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There’s not one set of training methods that people use consistently to become grandmasters. As they say, “what got you to here won’t get you there”. A player’s training regimen will vary depending on their skill level and holes in their game. A National Master will have a different study regimen than an International Master, and so forth. That being said, there are a couple categories of training that all grandmasters will have performed for years before finally getting their final GM norm. I’ve listed them below along with some of the more popular resources (usually books) for studying each: 

Tactics Problems - Solving puzzles involving common tactical motifs is one of the best ways to improve in chess, and is often the first thing recommended to beginners. It’s helpful (and even necessary) at all ratings in chess. Any grandmaster will be an elite tactician.

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Opening study - While less critical at lower ratings, learning opening theory becomes much more important as you get into the range of ratings associated with masters. The small advantages gleaned by having better opening knowledge than your opponent become much more important. Many grandmasters spend a significant portion of their tournament preparation studying and preparing openings. There’s a significant amount of knowledge to be learned - Modern Chess Openings, considered the bible of chess openings, is nearly 1,000 pages long.

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Endgame study - Endgame study is incredibly important for intermediate players and up (most beginner games don’t make it to endgame situations). Due to the small number of pieces on the board, most endgames have been studied to the point where optimum play is known. As such, there’s a vast body of literature on optimum endgame strategies and techniques. One of the most advanced endgame resources is Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual.

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Analysis - Any player who even makes it to master will have analyzed hundreds of games. I’ll break this into two components:

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Self-analysis - Study and review of one’s own games, often using a computer. This helps to identify your mistakes and opportunities for improvement in your play.

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Review of grandmaster/master games - Study and review of others’ games. There are hundreds of books out there for this - one of the best is Zurich International Chess Tournament 1953.

Those are the main training methods that any grandmaster will have used throughout their chess career. This doesn’t include the countless games of chess grandmasters have played - any grandmaster has probably played over 10,000 games, with a large number of them coming in long time controls over-the-board (OTB) tournaments. One last thing to note - most, if not all, grandmasters have a coach / trainer. It’s nearly impossible to reach grandmaster through self-study alone. You need to have someone to guide your study and practice throughout the process. 2.8k Views · 12 Upvotes Upvote12 Downvote Share

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Frederick Nurkinson Answered May 30, 2016

The short answer is: A lot of practice and study. If you begin at a young age and dedicate sizeable chunks of your time to learning and developing your skills, then most people will be able to eventually attain master level. With the advent of online chess and computer analysis, it’s a more accessible ideal to strive towards for the average Joe. Practice is never far away, with sites like lichess and chess dot com offering competition for players of all skill levels.

The most important element has always been practice, but in order to be a master, you’ll need to read books, study openings and endgames and have a very high level of tactical awareness. For best results, enlist the help of a chess coach. I would also recommend looking at annotated games of great grandmasters. Choose someone who has a similar playing style. If you’re an aggressive, tactically oriented player, have a look at some of the games played by Paul Morphy and Mikhail Tal. If you’re interested in hypermodern ideas and unconventional playing styles, look up Aron Nimzowitsch. If you’re a positional player, study the games of masters like Karpov. Find an idol, there are many brilliant players (either alive today, or in the past) whose games can provide insight into the higher-order ideas and subtleties of the game. It all depends on the stage you’re at. If you’re 800 on chess dot com, you’ve got your work cut out for you. Then again, you might be 2250 FIDE looking to push past a long-held plateau. In any case, best of luck. 609 Views Upvote Downvote Share

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Tim Tran, Plays chess, go, has played many boardgames Answered Jun 26, 2016

They become great players :) Ok well here’s how it works. FIDE is the international chess organization who gives out titles. There are obviously certain titles that can be achieved by one’s own federation (such as a national master). For FIDE titles, you need norms (basically tournament performances that show that you are qualified) and you can only achieve norms in certain time controls, with at least 9 games of play I believe, and you need 3 each for each title (also need to have a certain rating, 2500

is minimum for GM). There really isn’t method except for playing well and having good tournaments.