Editing Chess (section)

===Titles and rankings===
{{Main|Chess titles}}
In order to rank players, FIDE, [[International Correspondence Chess Federation|ICCF]], and most national chess organizations use the [[Elo rating system]] developed by [[Arpad Elo]]. An average club player has a rating of about 1500; the highest FIDE rating of all time, 2882, was achieved by [[Magnus Carlsen]] on the March 2014 FIDE rating list.<ref>{{cite news |title=Carlsen with record-breaking lead |url=http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=8744 |publisher=ChessBase News |date=1 January 2013 |access-date=16 January 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122115753/http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=8744 |archive-date=22 January 2013}}</ref>

Players may be awarded lifetime titles by FIDE:{{refn|Section "01. International Title Regulations (Qualification Commission)" in FIDE Handbook<ref name="FideHandbook">{{cite web|title=FIDE Handbook|url=https://handbook.fide.com/|access-date=5 July 2020|website=FIDE|archive-date=8 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108150228/https://handbook.fide.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
* [[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmaster]] (GM) is the highest title a chess player can attain. For the GM title, a player must have had an Elo rating of 2500 or more at least once and must achieve three results of a prescribed standard (called norms) in tournaments involving other grandmasters, including some from countries other than the applicant's. There are other milestones that can substitute for norms, such as winning the World Junior Championship.
* [[International Master]] (IM). The conditions are similar to GM, but less demanding. The minimum rating for the IM title is 2400.
* [[FIDE Master]] (FM). The usual way for a player to qualify for the FIDE Master title is by achieving a FIDE rating of 2300 or more.
* [[Candidate Master]] (CM). Similar to FM, but with a FIDE rating of at least 2200.

The above titles are known as "open" titles, obtainable by both men and women. There are also separate women-only titles; Woman Grandmaster (WGM), Woman International Master (WIM), Woman FIDE Master (WFM) and Woman Candidate Master (WCM). These require a performance level approximately 200 rating points below their respective open titles, and their continued existence has sometimes been controversial.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} Beginning with [[Nona Gaprindashvili]] in 1978, a number of women have earned the open GM title: 40 {{as of|lc=yes|July 2023}}.<ref group=note name="FIDE_top_players">Current FIDE lists of top players with their titles are online at {{Cite web|title=FIDE Ratings and Statistics|url=https://ratings.fide.com/|access-date=2022-12-29|website=ratings.fide.com|archive-date=10 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230710101639/http://ratings.fide.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>

FIDE also awards titles for arbiters and trainers.{{refn|Section "06. Regulations for the Titles of Arbiters" in FIDE Handbook<ref name="FideHandbook" />}}{{refn|Section "07. Regulations for the Titles of Trainers" in FIDE Handbook<ref name="FideHandbook" />}} International titles are also awarded to composers and solvers of chess problems and to correspondence chess players (by the [[International Correspondence Chess Federation]]). National chess organizations may also award titles.