Chess master titles
As chess became more popular in the second half of the 19th century, the term began to be given out by organizations. For example, in Germany, there arose an annual sponsored tournament, the Hauptturnier, the winners of which were awarded the title of Meister. Emanuel Lasker, who later became World Champion, first earned a master title in one such tournament. The Soviet Union had a system of national candidate masters, masters and grandmasters before World War II, and its satellite countries in eastern Europe followed suit after the war.