To work hard... really hard and even then you have to work harder
how to become Gm
1. Be really, really, really, really good at chess.
2. Prove you're really, really, really, really good at chess.
Why are these threads festering so much now, I wonder?
As Goldendog stated, the Thunderdome is the only way to become a GM.
Two IMs enter, one GM leaves.
How do you explain Mel Gibson then? He is not a GM at chess?
Well, that's because mad max was just a movie. If gibson had done that in real life, he would be a GM. Not everything in fiction is real, y'know.
Why are these threads festering so much now, I wonder?
Because it's far easier to have a BM than to become a GM.

fsdgg