Woman International Master (WIM)

We have all heard the term "grandmaster," but there are other titles as well. Some are titles specifically for women. If you are a woman and an extremely strong player, you can try to earn the woman international master title!

Here is what you need to know about this title:

• Who Is A Woman International Master?
• How Do You Attain A Woman International Master Title?
• How To Identify Woman International Masters On Chess.com
• Conclusion

Who Is A Woman International Master?

The woman international master (abbreviated as WIM) is one of the official titles awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) exclusively to women chess players. It is the second-highest title that is exclusive to women, behind woman grandmaster but above both the woman FIDE master and woman candidate master titles. Like other official FIDE titles, once a player is awarded the WIM title, it is held for life. 

WIMs play in many strong tournaments, including open tournaments, national tournaments, and world competitions. They also play in online competitions like Titled Tuesday.

How Do You Attain A Woman International Master Title?

The WIM title was created in 1950 (the same time as the grandmaster title). As the name implies, the WIM title is attainable by only women players. They can attain it by achieving a FIDE classical rating of at least 2200 with at least 30 rated games played. It is worth noting that woman players may attain any FIDE title—not woman titles solely.

As of 2020 there are only 846 active WIMs—a tiny percentage of the millions of chess players worldwide.

How To Identify Woman International Masters On Chess.com

WIMs are highly skilled players, and many play on Chess.com daily! You can watch them play live by going to Live Chess and clicking the "Events" option.

It is easy to identify WIMs and other titled players on Chess.com. If a player is titled, then their title is displayed next to their username. You can identify WIMs specifically by a red tag with the initials WIM next to their names.

Conclusion

You now know what the woman international master title is, how to attain it, and how to identify these titled players on Chess.com. Head over to the Live Chess section and watch WIMs play live!