---
title: "FIDE Master in chess"
url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fide-master.md"
canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fide-master"
last_updated: "2026-11-07"
type: "reference"
summary: "FIDE Master is the third open FIDE title, below International Master. The title is valid for life from the date the FIDE Council confirms it, like the others."
related: ["https://georgelichess.com/glossary/international-master.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/candidate-master.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/title-requirement.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fide-rating.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/title-application.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/tournaments-ratings-titles.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md"]
---

# FIDE Master in chess

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FIDE Master is the third open FIDE title, below International Master. The title is valid for life from the date the FIDE Council confirms it, like the others.

FIDE Master is the third open FIDE title, below International Master, and it is usually earned by reaching a standard rating of 2300 over at least 30 rated games rather than through norms.

The FIDE Master title, written FM, is the one most club-level ambitious players can aim at without chasing norms. The Title Regulations award it to anyone whose standard [FIDE rating](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fide-rating.md) has touched 2300 at some time. The rating can be published or interim, and for ratings reached after 1 July 2017 the player must by then have played at least 30 rated games, so a few lucky results in a small event do not count.

The title is valid for life from the date the FIDE Council confirms it, like the others. Because FM comes from a rating level rather than from specific tournaments, it works well as a milestone for a long [training plan](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/chess-training.md): the target is a number on a list, not a performance in one event.

FMs also count as title holders when they appear among an opponent's group in a norm [calculation](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/calculation.md), so a tournament with several FMs helps titled opponents reach the required share. See the entries on [International Master](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/international-master.md), [Candidate Master](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/candidate-master.md) and [title requirement](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/title-requirement.md) for the neighboring steps.

Also called: FM.

How "FIDE Master" applies to your own results depends on where you stand now, and the [improvement plans by rating band](https://georgelichess.com/improve.md) show what players near your rating work on.

## Related terms

- [International Master](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/international-master.md)
- [Candidate Master](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/candidate-master.md)
- [Title requirement](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/title-requirement.md)
- [FIDE rating](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fide-rating.md)
- [Title application](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/title-application.md)

## Guides that go further

- [How to become a FIDE Master](https://georgelichess.com/titles/fide-master.md): The requirements, each with its FIDE Handbook clause, and a checker for your own numbers.
- [FIDE chess titles](https://georgelichess.com/titles.md): How the Candidate Master, FIDE Master, International Master and Grandmaster titles are earned, with every Handbook clause.
- [Chess ratings explained](https://georgelichess.com/chess-ratings-explained.md): What a rating measures, how FIDE, Lichess, US Chess and chess.com compute theirs, and why the numbers differ.

## Sources

- FIDE Handbook B.01 FIDE Title Regulations, effective 1 January 2024 (Clause 1.3.1), read 2026-10-21: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B012024
- FIDE Handbook B.01 FIDE Title Regulations, effective 1 January 2024 (Clause 0.4), read 2026-10-21: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B012024

[Book your first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book.md) and George Li reviews your games and builds a study plan around them. Questions about lessons: write to hello@georgelichess.com.

## Related

- [International Master in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/international-master.md)
- [Candidate Master in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/candidate-master.md)
- [Title requirement in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/title-requirement.md)
- [FIDE rating in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fide-rating.md)
- [Title application in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/title-application.md)
- [Chess terms: Tournaments, ratings and titles](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/tournaments-ratings-titles.md)
- [Chess terms glossary: plain definitions](https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md)