How Many Super Grandmasters Are There in Chess?

As of February 2023, there are 41 elite chess players rated 2700 or higher on the FIDE ratings list who have reached the exclusive class of "super grandmaster." This fluctuates slightly over time as results affect players‘ ratings, but generally includes around 40 of the best masters in the world.

Reaching super GM status essentially means you‘re one of the top couple dozen chess competitors globally. To us passionate chess fans and gamers, these are the epic heroes and arch-rivals of the chess world. Their legendary battles capture our imagination in the same way famous eSports teams or pro athletes sparring in the playoffs would.

So what does it take to enter this elite group at the pinnacle of competitive chess? Let‘s break it down…

Defining Super Grandmasters

Firstly, "super GM" isn‘t an official title players earn like becoming a Grandmaster or World Champion. It‘s an informal label that emerged to describe this class of elite 2500+ GMs who crossed the 2700 rating threshold.

It‘s not governed by FIDE but based on the de facto standard that when your rating enters the 2700 zone, you‘ve earned your place among the top couple dozen chess masters on the planet.

To put into perspective how exclusive the 2700 club is:

• Only 1.3% of internationally ranked chess players are 2700+.
• The average rating among the top 100 is 2684.
• Magnus Carlsen achieved the highest rating ever of 2882.

So while the number of members changes, floating around 40 players rated 2700+, this group represents the cream of the crop in competitive chess today.

The 2700+ Club Keeps Expanding

A decade ago there were only 16 players rated 2700+. So why has the 2700 segment expanded recently?

Rating inflation is one driver – with so many strong masters the average ratings keep slowly increasing. As more people break 2700, others rise to even higher ratings – Carlsen exceeding 2850 for instance.

Plus we‘re seeing the snowball effect of rapid information sharing via the internet helping top players learn and progress faster. The best masters dissect each others‘ games online. Training becomes more efficient.

This environment has paved the way for child prodigies like 17-year-old GM Praggnanandhaa to climb into super GM territory way earlier than the legends of the past.

So greater access to chess data is accelerating excellence. Consequently more precocious talents are blossoming, further raising competition levels.

Super GMs = Epic Chess Battles

For chess enthusiasts like us, super GMs battling is akin to the finals showdown between the greatest eSports dynasties. When Magnus clashes with Ding Liren, it‘s like seeing all-time hall-of-fame chess skills pitted against each other.

Their refined techniques and nuanced strategies seem almost unimaginable to average club players. Seeing super GMs Requires not just innate talent but a lifetime of passionate dedication to mastering the game.

Being 2700+ means joining the inner sanctum of chess royalty – becoming both a living legend of the sport and a target for up-and-comers to dethrone.

It‘s their rivalry that hypnotizes us onlookers. Seeing today‘s champions like Carlsen and Ding facing off at tournaments captures our imagination just like any great sports match-up would.

Except their battleground isn‘t a stadium or a pixelated screen but a 64 squared board where the drama unfolds move-by-move…

I don‘t know about you but I can‘t get enough of it! Clearly humanity isn‘t tiring of chess anytime soon when we‘ve got such phenomenal super GMs pushing the game to new heights.

So while the elite circle of 2700+ keeps evolving, we chess fans get to sit back and enjoy World Champion Magnus Carlsen and his super GM rivals battling towards ever-higher ratings!