Becoming a chess grandmaster (GM) is the ultimate dream of every up-and-coming chess player. Along with the title of ‘world chess champion’, it is the other most desirable award that chess professionals work relentlessly to bag.
According to official records, just about 1700 chess players have achieved the target of being a chess grandmaster. This throws light on something so relatable to chess. It is not at all easy to get to the level of a GM.
The prestige and glamour attached to the title of GM are directly linked to the difficulty with which it can be attained. The most vital part of getting recognized as a chess GM is that the title stays with the person for the rest of their natural life.
It does not matter if a player loses form or decides to stop playing altogether after capturing the GM tag. Only under the rarest of the rare situations can a chess player be stripped of their ‘GM’ title.
How to Become a Chess Grandmaster
In this section of the article, we will discuss the means through which a chess player can get to the platform where they can be conferred with the title of a chess grandmaster (GM). Follow the steps closely and discover if you are up for becoming the next chess grandmaster!
Recommended Read: Who’s The Youngest Chess GrandMaster? Find Out
Love the Game and Play As Often As You Can
To excel at anything, one needs to devote oneself entirely to it. The same goes for the attainment of the chess grandmaster title. The first thing a serious chess enthusiast can do is to learn the game thoroughly. Once that is taken care of, one needs to get involved with the game as much as possible.
Repeated practice and contemplation, coupled with a genuine love for the game, will take a person a long way in their quest to get awarded the GM title. Even though there is no perfect time to begin learning the game, getting started at an early age will always give you an edge over your competitors.
For example, the reigning world chess champion started his chess journey at the tender age of five. The world’s youngest chess grandmaster, US-born Abhimanyu Mishra, was introduced to chess at just two years and eight months of age.
Focus on Continuous Learning
With chess, like any other field, there is no end to learning. As former world chess champion, Garry Kasparov once mentioned in an interview, working hard repeatedly is a talent. Likewise, another former champion, Vladimir Kramnik, once said that in chess, one has to have a knack for learning new things on a regular basis.
The path to becoming a grandmaster is a long and arduous road, and only strong-willed and determined individuals survive the journey. One of the ways to do it will be to optimize how you learn about the game. The science of chess education points to three principal aspects of chess learning – gamification, spaced repetition, and scheduling.
In other words, a systematic approach, coupled with professional assistance and technological aid, can help significantly to increase the odds of getting to the level of a chess grandmaster.
Develop an in-depth Opening Repository
Next on our list of ‘How to Become a Chess Grandmaster’ is the case of the chess’ opening’. Chess openings go a long way in determining which way a chess game would proceed. Anyone seriously thinking about the grandmaster title should memorize a vast body of opening moves.
Having a general grasp of the various types of openings will only take you so far. As the current world chess champion said so rightly, having a limited range of opening moves is a handicap in the modern game.
Must Read: 4 Most Aggressive Chess Openings That You Should Know
Sharpen Your Tactical Instincts
Being tactically sharp is an asset for every chess player out there. But this does not come easy; it takes years of practice and training to gain the experience required to muster one’s tactical acumen. The skill of sensing danger lurking around in any part of a match is a significant element in a chess player’s bag of tricks.
Once you have reached a position where you can see several moves ahead in the game, it means there is a huge possibility that you are primed to go further in the race to become a chess grandmaster.
Acquire a Solid Endgame Knowledge
When it comes to chess ratings and rankings, the one aspect of a chess player that is the most vital is their grasp over endgames. A chess endgame is the last phase of a chess match when players go for the kill and earn the victory. This is when both contestants get down to business and look for chances to go for the kill.
When you look up notable chess matches played by grandmasters, you will find how well endgames have been executed in the same. In order to start planning to the standard of a chess grandmaster, one has to study chess endgames religiously.
Many chess professionals are keener to engage with chess openings and chess middlegames and overlook the absolute necessity of getting into endgames. This negligence shows itself in competitions when clever endgame movements are the only way to grab a win.
Study Games Played by Grandmaster of Past and Present
If someone is willing to take the arduous path of becoming a chess grandmaster, they have to embrace the way GMs play and think. The best way to do this is by diligently studying legendary matches played by chess grandmasters.
This will help a chess player in gaining a comprehensive knowledge of all the aspects of the game, be it positional strategy, initiative, psychological elements, sacrifice, imagination, thinking patterns, and the learning to cope with the pressure.
Hire a Genuine Coach
Finally, one needs to understand that getting to the coveted title of ‘GM’ is not a solo effort, and it takes a team consisting of coaches and support staff to carve out a champion chess player from a novice.
So, if you are considering getting serious with your chess plans, the most critical decision would be getting help from a coach.
How long does it take to become a chess grandmaster?
When you are dealing with the question of ‘How to become a chess grandmaster?’ you have to understand that there is no specific time frame to becoming a GM. If it took about ten years for Abhimanyu Mishra, the youngest grandmaster, to get to that elite level, it might take less or more time for someone else. It all starts with the first chess game that you play. With time and effort, one will get to see the results in their gameplay.
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