FIDE
You have probably heard of the grandmaster title, but do you know who awards that title to players in the first place? Meet FIDE, the international organization that officially takes care of chess.
What Is FIDE?
FIDE is the International Chess Federation, an international organization that officially takes care of chess worldwide.
You might be wondering why we call it FIDE—it is because FIDE are the initials for the organization’s original name in French: Fédération Internationale des Échecs.That means that if you ever want to sound fancy, you can just say FIDE's original name out loud!
FIDE was founded in 1924 in Paris, France. It has about 190 member federations, only behind the soccer federation FIFA. Pretty impressive, isn't it?
Here is FIDE's logo:
Why Does FIDE Matter?
FIDE makes every official decision regarding chess on a global level. They are responsible for things such as standardizing the rules of chess, taking care of the World Championship and its cycle, awarding titles, and much more.
Without FIDE, we would not have a world champion, and players would not even have international ratings! We would not be able to know who the best kids are, either.
FIDE Titles
Most people have heard of grandmasters, but did you know that there are other official chess titles? FIDE can award people with the following titles: grandmaster, international master, FIDE master, and candidate master. They also give out titles that are exclusive to women: woman grandmaster, woman international master, woman FIDE master, and woman candidate master.
Our favorite chess author, commentator, and chess mentor, FunMasterMike, is a FIDE Master. That is why you can see the letters "FM" before his name.
Each of those titles has different rating requirements. Some of them also have other requirements called norms. Earning one of those titles is difficult, but if you keep practicing using ChessKid.com, you will certainly get closer to getting them. And the good news is that once you get them, you keep them for life!
ChessKid Spotlight
Carissa Yip, who used to be a ChessKid member, achieved the woman grandmaster and international master titles in 2020. She has also become the top female player in the USA. Excellent work, for sure!
Wrapping Up
You now know what FIDE means and how it overlooks everything related to chess around the world. Head over to our Lessons page to get better at chess and getting closer to becoming a FIDE titled player!