chess for a living.

can GMs make a living out of chess?

what about FMs CMs NMs, and IMs

A lot of the most popular chess writers are below the level of GM (SIlman, Pandolfini, etc.) and I assume they make a nice living given all the books they've sold.

THEY MAKE SOME MONEY===BUT NOT A LIVING

a lot of different answers

that all depends on what a 'living' is to that person, in their situation.  i could easily make a living if i were titled, just by giving lessons on the net, because my situation does not demand a lot of cash. a guy with a wife, a mortgage, and a family, though, isn't going to be happy with a few hundred bucks a week. 

million dollars = medium sized house

Most of the NM's I know of have a day job. Haven't met people with higher titles.

IM Joe Bradford worked for the Texas Department of Transportation, at his peak he had a FIDE rating of over 2400.  The late Ken Smith thought he had enough talent to be a GM if he worked full time at it.  He didn't become an IM until after he retired from his job. 

Well there is a season for everything.  Maybe this is a dead season for chess.  A need for someone with passion and has the capabilities and attributes to revive or create interest to a huge world market will one day make chess IM, GM and many masters make a living out of it.

actually SGMs win a lot of money

Yeah maybe!!! But if gambling in betting who's gonna win be applied.  I bet Chess would be famous again.

Natalia Pogonina answered this.
http://www.chess.com/article/view/making-money-in-chess

Again I reiterate, if betting be permitted in this game. Believe me, chess will be famous again. Boxing, golf and other sports becomes exciting because of this.  A scheme to the organizer is only needed to implement such event.  Awareness of the event is a must.  But ofcoarse losers will pay a heavy prize.

I am not sure, Danskespil in denmark made it possible to bet on the result for the danish championship in chess DM2012.
the odds were. prearranged draw would suddenly be very criminal cause you could phone the draw to friend who could bet 1 million dollars and make a quick win.

it was possible to gamle on the last round

and bet on the winner for the entire tournament.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_title

• Grandmaster (shortened as GM, sometimes International Grandmaster or IGM is used) is awarded to world-class chess masters. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Before FIDE will confer the title on a player, the player must have an Elo chess rating (see below) of at least 2500 at one time and three favorable results (called norms) in tournaments involving other Grandmasters, including some from countries other than the applicant's. There are also other milestones a player can achieve to attain the title, such as winning the World Junior Championship.
• International Master (shortened as IM). The conditions are similar to GM, but less demanding. The minimum rating for the IM title is 2400.
• FIDE Master (shortened as FM). The usual way for a player to qualify for the FIDE Master title is by achieving a FIDE Rating of 2300 or more.
• Candidate Master (shortened as CM). Similar to FM, but with a FIDE Rating of at least 2200.

It is impossible for a GM to be at 2200. The rating floors keep a GM at least at a 2300. The rating floors are 199 points below the closest 100 mark.

Well, there must be some flaws on the scheme that's been created.  Why not make it a series of winning numbers where one player has a certain number.  The one with the right choice of series wins. Make it like a lotto. From one dollar bet you get something but the series of winning number should be inorder for you to win. Perhaps there must be way to make it exciting and draw a lot of awareness to a lot of public. Players must also be isolated during competition to disallow fixers. Perhaps what is more exciting especially in your area where you know what works most. Innovative but simple schemes can draw a lot of crowd.

where did you see the GM exactly?

In USCF play it is quite possible for a grandmaster to get down almost to the 2200 level.  Players past their prime this happens to.

I am curious, all it takes to be a FIDE Master is to achieve a rating of 2300 or more?  [I assume that is a permanent rating]