Talk:Norm (chess)

Suggested merge with Grandmaster (chess)
The other option (my preference) would be to rename the article Norm (chess) and broaden the content to cover the range of titles, making it a more universal link. This suggestion can be found on the Wikiproject page. Brittle heaven (talk) 23:18, 10 June 2009 (UTC)


 * I favor Norm (chess), since there are different types of norms. Bubba73 (talk), 23:34, 10 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Yes, Norm (chess) seems a good idea. SunCreator (talk) 13:50, 11 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I also agree. GrandMattster 18:34, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

why's it called a norm?
Is the word norm short for the word normal, or what? This word is very jargony and I'd like to see if some etymology could be given.. Dancindazed (talk) 22:14, 5 December 2011 (UTC)


 * I think it is the standard English definition: 1. Something that is usual, typical, or standard, 2. a standard or pattern that is typical; a required standard; a level to be complied with or reached. from New Oxford American Dictionary. Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 02:51, 6 December 2011 (UTC)
 * The definition you're citing is just the etymology of short for the word normal like I said. So it may have derived from saying something like "A GM scoring 7 points or more in a tournament like this would be the norm." and thus they started calling it a norm? It seems reasonable but a clunky explanation. I'd like to see some real research done. I couldn't find anything historical to back it up. Maybe I'll ask one of the word-nerd boards that I sometimes visit for some help and come back here. Dancindazed (talk) 19:23, 6 December 2011 (UTC)


 * The article says "The 'norm' seeker must achieve a tournament performance rating (TPR) of at least 2600 to qualify." That is the main criteria - a performance rating of at least 2600 in a tournament is a GM norm. That seems to fall under the a level to be complied with or reached. definition, and a required standard.  Years ago it was a little different - you had to score as many points in the tournament as a GM would be expected to score, based on the level of competition (plus additional requirements about the number of GMs and them being from different countries, etc).  Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 20:23, 6 December 2011 (UTC)


 * The word originated (in the current sense) in the early 19th century, from Latin norma: "precept, rule, carpenter's square". It started to be used in connection with FIDE titles about 1950.  Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 20:27, 6 December 2011 (UTC)

I read this article and I still don't know what a norm is
I get that a norm is an excellent performance, but that seems extraordinarily subjective. Who decides if your performance is excellent enough to be a norm? ErinHowarth (talk) 03:53, 27 June 2012 (UTC)

Should the article explain the difficult of getting title with just two norms?
To earn a GM or IM title, you need "two or more norms in tournaments covering a minimum of 27 games", according to the current FIDE title rules. In practice, though, it is very hard to get a title with only two norms, because most norm tournaments are not long enough for you to meet the 27 game requirement after your second norm. Should there be an explanation of this? Or is this too esoteric for the article as it currently stands? Tim.the.bastard (talk) 00:40, 5 June 2014 (UTC)
 * We would probably need a source for it rather than editorializing ourselves. At one time three norms were necessary, but the FIDE regulations have only required two norms for a GM title for many years. (The grandmaster (chess) article has a pretty good explanation of the evolution of the requirements from 1950 to 1970, then it skips from 1970 to the present.)  You see the "third GM norm" thing so often, even in the chess press who should know better, that I think most players think the rules still require three.  Quale (talk) 01:26, 5 June 2014 (UTC)
 * At one time it was possible to gain the title with a single "norm" if 25 games were played. Ron Henley got his title this way. MaxBrowne (talk) 02:34, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

Add more criteria
Not all the requirements of a GM norm are mentioned and none of the requirements of the other norms are mentioned. I think it would be beter to add all of them. Samwri (talk) 19:53, 6 June 2019 (UTC)