Can your rating qualify you as a pro?
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Can your rating on chess.com qualify you as a professional chess player and if so, what would your rating need to be?
Dec 15, 2022
0
#2
I'd say a "titled player" (GM, IM, NM and so on) are "pro" chess players. 1800+ rating can be pretty advanced or "tournament chess players), but "pro" sounds like the elite of the elite.
Others may have slightly different perceptions of "pro" though.
Some claim if you make a living off of it, but only the top 50 to top100 chess players make enough money on their tournament results alone to consider it a full-time job. Does this mean that a titled GM who is 2400 rating (estimate), isn't a "pro" because they need other money to supplement their income? I think they should be considered professionals too - even if they can't live on their chess results alone.
p.s. Most titled players supplement their income by writing chess books and offering chess coaching etc.
Thank you KeSetoKaiba for your response. That’s exactly what I wanted to know.
Dec 15, 2022
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#4
MarkofGreatness wrote:
The definition of professional is that you get paid money to do it. So if you have made any money, yes, you are pro.
Nah, I am a college student so I have no "job" and in one of my first chess tournaments I won $5. I was rated about 1500-1600 back then. I wouldn't consider myself a chess pro just because of that 
> 2500
Dec 15, 2022
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#6
Ok but... OP specifically mentions chess.com rating.
1800 is a pretty good player at a small local tournament, sure, and 2500 is a GM... but these are OTB ratings. 2500 on chess.com would be a VERY weak GM. 1800 on chess.com would be a reasonably good player at a small local OTB tournament, but not a strong player.
You'd want your chess.com rating in 3|0 to be at least 3000 to be near professional level. Other ratings don't really count, for various reasons. For example bullet ratings can be perverted by hyperbullet time controls, and rapid / daily are obviously out of the question.
Dec 16, 2022
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#7
If you are playing chess as a profession then you are professional. You may run a kid class with a 1400-1600 i guess, that still makes you professional by the definition.
Sounds like a general misnomer to call a "master", i think. Titled players should be considered as masters. CM is up for debate, since C stands for Candidate. But anything above is a master.
Dec 16, 2022
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#8
Generally the term professional is about people making money from their craft. For example, in photography, you could have one of the most skilled photographers in the world take amazing compositions, but if he does not sell them, or earn money in any way from them, he's not a professional.
On the other hand, someone who takes photos of his thumb on different backgrounds, but manages to sell them, is a professional photographer.
I guess same would go for chess. Are you making money from it? If no, you are not a professional. Even if you have an IM or GM title. If, by any reason, a 1500 elo earns money with his chess, he's a chess professional, unlike that specific titled player who's not earning anything.
In my opinion, ratings and difficulty level vary from country to country. On an average 1900+ should be a fide rating considered as a pro. Whereas chess.com ratings are different. if your rating minus 400-500 points would be around that rating, it can be considered as pro.
Jan 8, 2024
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#10
DavidMa123 wrote:
In my opinion, GMs and IMs and FMs and CMs and NMs are all super pros. On chess.com, anyone above 2000 rating is considered a pro.
I'm flattered, but I don't think I am a chess pro. I've put a lot into chess and of course I'm not the average player, but I'm not a pro.
I'd say anyone with a chess title is a chess professional (pro). If someone does not have a title, I would only consider them a pro if their primary source of income was from playing chess tournaments for money. There are many high-rated chess players, or players who know a lot, but that alone isn't enough for me to consider them a chess pro.