The Countries That do not have a Grandmaster

Chess, often dubbed the “game of kings,” has a rich and diverse global following. From the dank alleyways of Moscow to the crisp parks of New York, grandmasters have become emblematic of the sport’s intellectual prowess and strategic depth. However, there remains a fascinatinTg aspect of the chess world—countries that, despite their passion and potential, have yet to produce a grandmaster.

so what exactly is a Grandmaster, you may ask?

A chess grandmaster, the highest title awarded by FIDE (the International Chess Federation), Requires a player to achieve two prerequisites
1- Achieve a rating of at least 2500

2- capture 3 norms, which are outstanding performances in tournaments, which basically means you need to perform way better than you normally do.

So now that you’ve understood what you need to do to achieve the Grandmaster title, lets take a look at why countries are unable to achieve this coveted title.

Why are some countries unable to achieve the Grandmaster title?

Basically, it boils down to a couple of essential things. The most notable of which are:

1-Lack of chess facilities and awareness about the game

2-Corrupt Chess federations that do not have enough funding to fund tournaments and players in international tournaments, hence no norms

3-Lack of educational institutes and schools promoting mind games

4- Parents who simply do not have the time or who dont think mind games over screens are good for kids. To become good at chess, you need to learn from an early age.

5- No incentives to pursue chess, aka, chess cant be taken as a profession.

6- Governments not investing in chess

7- A literal lack of interest in chess, no one cares about it.

Unfortunately, these are most of the main reasons of the countries mentioned here. So lets start with further ado.

IRAQ

Unfortunately, Iraq is the first of the unluckiest countries to be featured this list. The country has been constantly affected by wars, and wars have limited the availability of chess tournaments. This has restricted chess participants as travelling to northern cities like Mosul have been considered extremely risky. Their top player is arguably Abdul-Razzaq Ahmed Taha who defeated Grandmaster Walter Shaun in the 1972 Chess Olympiad.

They currently have 3 International Masters.

Nigeria

Nigeria is an extremely unlucky country in the terms that, despite being one of the most populated nations in the world and the most populated country in Africa, it has yet to produce a grandmaster. The main reason is because of being very populated too, it has faced a lot of poverty issues. This has made its chess federation deficit in funding, leading only the wealthy to play chess and achieve norms, by travelling to international tournaments at their own expense.

The currently have only one international master, Odion Aikhoje.

SRI LANKA

The Lankan Lions of chess unfortunately have not been able to produce a Grandmaster, despite a lot of effort. The country unfortunately has faced a lot of internal struggles, not only in chess but in its most popular sport too, the cricket board. If the most popular sports board has faced allegations of flagrant corruption, you must imagine what must have been happening with other sports, including chess. 

They currently have three International Masters, with their top player being the young prodigy LMST de silva.

PAKISTAN

You probably sensed this was coming, and you were right on the spot.

Pakistan, a country of 240 million, does not have a grandmaster. Aside from the coveted Mir Sultan Khan, who was recently awarded the Grandmaster title posthumously, there are zero Grandmasters in Pakistan. There quite a couple of reasons for this. The chess federation of Pakistan (cfp) was in a power struggle, with every 6 months resulting in a squabble between different warring parties. This led to the undergrowth of chess in pakistan, as chess players were overlooked, and FIDE temporarily suspended the Pakistani chess federation. Even worse, players traveled to international tournaments at their own expense, often spending much more than winning. However, there has been a resurgence of chess in Pakistan, especially in the Capital, Islamabad, where there are weekly FIDE rated tournaments. 

Pakistan’s top player is International Master Mahmood Lodhi, and FIDE master Amer Karim.

JAPAN

Wait, the Land of the Rising Sun does not have a Grandmaster?

That’s right, there is no Grandmaster belonging to the Japanese chess federation. Unless you count the Japanese born US grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, the country has yet failed to produce a single GM. The main reason is actually an odd one: no popularity in chess. The more favored game in Japan is Shogi, which is actually very similar to Chess, however it also involves reusing the pieces you captured (looking at you crazyhouse). This has led chess to be overlooked.

That was all and thank you for reading my blog. tune in next time for more blogs!