How Many Over the Board Grandmasters Are There?

It was incredibly hard to get at international grandmaster norm in the seventies and eighties because you actually had to play against grandmaster anin 19 87. The vast majority of them came from two countries, russia, russiandhe soviet union. A hundred and 20 grandmasters. More than half are in those two countries. So if you don't visit those countries, how were you ever going to make a grandmaster? Normie retty aleria en,. you think was it the same system where you had to play three grandmasters a tournament? Exactly!