Derby Chess Club - Club Masters Scheme

Version 1.0 17/09/2025 Kevin Dalley

1. Overview

This is a scheme is a recognition scheme that awards lifetime titles to club members for achievement and involvement in Derby Chess Club. Awards are given on the basis of achieving six “norms”. Players achieving a title are recorded on the Club “Roll of Honour” and the title will appear in internal club tournaments.

2. Levels of Club Masters

  • Club Grandmaster (CGM)
  • Club Master (CM)
  • Club Candidate Master (CCM)
  • Club Social Master (CSM)

3. Master Norms

Norms are awarded based on achieving certain criteria in a month. [^1]

  1. Club Grandmaster Norm
    • have a grade of 1950 or above at the end of the month
    • played at least one graded game for the club in the month (match or club championships)
  2. Club Master Norm
    • have a grade of 1800 or above at the end of the month
    • played at least one graded game for the club in the month (match or club championships)
  3. Club Candidate Master Norm
    • have a grade of 1650 or above at the end of the month
    • played at least one graded game for the club in the month (Match or club championships)
  4. Club Social Master Norm
    • Participate in the monthly social event on the first Tuesday of the month.

4. Awards

  • Master awards will normally take place at the AGM.
  • New titles, including upgrades will be recognised.[^2]

5. Roll of Honour

  • A list of master awards is maintained as part of club records (and displayed on website etc.) with the name of the player and date of award.

6. Miscellaneous

  • Essentially the quickest a player can achieve a title is 6 months. A player can earn norms for multiple titles at the same time. A player’s title is the highest they have achieved (once a grandmaster, always a grandmaster).
  • Norms cannot be claimed retrospectively (prior to the scheme’s establishment - September 2024).

[^1]: There will be a lot of norms being generated in the first year. Once awards are given, only norms for the higher master levels need to be monitored.

[^2]: Inevitably there will be a lot of new awards in the first year. Afterwards it will primarily people achieving a higher award or new members.