Why did they pick 2200 to be a chessmaster?

Is there anything special about 2200 that they consider that rating to be "master" strength? Why not 2100 or 2300?

Perhaps it was more or less the opposite.

Good question. I don't know.

FIDE came around in the 50s or 60s right? And to even get a rating in those days you had to be 2200 which was (and still is) candidate master (2300 is FIDE master). Rated lower than that you were just unrated (although national rating systems could do anything of course).

So I imagine 2200 is when you're good enough for your nation to call you a master, and for you to start competing internationally (FIDE). Something like the level of the worst player at an interzonal or something

They used to have a lot of regional tournaments, which lead up to candidates matches, which lead up to deciding who would challenge for the world championship title.

Maybe you then should start to WIN some games. You have lost all the games you have played here. 

It's probably like a lot of things in life, somewhat arbitrary.  Someone established a rating system, took a look at the rating's distribution, divided the distribution into groups, and gave each group a name.  It was probably devised by a committee whose members argued for years before arriving at a decision.

I guess he's busy writing code...or trolling...

They had to pick SOMETHING.  Because we live in the era of the self, where self-esteem and protecting the fragile ego is paramount, I propose that the master threshold be cut in half, to 1100.  We're all masters now!

Sorry to burst your bubble but douchebag trolls don't have what it takes to be good at chess. That's why all you idiots are low rated.

IWriteCodeGeniusBoy = GreedyPawnEater?

 A cursory look at the USCF data indicates that about 1% of active players are rated 2200+.  That seems like a reasonable value to choose for the Master''s title.

42 didn't work out this time

Speak for yourself, I'm rated 2011 USCF right now, so I would say there's a reasonable chance of getting there lol.

and @woton, that makes sense. Maybe they decided that the top 1% should be masters, and found that 2200 was the boundary. I wonder if that has stayed consistent over time. 

My guess it's because rating classes have generally changed in 200 point increments,  1600 is Class B, 1800 is A, 2000 is Expert.  Obvious 2200 seems the next level and there are so few players at that level at it was chosen as the level at which you become a master.

My guess is that it was arbitrary.  Someone probably looked at the rating's distribution and saw that there were only a few hundred players above 2200 and based everything on 2200.  The actual percentage probably varies, but not significantly.  Who knows.  Maybe the statisticians at USCF do, but, they function in the background.