Abbreviations/Acronymn

Hi everyone,

Newcomer here and I have been prowling through the library of games and I notice that some players have various abbreviations in front of their names (like GM which I assume means "Grand Master"). Does anybody know what all of the various abbreviations mean or if there is a glossary where I can look them up?

Thanks very much!

Well of course you could ask about any abbreviation and have 16 answers in 5 minutes on chess.com. Generally though these might help:

http://www.abbreviations.com/acronyms/CHESS

These will help understanding tounament postings (written in heiroglyphics): http://www.championshipchess.net/jargon.html

http://www.uschess.org/tla/tladesc.php

You might also see people talk about "KID" or "QGA" which are abbreviations for openings like "King's Indian Defence" and "Queen's Gambit Accepted". I suppose it's so you don't have to type it all out. Also, chess notation is important, like # meaning checkmate, + mate, etc... which can be found http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_notation. Good luck. Again - any specific questions ask in the message boards and they'll be answered before you post them ha ha!

Awesome, thanks very much!

To explain the title system I must first explain the concept of FIDE and of national chess federations.

FIDE is the international governing body for chess.  It runs tournaments where there is significant international competition.

As a person, you cannot join FIDE.  The members of FIDE are national chess federations, in our case the USCF.  To play in a FIDE tournament, the USCF would send you as a representative (however, you can join a FIDE-rated tournament without it being a true FIDE tournament and get a FIDE rating that way).

So as a US chess player, you can be rated in two "leagues":  The USCF, which is your national organization, and FIDE which is the international organization.

You are awarded the title of (National Master) NM based off of your USCF rating.  Different countrys have different NM requirements.  This is not an internationally standardised title but is given by each national chess organization and may have different requirements per country.  USCF is 2200+ and most chess federations master title is around that strength.

USCF and some other organizations also have "Candidate Masters" (CM) which is not really a true titled player but just says that this player is close to becoming a master.  In the USCF this is 2000-2200, the same as expert class.

The first title awarded by FIDE is FIDE Master (FM).  This title is awarded when you have achieved master level play versus international competition (2200+).

The next FIDE title is International Master (IM).  The player must be at least 2400, and FIDE only awards it once the player has had three favorable tournaments playing against IM and GM competition.  A tournament which is acceptable to "count" for the title is called a norm.

The next and last title is Grand Master.  The player must have a rating of at least 2500 at some point, and must complete two GM norms (more exclusive than IM norms).

FIDE has also awarded titles in the past to brilliant puzzle composers.  You can also get titles through the ICCF (International Correspondence Chess Federation).

Amazing, terrific explanation.

agreed.

Like it or not: CM has been a FIDE title since 2002. Requirements > Elo 2200

Now and then there are some benefits like a free diamond.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIDE_titles