Why register for English Master titles?
All title holders receive an ECF certificate in recognition of their achievement, and are registered with their highest National title on the ECF Master Titles web page until/unless they achieve a higher level International/ FIDE title. The highest level title achieved (NM or above including International FIDE titles) will also appear on your ECF rating record. All holders of the ECF National Master title may also apply to get their English Chess Federation title added to their Chess.com or Lichess.org account (as with FIDE OTB titles). As with FIDE titles, the ECF NM title will then allow you to play in the Chess.com Titled Tuesday online event and/or the series of Lichess Titled Arenas.
Master Points Titles
There are six categories of award with equivalent classes as below (with reference to the USCF rating class system)
| English National Master – minimum rating 2200 ECF standardplay The player must maintain an average listed rating at, or above, the minimum rating for a period of 12 months, with a total game count of 30 games or more in the 12-month qualifying period. |
| English Regional Master – minimum rating 2100 ECF standardplay The player must maintain an average listed rating at, or above, the minimum rating for a period of 12 months, with a total game count of 30 or more games in the 12-month qualifying period. |
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| English County Master (Category 1/Expert) – minimum rating 2000 ECF standardplay The player must maintain an average listed rating at, or above, the minimum rating for a period of 12 months, with a total game count of 30 games or more in the 12-month qualifying period. |
| English Club Master (Class A) – minimum rating 1800 ECF standardplay The player must maintain an average listed rating at, or above, the minimum rating for a period of 12 months, with a total game count of 30 games or more in the 12-month qualifying period. |
| English Team Master (Class B) – minimum rating 1600 ECF standardplay The player must reach the minimum listed rating as an average over a 12 month period, with a total game count of 30 games or more in the 12-month qualifying period. |
| English Chess Maestro (Class C) – minimum rating 1400 ECF standardplay The player must reach the minimum listed rating as an average over a 12 month period, with a total game count of 30 games or more in the 12-month qualifying period. |
Historic grading and/or rating lists for the relevant period may be used, providing evidence is provided to allow a claim to be checked. The qualifying criterion is that rating list entries must be for a single contiguous period, with a sustained performance at or above the rating for each 12-month period. In addition, and as indicated, the results must be based on 30 or more games in the year for the 12-month qualifying period. The formula for converting ECF three-digit grades to Elo 4-digit ratings is – 7.5 x ECF+700 = Elo.
The fee for registering titles is £5.00 for the Chess Maestro, Team Master and Club Master titles and £10.00 for County Master, Regional Master and National Master titles. Apply online here —
| Apply online |
Roll of Honour
English National Master (2200+)
Please note – National Master is not a FIDE recognised title, but is awarded by a number of the larger Federations, including the ECF, and is generally based on OTB performance over 2200 Elo.
An NM title will be recognised by Chess.com or Lichess.org, and can be shown on a player’s online profile. The NM title should allow you to take part in Chess.com’s Titled Tuesday events or Lichess Titled Arenas alongside those with FIDE awarded titles.
Current holders of the ECF’s National Master title are listed below —
| Name | Award date | Rating code |
| Paul R Bielby | 4th December 2013 | 106717F |
| Thomas Bonn |
18th January 2024 |
313669D |
| Finlay Bowcott-Terry |
17th June 2024 |
302581A |
| Callum Brewer |
7th July 2023 |
283327L |
| Christopher Briscoe | December 2012 | 107290A |
| Thomas Carroll | 25th July 2020 | 295018C |
| Manmay Chopra |
13th August 2024 |
328371K |
| Connor Clarke |
31st July 2024 |
293687C |
| Roger Coathup |
31st October 2022 |
108530L |
| Philip Crocker |
1st December 2022 |
109096D |
| Jeremy Davies | 18th June 2018 | 164556A |
| Matthew Dignam |
6th May 2024 |
184247L |
| Brian Dinter | 2nd March 2021 | 319936J |
| Thomas Eggleston | 31st October 2018 | 186878A |
| Terry Fox | 9th January 2021 | 340749E |
| Daniel Gallagher | 3rd August 2021 | 279873G |
| Peter C Gibbs | December 2012 | 111190F |
| Mark Gray |
17th January 2023 |
182947G |
| Michael Harris | 1st June 2020 | 112174B |
| Cengiz Hasman | 14th September 2020 | 184486G |
| Jamie Horton | 22nd February 2021 | 247371K |
| Mark Josse | 20th February 2020 | 113950C |
| Theo Khoury |
31st July 2024 |
319317C |
| Peter Lalic | 31st January 2013 | 246586D |
| Paul Lam |
17th June 2024 |
230881C |
| Daniel Lindner | 1st August 2013 | 257526H |
| Claudio Logallo |
8th July 2022 |
302872A |
| Dominic Mackle | 25th January 2013 | 114766D |
| Paul Madden | 29th November 2018 | 114779B |
| Don Mason |
26th July 2023 |
115042L |
| Oleksandr Matlak |
1st May 2024 |
356783H |
| Roman Mitra | 13th January 2021 | 275583L |
| David Mooney | 23rd March 2021 | 229734G |
| Ethan Norris |
14th October 2024 |
344961A |
| Robert Charles Noyce | December 2012 | 116328A |
| Alfie Onslow | 19th January 2021 | 291527D |
| Matthew Payne |
28th November 2022 |
246394F |
| Edmund Player | 12th September 2019 | 136670B |
| Jonathan Pein | 10th February 2021 | 258775A |
| Ryan Randall |
11th July 2022 |
187708C |
| John E Reid | 16th May 2014 | 178366L |
| Mark Rich | 31st July 2013 | 117862D |
| Simon Roe | 5th October 2020 | 118147G |
| Remy Rushbrooke |
13th November 2023 |
284337H |
| Aron Saunders |
24th September 2024 |
309827J |
| Mikhail Sedykh |
9th February 2023 |
282940L |
| Tim Seymour |
6th May 2024 |
214922K |
| Jude Shearsby |
17th June 2024 |
306635G |
| Anthony Stebbings | December 2012 | 119637G |
| Ashley Stewart |
26th May 2024 |
258609F |
| Joseph Stewart | 15th November 2021 | 240800E |
| Savas Stoica |
17th June 2024 |
298317F |
| Mate Ther |
24th September 2024 |
295362G |
| Paul Timson | December 2012 | 271675G |
| Samuel Alan Walker |
May 2025 |
255108B |
| Ieuan Ward | 25th June 2020 | 273248J |
| Peter A Williams | December 2012 | 240138B |
| Roger Williamson |
2015 |
163166E |
English Regional Master
| Name | Award date if known | Rating code |
| Peter Ackley | 165369G | |
| Laurence Ball | 5th January 2021 | 272060H |
| Bertrand Barlow | 106224E | |
| Andrew Baruch | 106348A | |
| Kevin J Bailey | 106047J | |
| Andrew J Bigg | 160053K | |
| Nigel W Blades | 106856J | |
| Graham Bolt | 9th February 2017 | 106951C |
| Christopher Briscoe | 107290A | |
| Trevor Brotherton | 14th November 2013 | 107391G |
| Steve Connor | 124678B | |
| Philip Crocker |
109096D | |
| Brian Dinter | 25th February 2021 | 319936J |
| Mike Donnelly | 109791L | |
| Mark Ellis | 14th September 2012 | 124867E |
| Jeremy Fraser-Mitchell | 110893B | |
| Anthony R Fulton | 163910K | |
| Tryfon Gavriel | 111117G | |
| John Gorman | 182090E | |
| Mark S Gray | 15th August 2013 | 182947G |
| Costas Harris | 151761C | |
| Jamie Hopkins | 112969H | |
| Chris Howell | 113103F | |
| Kevin Hurst | 266234G | |
| Roman Ismailov | 1st March 2017 | 268144E |
| Akash Jain | 245243B | |
| Naveen Jain | 175012E | |
| Chris Jones | ||
| Christopher J A Jones | 113786E | |
| Aiden M Leech | 146698H | |
| Andrew McCumiskey |
24th September 2024 | 115243K |
| James J McDonnell | 115269F | |
| Stephen J Meek | 15th August 2016 | 174392C |
| Jonathan Mutton | 151854K | |
| Koichi B Nicholas | 170951D | |
| Kenneth Norman | 116276H | |
| Tim Paulden | 24th July 2014 | 153053H |
| Owen Phillips | 22nd July 2010 | 173125H |
| Dr Adrian Pickersgill | 117110A | |
| Branko Pribanich | 117409F | |
| Thomas Rendle | 154724A | |
| Chris B Rice | 5th February 2014 | 131376K |
| Mark C Rich | 117862D | |
| Heather Richards | 163139B | |
| Richard Savory | 18th May 2011 | 146862F |
| Timothy Seymour | 214922K | |
| Robert Starley | 24th May 2021 | 254632C |
| Nicolas Stead |
119629H | |
| James Stevenson | 11th July 2019 | 101487A |
| Philip Stimpson | 119742D | |
| David O Vaughan | 128671H | |
| Rajko Vujatovic | 247170L | |
| Martin G Walker | 118866F | |
| Winston Williams | 18th August 2011 | 261060H |
| John F Wheeler | 121446K | |
| Ernest M White | 121483E | |
| Robert F Willmoth | 15th August 2013 | 126824H |
| Arturo Wong |
21st April 2022 | 277857K |
English County Master
Farshad Ai [30th May 2013]; Christopher Archer-Lock; Paul A Batchelor [2nd August 2018]; Rhys Bennett [10th September 2015]; Nick Bond [8th August 2012]; Steven John Burke [23rd February 2012]; Stephen Cairns [14th September 2012]; Eoin S Campbell; Gordon Chapman [14th May 2014]; William G Clark [27th July 2016]; Michael John Coffey [25th April 2012]; Dillan Duke [13th August 2024]; Patrick CM Duncan [31st July 2013]; Ian Duvall; Alex J Edmans; Nathan Ekanem [13th November 2023]; Sam Essen; David J Faulkner; Michael Fletcher [28th July 2011]; Nicholas Fordham [4th December 2013]; Karl Forman; David Fryer [10th February 2015]; David J Hamblin; Matthew Harborne [18th December 2013]; Dean Hartley; Tim Hebbes; Brian WR Hewson [4th March 2015]; Jamie Hillman; Ian Hunnable; Radha Jain [8th August 2011]; Angus S James; Richard M Jones; Stephen M Jones; Timur Kuzhelev [6th April 2021]; Antonio Moneva-Jordan [9th August 2010]; Robert Kane [27th March 2019]; Robert A Lanzer; J Ezra Lutton; Jacob McAtear [1st September 2024]; Stephen J Meek [8th October 2015]; Kevin Millward; Steve Moore; James R Nicolson; Ethan Norris [22nd August 2022]; Paul W O’Brien; Dennis Paul Owen [11th November 2015]; Neil Owen [24th April 2020]; Anna Partington; David A Patrick; Carl S Portman; Mark Rich [14th October 2024]; Mark I Roberts; Julien Shepley; Jinwoo Song; Gordon Stables; Daniel Staples [10th August 2010]; Neville H Twitchell; Miroslaw Walkusz [19th January 2022]; Kajetan Wandowicz [26th November 2014]; Dr Steve M Williams; Winston Williams [13th August 2010]
English Club Master
J Garth Andrews; Jo Badger; Paul Badger; Dale J Bailey; Lyall C P Bayliss; Andy Bellingham [19th February 2020]; William D Bennet; Greg Breed [31st August 2023]; Niamh Bridgeman [5th February 2020]; Nigel Bye; David Campbell; Stephen J E Casement; Kumardip Chakraborty (India); James Chappell; Stephen J Chick; Barry Childs; Malcolm C Clarke; Steve Crow [17th June 2024]; Peter Dallas; Kevin Dalley [24th September 2024]; Dennis Dartnell [25th March 2013]; Paul Davies; Connagh-Joseph de Mooi; Daniel Diamond; Trevor A Dickerson; Anthony M Eskinazi; Vojtech Leopold James Matthew Fiser [6th June 2012]; Douglas Forbes; Raymond Gosden; Christopher Hansell; Michael Hardman [17th March 2021]; Ralph M Hewes; Douglas Hogan [15th August 2013]; Raymond K Hunt; Mohammed Aayan Ismail [8th March 2021]; Aivar Jefremov; Christopher M Jones; Gawain C B Jones; Gaurav Kamath [24th February 2021]; Nigel P Kerby; Roy Lawrence [29th March 2010]; Graham Lee; Fraser A Lees [15th August 2013]; Cosmos Lim; Karl Lockett [8th November 2021]; Alireza M Manuchehri [30th July 2010]; Dan Marcos [28th January 2015]; William McLaughlin; Stephen J Meek [11th December 2013]; George Miller [22nd January 2021]; Steve Mills; Robert Mitchell; Gillian A Moore [8th August 2011]; Peter Morrey; Michael Moura [3rd August 2016]; A Philip Neatherway; Charles Newman; Dinah Norman; Brendan O’Gorman [1st February 2011]; John A Oliver [21st January 2011]; James Peet; Tom Peet; Liviu Nestor Podgornei [24th August 2015]; Mark C Pooley; Robert P Radford; William Ramsden; Christopher Rawlinson; Paul Richards; Alan Riddoch; James Malcolm Robinson [11th July 2012]; Alex Royle [13th November 2023]; Henry Sharples; Kevin Shaw [4th September 2012]; Charlton Siddo [30th July 2020]; Peter K Smith [31st January 2013]; Stephen Tarr [13th May 2015]; Gregory Tebble; Liam D Varnam; Mark Wadsworth [28th August 2013]; Adrian Walker [29th July 2011]; Peter A Williams; David Willsher [14th August 2019]; Kevin Winter [11th March 2011]; Paul Welford; Steve Whatmore; Ashley David Wright [6th November 2014]
English Team Master
Niall Ali [31st January 2013]; Ronald Adams [3rd November 2011]; Hassan Atteeque [15th August 2013]; Megel Barker [22nd December 2011]; Devdoot Barman [8th August 2012]; Phill Beckett [18th February 2022]; Dalil Benchebra [17th June 2024]; Dhruva Bhagwat [19th September 2014]; Niamh Bridgeman [9th February 2017]; Hok Chiu [31st August 2021]; Larissa Cuthbert [26th July 2020]; Tim Cutter [17th January 2019]; Patrick Damodaran [25th October 2019]; Dillan Duke [8th December 2020]; Barry Edgar [21st January 2014]; Roy Egginton [1st September 2017]; Alan Evans; Robert Michael Friday [20th August 2010]; Sam Gaffney [11th October 2021]; Dhairye Gauri [21st January 2022]; George Gowers [17th January 2024]; Peter Harrington [15th August 2011]; Joshua John [2nd February 2017]; Alexandros Kalyviotis [29th October 2019]; Thomas Key [17th January 2024]; Daniel Knight [4th May 2021]; David Knight [5th May 2021]; Jiping Li [26th Ocober 2020]; Chris Lovell [14th October 2024]; James A McDonald [28th January 2015]; Michael Moura [1st July 2015]; Steven Odongo Opio [15th August 2013]; Rob A Oughton [16th September 2019]; Tristan Pearce [16th March 2011]; Thomas Philidor [8th January 2024]; Ben Radford [2nd October 2014]; Shreyas Royal [1st February 2017]; Alex Royle [27th November 2022]; Shahjahon Saidmurodov [12th May 2016]; Alan VH Sands [14th October 2024]; Peter Shaw Banks [12th September 2019]; Daniel Shek [22nd October 2021]; Charlton Siddo [13th November 2017]; Bruno Alexandre Dos Santos Silva [19th January 2023]; Paul Spencer [8th August 2012]; Antonio Stipanovic [1st September 2024]; Venkatesh Subramoniam [20th December 2022]; Frederick Sugden [17th January 2024]; Naomi Wei [20th December 2011]; Richard White [3rd October 2011]; Daniel Williams [26th May 2024]; Mason J Woodhams [31st January 2013]
English Chess Maestro
John Robert Appleby [25th August 2016]; Amy Ba; James Bedford [12 August 2014]; Megh Bhide [26th September 2022]; Niamh Bridgeman [3rd February 2016]; Irina Briggs [1st September 2024]; Chris Budden [15th August 2023]; David Carpenter [1st September 2024]; Martin Karl Cockerill; James Coward [24th January 2019]; Martin Curry [28th August 2018]; Larissa Cuthbert [30th January 2019]; Patrick Damodaran [25th October 2019]; Richard Dawson [14th November 2023]; Thomas Edwards [31st July 2024]; Dhairye Gauri [11th May 2021]; Jennifer Goldsmith [30th January 2012]; Abeer Gogia [26th February 2020]; Amy Marie Greenhough; George Gowers; Adam-Rafael Holmes [12th February 2020]; Stefania Iosub [1st February 2018]; Sachin Kumar [14th December 2022]; Alex Lushpa [30th January 2019]; Keeghan McGarry; Stephen Palmer [30th August 2022]; Diah Patel [24th September 2024]; Christopher Pegg [4th May 2016]; Thomas Philidor [8th January 2024]; Freddie Phillips [1st September 2020]; Archie Piatt [4th January 2022]; Lindsay Pyun [3rd February 2021]; Kyle Reed; Shreyas Royal [3rd February 2016]; Shahjahon Saidmurudov [29th July 2015]; Jane Scott [1st August 2023]; Gary Slegg [3rd October 2022]; Umar Syed [13th November 2017]; Charles W Wood; Paul Van Kan [31st July 2024]; Paul Vanlint [15th August 2013]; Colin Vernon [21st August 2014]