM's per capita as Armenia?

Does any country have as many GM's per capita as Armenia? If not which country is the closest? What are the some of the reasons for Armenian success in the chess world with its relatively small population? Are there best practices from chess…
David
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Who are the strongest non-professional GMs?

As title above states, who are currently the strongest non-professional chess players? By this, I mean players who have a full-time job outside of chess. For example, I remember German GM Georg Meier mentioning in an interview in 2018 that he has a…
A. N. Other
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Is it true that GM William Lombardy was homeless in the last year of his life?

As title above, is it true that GM William Lombardy was homeless in the last year or so of his life?
A. N. Other
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Looking for a Gata Kamsky quote - 'you must be playing a different kind of chess'

I remember a really interesting moment from the coverage of one of the past US chess championships (probably 2015 or before). Kamsky had just finished his game and was asked by Maurice Ashley for his opinion on one of the games in progress. So…
A. Roy
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Are chess grand masters automatically checkers grandmasters?

I couldn't find what the definition of a Checkers GM is exactly so I was wondering if it has the same requirements as chess (2500 points). Also, I was wondering if chess GMs are automatically considered checkers GMs
Saikat
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