This is Part 10 of Sports Explained, our 12-part series of simple guides to the rules of the sports Indians love. New here? Start with Part 1: Cricket Formats, or read the previous part, Part 9: Badminton Scoring.
India is now one of the world's strongest chess nations. It has more than 85 Grandmasters, an Olympiad double gold from 2024, and a reigning world champion, D Gukesh. But what do terms like "rating 2700", "GM norm" and "Candidates" mean? This guide explains.
Ratings: the Elo system
- Chess strength is measured with the Elo rating system, named after the physicist Arpad Elo. FIDE, the world chess federation, publishes official ratings.
- After every rated game, you gain points for a win and lose points for a loss. How many depends on your opponent's rating: beating a stronger player earns more.
- FIDE keeps separate ratings for classical (long games), rapid and blitz chess.
- A rough guide: about 1400 is the entry level for a FIDE rating, 2000+ is a strong club player, 2500+ is Grandmaster level, and 2700+ is the world elite.
Titles: from CM to GM
- Grandmaster (GM): the top title, given for life. You need a rating of at least 2500 plus three "norms". A norm is an outstanding performance in a strong international tournament against titled opponents.
- International Master (IM): a 2400 rating plus IM norms.
- FIDE Master (FM) and Candidate Master (CM): awarded at around 2300 and 2200.
- Woman Grandmaster (WGM) and Woman International Master (WIM) are separate titles. Women can and do earn the open GM title too.
- Some events award titles directly. For example, Divya Deshmukh became a GM by winning the 2025 Women's World Cup.
How the World Championship works
- The champion defends the title in a one-on-one match against a challenger.
- The challenger is the winner of the Candidates Tournament, an eight-player event. Players qualify for it through the World Cup, the Grand Swiss, the FIDE Circuit and ratings.
- Matches are played over a set number of classical games. If the score is tied, tiebreaks at faster time controls decide it.
India's champions
- Viswanathan Anand became India's first Grandmaster in 1988. He won the world title in 2000 and held the undisputed crown from 2007 to 2013.
- D Gukesh beat Ding Liren 7.5-6.5 in Singapore in December 2024. At 18, he became the youngest undisputed world champion in history.
- Gukesh's first defence is against Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov, winner of the 2026 Candidates, in Geneva from 24 November to 12 December 2026. It is a 14-game match.
- Players such as R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh keep India at the top in both open and women's chess.
How to start
Learn the moves, play regularly online, then join a club or a FIDE-rated open tournament through your state chess association. Your first rated games give you an official FIDE rating.
Rules are explained as they stand in October 2026. Governing bodies update their rules regularly, so check the latest official regulations for any competition.
Next in the series: Part 11: Offside and VAR.
