Questions tagged [international-master]

For questions about the International Master (IM) title, awarded by the FIDE.

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4 votes
0 answers
107 views

How often do strong master level players (2400+) make illegal moves?

In the latest podcast from the Chicken Chess Club, Laurent Fressinet admitted that in his latest tournament, the French rapid and blitz championships, he made an illegal move. He asked the other two ...
19 votes
3 answers
6k views

Why is Jovanka Houska introduced as a WGM when she holds the more prestigious IM title?

I've been watching the Champions Chess Tour and find it strange that Jovanka Houska is always (at least whenever I am watching) introduced as a woman grandmaster. Now I have absolutely no problem with ...
9 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why do GMs participate in an "GM norm invitational" tournament?

I'm following the current GM/IM norm invitational tournament recaps thanks to GothamChess YouTube channel (IM Levy Rozman is playing). Such an event (for GM norms) requires at least 3 (1/3) GMs to ...
4 votes
1 answer
107 views

Engines tuned to masters’s styles

I saw a stream by IM Eric Rosen where he showed a stronger version of stockfish than the one on lichess.org. He said that it is a version that is given to masters with the evaluation function ...
5 votes
1 answer
918 views

What is the legend of Ossip Bernstein, who supposedly played chess to save his life?

Wikipedia article reads as following: A famous story goes that in 1918, after the October Revolution, Bernstein was arrested in Odessa by the Cheka (Bolshevik secret police). He was ordered to be ...
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

Difference between a grandmaster and an international master?

International chess tournaments are played in many cities in the world. What are the criteria that differentiate a chess grandmaster from a chess international master? Dibyendu Barua of Calcutta [...
0 votes
4 answers
365 views

What are signs of achieving Master strength?

Although even Masters can play very badly at times, especially against other Masters, and apart from ELO ratings, how to you get the feeling that you are definitely of "Master" strength, and no longer ...
15 votes
1 answer
11k views

What is the average age to become a grandmaster?

On average, what is the age of people when they obtain the title of international master or grandmaster? I also wonder how the age distribution looks like.