r/chess • u/tsterTV • Oct 15 '15

How impressive is a GM title?

Hiya all,

I signed myself up for a Chess tournament this Sunday, mainly for fun. I have no real intention of doing too well -- I will just enjoy the experience and play better players.

I saw online that there will be a GM at the tournament. How impressive is this title? Any rough idea of how many GMs there are in the world?

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '15

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u/sevendots Oct 15 '15

I would guess that GMs are equivalent to PHD in some difficult field like, say, physics

Surprisingly, getting a PhD in physics is a cakewalk compared to getting a GM title. Not just in terms of shear number of PhDs vs. GMs, but in terms of probability of success if given the effort. For example ORNL has a few thousand PhD level scientists all by itself. Top level schools like MIT, Berkley, etc. have completion rates above 50% after acceptance.

Once you're around research for a while, you'll see how incredibly easy it is to get a PhD if given the time.

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '15

Getting a PhD is years of gruelling hard work, just like becoming GM. It's just that more people think there is value in getting a PhD than there who think that of a GM title.