Woman International Master
Woman International Master is the second title in the women's FIDE series, earned through WIM norms and a rating of at least 2200, or through qualifying results at certain women's events.
Also called: WIM
The Woman International Master title, written WIM, ranks below Woman Grandmaster and above Woman FIDE Master. A WIM norm is a performance of at least 2250 against opponents who average at least 2030, with at least 35 percent of the possible points scored, at least half the opponents holding titles other than CM or WCM, and at least a third of them, with a minimum of three, holding a WIM title or higher.
The rating floor for opponents in a WIM norm is 1850. For the title itself the applicant needs norms across at least 27 games and a rating that has reached 2200 at some time. A direct title needs a rating that has reached 2000 at some time, with conditional award below it.
Like the others, WIM covers over-the-board standard chess, and the FIDE Council's confirmation makes it permanent. If you are planning a norm schedule, our norm checker applies the Handbook limits to the list of opponents you enter. See Woman Grandmaster, Woman FIDE Master and norm for the connected terms.
Rating and title terms like "Woman International Master" matter once you know your next step, and the improvement plans by rating band set out a weekly routine for each rating range.
Related terms
Woman Grandmaster is the highest FIDE title in the women's series, earned through WGM norms and a rating of at least 2300, or through direct results in listed women's events.
Woman FIDE Master is the third title in the women's FIDE series, awarded to a player who has reached a standard rating of at least 2100, without needing norms.
A norm is a tournament result that meets the FIDE title standard for performance rating and opponent mix; several norms across enough games can earn a title, but one norm alone does not.
International Master is the second-highest FIDE open title, below Grandmaster, earned through IM norms and a rating of at least 2400 reached at some time, or through certain event results.
A title application is the formal request, made through a player's federation, for FIDE to confirm a title on the strength of norms, a rating level or a direct result.
Guides that go further
How to become a Woman International Master
The requirements, each with its FIDE Handbook clause, and a checker for your own numbers.
How the Candidate Master, FIDE Master, International Master and Grandmaster titles are earned, with every Handbook clause.
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, Clauses 0.5, 1.4.5 and 1.4.6, read Oct 21, 2026.
- FIDE Handbook B.01 FIDE Title Regulations, effective 1 January 2024, Clause 1.5.3, read Oct 21, 2026.
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