We are seeing more and more individual competitive sports feature both men and women in open competition in the last 5-10 years these include Golf, Snooker, Darts, and even Motor Racing, but as you can see they are very much playing catch up in terms of the timeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be correct, there are no ‘mens’ and womens’ titles in chess, there are only separate titles for women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Titles such as Grandmaster and International Master etc are not reserved for men but are open titles that anyone can be awarded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Where Womens’ Chess Titles Introduced?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You may be forgiven for thinking all four titles were introduced at the same time, but in fact, there are 52 years separating the Woman International Master title being launched in 1950 right through to 2002 for the first Woman Candidate Master.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It must have been a well-considered process given the timeline<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- 1950 – Woman International Master WIM introduced<\/li>
- 1976 – Woman Grandmaster WGM introduced<\/li>
- 1980 – Woman FIDE Master WFM introduced<\/li>
- 2002 – Woman Candidate Master WCM introduced<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"Infographic](\"https:\/\/chessquestions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/IG-How-Woman-Master-Titles-Were-Introduced-Over-Time-1-410x1024.png\")
Woman Chess Title introduction timeline<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n Women’s Chess Titles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There are 4 major official FIDE titles specifically for women players awarded by FIDE. In FIDE rating<\/a> order:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Woman Grandmaster (WGM)<\/li>
- Woman International Master (WIM)<\/li>
- Woman FIDE Master (WFM)<\/li>
- Woman Candidate Master (WCM)<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
1. WGM Chess (2300+ Rating)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A chess WGM (Woman Grandmaster) is the highest-ranking chess title available only to female chess players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Female chess grandmasters<\/a> used to be few and far between and still are in terms of comparison between men and women there are relatively few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whilst a rating of 2500 is required [along with other criteria], to become a grandmaster, 2300 is the target for women grandmasters. The winner of the girl’s world championship<\/a> is awarded the WGM title automatically<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The title was introduced by FIDE in 1976, some 26 years after the first womens’ title of Woman International Master in 1950<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When checking the FIDE rankings you will note many women with the GM title and not the WGM, as you will see later in this article, the wgm in chess is sometimes rejected by women preferring to be titled on a level playing field with their male counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. WIM Chess (2200+ Rating)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Woman International Master was the first title created exclusively for women and introduced as far back as 1950. It was a further 26 years before a dedicated woman grandmaster title was added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Women can accept this title if they wish, the open equivalent of International master come at a rating some 200 points higher at 2400<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. WFM Chess (2100+ Rating)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Reaching a rating of 2100 and above is a minimum requirement of the wfm in chess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wfm is the third-highest title specifically created for females in chess and sits 100 points ahead of the candidate master.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adding a further 100 ranking points will qualify a woman for the Woman International Master title, although the same score is enough to gain the open to men and women ‘Candidate Master’ Title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Creating this title in 1978 FIDE added this title very quickly after the WGM title was added 2 years earlier in 1976<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes there is confusion wondering if a wfm is better than wgm<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having read the above classifications, a Woman FIDE Master is only third behind Woman Grandmaster and is a lower title requiring only 2100 against wgm Elo rating of 2300.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. WCM Chess (2000+ Rating)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A more recent addition to FIDE titles exclusively for female chess players is the Woman Candidate Master which was introduced only in 2002, some 52 years after the WIM was launched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the trend of being 200 Elo points lower than the open version of the title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gaining an Elo of 2000+ is a requirement, although this award can also be won by winning international and continental tournaments<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All FIDE Rankings and Open Titles and Women Only<\/h2>\n\n\n\n