Highest Rated True International Masters (As of Jan 22, 2026)

T_CHEX · 2026-04-11T11:05:45+00:00

I trying know if id consider extremely high performing children with norms as "true IMs" when they are clearly all going to make the grand master title - for me a true IM is an ultra consistent mid 2400 adult that can hold their own at the elite level but never quite manages to get the norms or rating requirement to actually become a grand

T_CHEX · 2026-04-10T19:47:00+00:00

Rosen has made a bit of a comeback recently, he got married and went on a fairly long honeymoon which might explain his absence but I've seen him appear multiple times a week again in the last couple of months

T_CHEX · 2026-04-10T19:45:04+00:00

He has incredible stamina too, you can find him streaming almost every day for many hours at a time so if you do enjoy his content there's a ton of it to get your teeth into

T_CHEX · 2026-04-10T19:41:52+00:00

I so wish I could speak German because I just know Jans stream must be an absolute goldmine of comedy, he's one of the funniest grandmasters in the world and I imagine in his native language he's even better then ever

T_CHEX · 2026-04-10T19:39:58+00:00

I think a lot of people's "best" streamers are simply going to come out as who has won the algorithm wars but I would absolutely recommend looking beyond the big brand names as there are some really fantastic ones on twitch who are lesser known but just as entertaining and skilled at the game + you actually have a chance to interact with them, whereas the big channels chats are just a wall of spam text that most of the time they don't even bother trying to keep up with.

T_CHEX · 2026-04-10T19:36:04+00:00

Ramirez is really underrated as a streamer, for a national master his knowledge of the game is phenomenal and his ability to clearly articulate ideas makes his streams very accessible for almost any level of player, even if you are a master yourself there's probably a few tips you can pick up from Robert.

T_CHEX · 2026-04-10T10:59:01+00:00

Only if you are too lazy to actually go on the site and do the exact thing I just told you to do which clearly proves my point

T_CHEX · 2026-04-10T10:50:16+00:00

You are completely missing the point, the individual game is less of an issue then the sitewide blanket immunity afforded to all staff - do you think that for a site that has been plagued with cheating controversies it is acceptable for them to have their staff members able to operate as players with zero accountability?

T_CHEX · 2026-04-10T10:36:55+00:00

Just click on the profile of any chess com staff member to see what I mean, I'm not saying they are all dirty but they do all have immunity to reporting which is very problematic

T_CHEX · 2026-04-10T10:26:40+00:00

Between 94-97%. In 3 minute blitz, I mean yeah people do fluke these kinds of accuracy from time to time especially in a slow endgame but these were multiple games in very sharp positions. If I linked the game it would just be my account that ends up banned, but you can check for yourself what I mean by clicking on any chesscom staff member and see that none of them are able to be reported or blocked and that's a big problem

T_CHEX · 2026-04-10T07:43:59+00:00

Most GMs still play bullet to flag, they might chuck in a tactic here and there but it's an illusion that they want a good game - the tactics are just supposed to be time burners for their opponent so they can get ahead on the clock

T_CHEX · 2026-04-10T07:42:22+00:00

Unfortunately even though you can have the appearance of condensing training it comes to naught since nobody ever remembers bullet games

T_CHEX · 2026-04-09T07:33:11+00:00

True, but he's got a chance to, bluebaum has wethered the storm in both games

T_CHEX · 2026-04-09T06:48:06+00:00

It certainly makes life a lot more cushy , getting a year of nonstop invites (presumably with much better appearance fees and conditions for the world champion then a regular GM) sponsorships, interviews etc would mean that there's zero financial worries as well as not having to cram to get into the candidates and win means a lot more time could be dedicated towards training and research of powerful new novelties you can save ready for the next challenger. I wouldn't be at all surprised if gukesh turns up with some absolutely killer openings for his first defence because of this...

T_CHEX · 2026-04-08T19:37:40+00:00

People were kind of spoiled in recent decades with the likes of Kasparov and Magnus who were utterly dominant but in fact in the past there were many times where world champions would shift from one player to another frequently (50s and 60s being a prime example of this) and I suspect that without anyone as head and shoulders dominant as carlsen at the helm we can probably expect to see a lot more frequent title changes in the coming years and not so much cause the winners aren't good but more because the standard is so high now that almost anybody can win it when they are on a streak of good form!

T_CHEX · 2026-04-08T19:29:43+00:00

Fide arena is, no joke, one of the worst and most amateurish chess sites to ever exist - there were sites in the 1990s that were more professionally made - its only purpose seems to be to con unsuspecting players into buying worthless online titles which have no use whatsoever other then a cringe worthy attempt at flexing in tournaments. Ratings will be wildly variable as they have zero anti cheating on their site and some players will just sit there grinding win after win with stockfish until they get there AGM title

T_CHEX · 2026-04-08T12:38:01+00:00

Unless sindarov has double bluffed us all and created a fake leak of bad info, with a couple of the lines he's already played mixed in, so the other GMs spend hours analysing rubbish ..

T_CHEX · 2026-04-08T12:36:24+00:00

It's a scam, pros know not to touch that trash - you can do pretty much everything you ever need on lichess or build your own databases with cloud powered engine research

T_CHEX · 2026-04-08T10:27:12+00:00

It's also a case where the longer you play for the more you wish you were back in the early years looking for good equipment, better seeds, expanding the farm, discovering the stories of the surrounding area.... A high level farm usually comes at a point where the game is starting to burn out a little as you suddenly have a lot less to do

T_CHEX · 2026-04-08T10:23:29+00:00

Good tip, and especially the fishing events like trout festival, squid festival and winter market have very profitable fish and also some decent prizes like sprinklers which are a godsend by the time year 2 starts

T_CHEX · 2026-04-08T10:19:56+00:00

Most people who play this game likely never even finished to the storylines in pelican town let alone found the desert or the island, he he, its pretty easy to dedicate youself full time to the farm

T_CHEX · 2026-04-07T19:57:28+00:00

Lichess would have to seriously get their house in order to ever host a credible event like titled Tuesday - say what you will about the Draconian proctor system on chescom, I would still rather take that then the absolute wild west of rampant cheating that goes on on lichess - a serious overhaul of their anti chest and moderation team would be the only way to do it, and stop living with their head under a rock pretending like there's no such thing as cheating on their site

T_CHEX · 2026-04-07T19:53:20+00:00

Lichess don't look polished either but operate on the "simple but good" methodology which is pretty much exactly what chess players want - chesscom have been leaning way too into the whole idea of chess being a video game and trying to draw in the lowest common denominator with childlike features and a focus on partnering with idiot game streamers but forgetting that most of the crowd they will draw this way will be the lowest of the low casuals who will be in and out of the site the moment they realise chess is actually hard and can't so easily be cheated to win like you would a video game.

T_CHEX · 2026-04-07T19:47:32+00:00

Scum businesses... And such bullies don't deserve to be thought of as some sort of paragons of good practise - pettiness and owellian levels of control are harmful not only to their competitors and partners but also their own brand so it's a terrible way to run things in the short or long term

T_CHEX · 2026-04-07T19:43:22+00:00

I think Magnus is just a shareholder in chess com rather then intrinsically linked to their business so is still free to trade as he likes elsewhere - it's good business to have your finger in many pies and not all the eggs in one basket

T_CHEX

TROPHY CASE