Names are displayed in Surname, Givenname order. This is a huge help since it makes sort on name much easier to see and use. See below for more discussion of name order.
Generally we prefer the current spelling of the player name as reflected in FIDE records.
If this is different than the MOS:COMMONNAME we parenthetically indicate the more recognizable name, for example "Donner, Johannes Hendrikus (Jan Hein)", "Fischer, Robert J. (Bobby)", and "Miles, Anthony J. (Tony)".
FIDE uses only ASCII, but we do not restrict ourselves in that way. We add diacritics where it appears to be the MOS:COMMON spelling in English sources. In some cases the player is not frequently found in English sources, and then we use best judgment about the Latin alphabet representation that most accurately reflects the player's name.
The player's current name may be different than the player name when the title was earned. If the player name changed after earning the GM title we note the previous names in the Notes column. Also be aware that only significant name changes need to be noted. For example, "Alexei" vs. "Alexey" does not need to be explicitly noted, but Aleksandar Berelovich vs Alexander Berlowitsch should probably get a mention.
Name order issues can be difficult in cases of Eastern name order, so we usually follow whatever is found in FIDE records. It is fairly common for FIDE to make corrections in name order (especially for Indian GMs), so we try to track the most up to date information. Note that some name orders are known to be wrong, but we will use the order found in FIDE records and common usage. For example, Viswanathan Anand should properly be Anand Viswanathan, but the Vishy Anand name order is absolutely universal in English and is even used for example by the Indian English-language newspaper The Times of India. (Previously the article included HTML comments indicating that Indian names will use Tamil name order, but these comments have been removed. The displayed name follows the name order FIDE uses. For most Indian players this is the Tamil name order.)
All player names are linked, even if there is no bio article (it is a redlink). Piped links are usually required since bio page titles are usually First Last, but our name displays are generally Last, First.
Beware of accidently linking to the bio of a different person with the same name as a GM who might not have an article. Disambiguate using "John Smith (chess player)" if needed to avoid linking to the wrong page.
FIDE ID
For living players FIDE ID is a link to the player's FIDE Chess Profile page.
FIDE has removed the pages of deceased players, but we still list the ID without a link for use when searching old FIDE records, especially rating lists.
FIDE introduced the IDs in 1991, so some older players do not have an ID.
FIDE foolishly reused some ID numbers and also reassigned numbers for certain federations on one or two occasions, so some players may have two FIDE IDs. We note multiple IDs in the comments when we encounter them. I think FIDE has stopped this bad practice.
Born
We try to include the year, month and day of the player's birthday in YYYY-MM-DD format. In some cases we can only determine the birth year.
Birthplace
The Birthplace column tries to identify the birth city and the city is always linked, MOS:OL be damned. In some cases only a province is known. In more cases we have only the country, and in those cases I do not wikilink primarily because I would like these to be readily distinguishable from the city links in the hope that in the future someone will be able to determine the correct municipality and update the table.
Along those lines, when other sources (primarily Di Felice) don't list a birthplace, sometimes the GM title app will simply say "GRE" or "Russia". In those cases I have chosen to put the country in the birthplace column rather than leaving it blank. I am aware, however, that some of these title apps are incorrect as they always list the federation making the application as the birthplace in these cases and occassionally this is in error and the player was born in a different country. For this reason perhaps we should discount those entries on the title apps as being unreliable and leave birthplace blank if we don't have any other sources.
I haven't figured out what to record for birthplaces where the name has changed. In the case of Saint Petersburg vs Petrograd vs Leningrad I'm leaning toward using the name of the city at the time of birth. But I'm not sure, and other cases are maybe hard. Kiev vs Kyiv and other examples in Ukraine, and maybe some Polish cities that had German names for ethnic German births and where the GM played for Germany rather than Poland.
Died
Title year
Title award years are the year in which the title was ratified by a FIDE commission. This is often later than the date the final norm was achieved. FIDE regulations actually note this distinction, so whereas the date of the final norm is used in computing player age when the title was earned (see list of chess prodigies), here we use the year the title was officially awarded.
Recently FIDE has resumed putting title years on their FIDE Chess Profile pages. This is a good source, but FIDE's data has been wrong sometimes in the past. For example, they listed the wrong GM title year for Anand while he was FIDE World Champion. If they can't get their data straight for the WC, then clearly all FIDE data should be double checked if possible.
Federations
Federations listed begin with the federation when the title was granted and proceed chronologically with the most recent federation listed last. Federations before becoming a GM are not listed.
This may need some thought for a few honorary titles where the title award was for chess accomplishments for a different country and the player emigrated after the prime of their chess career.
Sources: Di Felice lists federations but they include feds before the player became a GM. FIDE Golden Book gives the federation at the time the title was earned only. (In a very few cases the Golden Book federation appears to be wrong.) Most player federations are confirmed against FIDE rating lists.
Sex
M/F. I'm not sure what we will do when there is a transgendered GM, but as far as I know that hasn't arisen yet.
Notes
References, usually Di Felice for GMs through 2016. A link to the GM title app if it can be found on http://ratings.fide.com.
Footnotes explaining conflicting information or errors in the sources.
Alternate name spellings if they are significant.
Honorary titles are noted.
References for dates of death are included here. Many deaths postdate Di Felice so other sources such as obituaries may be required.
Direct title awards earned by winning a tournament or match are noted here by listing the accomplishment, eg Senior World Champion or Women's World Champion. In these cases there won't be a GM title app since the title award is not based on norms and doesn't need to be applied for. We are probably missing quite a few of these.
The primary reference is Di Felice which includes all or nearly all GM awards through 2016. In a small number of cases the information in Di Felice is not accurate, and we try to make corrections where we have found them. The most common error found in Di Felice is that a few title award years are off by one year. (The book is remarkably accurate and most likely there are more errors in this Wikipedia article than there are in the GM entries in the book.)
The FIDE Golden Book is used to verify title award years through 2016. When the Golden Book and Di Felice disagree, we look for other sources to tip the balance one way or the other. In the absence of other information generally the title year given in the Golden Book is given preference. (The Golden Book lists awards by year and appears to dump the lists of names awarded titles at each FIDE President's Meeting. The Golden Book does have some errors, however, including at least one GM that was omitted. Also honorary awards are not listed in the Golden Book.)
Often the title app can be used to verify spelling of the player's name, birthdate and birthplace, and the initial federation. Unfortunately we can't use it to confirm title year. Also note that some title awards are conditional on rating, and aren't official until the player rating reaches or exceeds 2500.
