Answers.Body: <p>&quot;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandmaster_(chess)" rel="noreferrer">Grandmaster</a>&quot; (GM) is an official <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIDE" rel="noreferrer">FIDE</a> title; &quot;super grandmaster&quot; is not, and is an informal term. It is often used to denote players with FIDE ratings of 2700+ (with this definition, you can view a list of super grandmasters at <a href="https://2700chess.com/" rel="noreferrer">2700chess.com</a>), but this is not a hard-and-fast rule. The term seems to have arisen because there are now <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_chess_grandmasters" rel="noreferrer">over two thousand grandmasters</a> worldwide, and many people have a desire to distinguish the &quot;best of the best&quot; from &quot;mere&quot; grandmasters.</p>
  <p>For women, there is a separate <a href="https://ratings.fide.com/title_norms.phtml?title=WGM&country=" rel="noreferrer">woman grandmaster</a> (WGM) title available, with different requirements. Generally speaking, it is easier (for a woman) to attain a WGM title than a GM title.</p>
  <p>Interestingly, in backgammon, the (relatively recently formed) <a href="https://bgmastersab.com/about" rel="noreferrer">Backgammon Masters Awarding Body</a> (BMAB) does have an official &quot;super grandmaster&quot; title. When the BMAB was initially formed, &quot;Grandmaster 1&quot; was the highest possible title, but as more and more players achieved that title, they decided to add more titles at the upper end.</p>
  
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Answers.UserDisplayName: Timothy Chow
Answers.Body: <p>,Super GM commonly refers to anyone rated 2600+ Elo, although the author/editors on wiki <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandmaster_(chess)/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Grandmaster </a> acknowledge that because of the proliferation of 2600 players -  <a href="https://www.365chess.com/top-chess-players.php" rel="nofollow noreferrer">139 as of December 2024</a>, they say it now refers to 2700+ as Super Grandmasters.</p>
  <p>However, the <a href="https://2700chess.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">2700chess.com</a>, it refers to them as Elite Grandmasters. The term Super GM is not used.</p>
  <p>At one stage, members of FIDE Qualification Commission considered bringing in Elite GM as a separate formal title but Stewart Reuben(member of the committee) said the idea was dropped on a majority vote.</p>
  <p>At present there is no common reference for 2800+ GMs, even though <a href="https://2700chess.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">16 Grandmasters</a> have reached this rating level at some point.</p>
  <p>The real difference between Grandmaster and Super Grandmaster appears to be <a href="https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/19519/how-does-opening-preparation-work-at-gm-level/">Opening preparation</a>. GM Michael Adams once told me that at his level this was all that counted as they have mastered all other aspects of the game.</p>
  
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Answers.CreationDate: 2024-12-14T22:40:48.417Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2024-12-19T20:13:24.077Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2024-12-19T20:13:24.077Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Mark Hogarth
Body: <p>I have been following professional chess for a while and often come across terms like &quot;grandmaster&quot; and &quot;super grandmaster.&quot; While I understand that both are titles indicating a high level of skill in chess, I am curious about the specific differences between these two titles.</p>
  <p>What are the criteria or achievements that separate a super grandmaster from a grandmaster? Is this distinction official or more informal within the chess community?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2024-01-22T01:14:09.257Z
Comments.Text: For context: when FIDE created the title of Grandmaster in 1950, 27 people were awarded Grandmaster. Now there are over 2000 people with the title. Here's a neat chart https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Approved_Grandmaster_titles_per_year.png
Comments.UserDisplayName: qwr
Tags: <rating><terminology><grandmaster><titles><super-grandmaster>
Title: What Distinguishes Supergrandmasters from Grandmasters in Chess?
ThreadText: # What Distinguishes Supergrandmasters from Grandmasters in Chess?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2024-01-19)
  
  I have been following professional chess for a while and often come across terms like "grandmaster" and "super grandmaster." While I understand that both are titles indicating a high level of skill in chess, I am curious about the specific differences between these two titles.
  
  What are the criteria or achievements that separate a super grandmaster from a grandmaster? Is this distinction official or more informal within the chess community?
  
  **Tags:** rating, terminology, grandmaster, titles, super-grandmaster
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: For context: when FIDE created the title of Grandmaster in 1950, 27 people were awarded Grandmaster. Now there are over 2000 people with the title. Here's a neat chart https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Approved_Grandmaster_titles_per_year.png  
  
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  ## 2 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2024-01-19. Score: 18
  
  "[Grandmaster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandmaster_(chess))" (GM) is an official [FIDE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIDE) title; "super grandmaster" is not, and is an informal term. It is often used to denote players with FIDE ratings of 2700+ (with this definition, you can view a list of super grandmasters at [2700chess.com](https://2700chess.com/)), but this is not a hard-and-fast rule. The term seems to have arisen because there are now [over two thousand grandmasters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_chess_grandmasters) worldwide, and many people have a desire to distinguish the "best of the best" from "mere" grandmasters.
  
  For women, there is a separate [woman grandmaster](https://ratings.fide.com/title_norms.phtml?title=WGM&country=) (WGM) title available, with different requirements. Generally speaking, it is easier (for a woman) to attain a WGM title than a GM title.
  
  Interestingly, in backgammon, the (relatively recently formed) [Backgammon Masters Awarding Body](https://bgmastersab.com/about) (BMAB) does have an official "super grandmaster" title. When the BMAB was initially formed, "Grandmaster 1" was the highest possible title, but as more and more players achieved that title, they decided to add more titles at the upper end.
  
  
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  ### Answer by username_3 on 2024-12-14. Score: 1
  
  ,Super GM commonly refers to anyone rated 2600+ Elo, although the author/editors on wiki [Grandmaster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandmaster_(chess)/)  acknowledge that because of the proliferation of 2600 players - [139 as of December 2024](https://www.365chess.com/top-chess-players.php), they say it now refers to 2700+ as Super Grandmasters.
  
  However, the [2700chess.com](https://2700chess.com/), it refers to them as Elite Grandmasters. The term Super GM is not used.
  
  At one stage, members of FIDE Qualification Commission considered bringing in Elite GM as a separate formal title but Stewart Reuben(member of the committee) said the idea was dropped on a majority vote.
  
  At present there is no common reference for 2800+ GMs, even though [16 Grandmasters](https://2700chess.com/) have reached this rating level at some point.
  
  The real difference between Grandmaster and Super Grandmaster appears to be [Opening preparation](https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/19519/how-does-opening-preparation-work-at-gm-level/). GM Michael Adams once told me that at his level this was all that counted as they have mastered all other aspects of the game.
  
  
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