This is a list of chess grandmasters. The title of Grandmaster is awarded to world-class chess players by the sport's governing body FIDE. It is the highest title a chess player can attain and is generally held for life, although FIDE regulations allow for the revocation of titles in cases of cheating or corruption.
The November 2016 FIDE rating list includes 1541 grandmasters, of which 1508 are male and 33 are female. These figures are approximate as the FIDE list may include a few deceased players, and may also exclude players from the list for various reasons.
References
List of chess grandmasters Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA