Is 18 too old to start playing chess?

I played chess in tournaments between the ages of 8 and 12, but then at 12 I quit chess and didn't start back up again until now, at 18. I never got very good, my peak rating was only around 1300.

I've heard a lot of people say that if you don't start playing at a young age, it's nearly impossible to reach master level, and improving is incredibly difficult. Would it be possible to reach expert (2000+) level within, say, 4 years, at my age? I have a pretty high IQ, around 140ish, and when I was younger I had a lot of natural ability (without any training I was able to reach a rating of around 1100 when I was 8). 

So do you think this is a possible goal? Even though I'm in college, I have quite a bit of free time, enough for about 1-2 hours of chess a day. In the past month alone, I've been able to improve my standard rating from about 1250 to 1350 by studying chess mentor, tactics, and videos.

Thanks.

If you were rated 1300 when you were 12 you didn't start at 18   I actually started at 18 (play chess often that is, reading out of books here and there, tactics puzzles).  My first tournament I was 21.

Well... I'm not a master though, so it's not a happy ending lol.  But FWIW I would guess it's more possible for you than me because starting young gave you more than nothing.  Also, even though IQ isn't really relevant to chess, if that's a real IQ score (not internet stuff) you're not a stupid person, and IMO anyway, it's possible for many adult beginners to make master if they work hard.

And don't take this the wrong way but, you're barely an adult, so don't feel too old haha.  There are topics like this where people are asking how good they can be starting at 40, 50, 60 etc.

I think you can be rated 2000 in 4 years, sure.  But, IMO anyway, it would take more than 1-2 hours a day.  I think one big consideration is working in tournaments.  As a college student I don't know how available your weekends and cash for entry fees are.  It's not a deal breaker, but if you can try to work in tournaments.  And as I said I do think master is a realistic goal.

I learned how pieces move some 3 years ago, when I was 15. Since than I improved a lot, but reaching master level only depends on natural talent - therefore, it doesn't matter when you start if you are talented for chess. On the other hand, It's in vain to start at a young age, if you don't have the ability.

@Wafflemaster Even though I played between ages 8-12, my rating during that 4 year period only increased by 200 from 1100 to 1300, because I was a lazy kid and hated studying =P. So even though I technically started at a young age, I doubt it will help much.

It's nice to know you were able to reach a high level starting at 18, though. I don't know what your FIDE or UCSF is, but I would be satisfied if I could reach your rating in blitz or bullet eventually, even if I don't make it to OTB expert or master.

Actually it's been proven that one's peak rating is relative to a person's IQ. (ie: Tough- "How to Succeed"/Shenk - "Immortal Game") Neuroscience has also recently shown that one's brain is still developing into your early twenties. (Strauch- "The Primal Teen/ LeDoux - "Synaptic Self")

Eventhough I learned how to play chess before I could even read, I would not count those early years for anything at all. I'll never forget my first day playing chess at the Boys and Girls Club and some eight year old switched his rook with his king (like actually put his rook where his king was and vice versa, not 0-0). When I called to the counselors for assistance, they actually sided with the idiot! Quite a few games followed like that, kids getting various moves/rules wrong, until I got too frustrated to continue. That's when I became the connect four reigning champion! It was really that lame. Then my mother enrolled me in ballet and chess became some game that everyone around me never bothered to actually learn. Luckily now I can read. I have plenty of books on chess and a husband who enjoys a game or two.

Play chess because you love it, not because you absolutely must become a grandmaster.

No try!I have seen probably around 60 year olds start playing chess again!

In the 7 weeks since I made this thread, I've gained another 100 rating points, so I don't think 18 is too old anymore 

4 years is not enough time for an adult to go from 1300 to expert. You are going to start seeing rapidly diminishing returns as you age and try to improve beyond a certain point. That being said, I gained about 400 FICS rating points when I was in college. This still left me about 200 short of my goal and with rapidly diminishing time and money to spend on chess.

I am 72 and began playing chess again two months ago and while I am still a patzer, my rating is going up with study now that I have time to spend and most importantly I enjoy playing and studying on Chess.com. If your goal is to be a Master or an IM, then beginning when you are very young may be important if not critical but for the overwhelming majority, it is the challenge and the fun of playing and learning. For those of us that are really older, neuroscience also shows that it is really good for us as well as enjoyable. 

I learned how the pieces  moved from my father around 5 or so.  Not much srategy involved on my part however and rarely ever played throughout my childhood.  Picked it back up again solely on chess.com at 17 while being bored at university and was instantly hooked.  Have played steadily for the past 4 years only on this site and fluctuate between 1500-1600.  So Im sure if you worked at it and played you could chart a similar trajectory.  I was a 700 starting out in September 09 though so its a bit different

I had always thought that the real benefit was not "starting young", but rather "having ridiculous amounts of free time and zero real world responsibility". As a college student you might still fit that bill. Of course if you have to work full time and take school seriously, and have a significant other, then that starts to take its toll.

           18 is fine, just don't drive and play chess, and don't drink and play chess until your 21. And whatever you do, don't drink and drive and play chess.

First of all, its never too old to do anything that you can do. 18 is very young and you've already got experience under your belt with tournaments. I'm 30 and I just started last month. I go to college and I work, but I still put in some time learning chess.

 I would say 4 years is plenty of time to reach 2000 dude! Just study as much as you can (I recommend focusing on tactics and especially endgames) and play as much OTB chess (at slow time controls) as you can. Being physically fit also helps. 

 That was a very general recommendation, I know, but you know what? I sincerely believe you can even reach 2000 in 2 years if you put your mind to it.

 Good luck!

Your goal is very reasonable and achievable . I started playing tournament chess in 1973 at the age of 20 and achieved NM in 1984 .  Good luck to you ! 

I agree.  I think adults can learn new things just like kids do, only adults tend to have far more responsibilities and far more demands on their time.  I also think adults just get distracted more.  "But kids go running off all the time and adults are stable enough to buckle down and work."  Well, kids get distracted, sure, but it's not really by anything deep.  They have never have a worry that things aren't going well enough for the company and that a reorganization might happen, that perhaps too much water/electricity was used last month, that their own kids might not do well in school, and in only a few more years they're going to want to drive and do we risk the family car by letting them do that, and... meanwhile kids are distracted by things like, "Who's your favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle?"  And let me note in passing that this is also something that could distract an adult -- adults just get more to worry about.  Adult might spend several hours a day after work on something, and maybe some time on the weekend.  Meanwhile, kids are spending all day every day learning new things.  More quality time spent = better, and kids just have far more time to learn anything.

I am 16 and now rated around 1800 and at this time two years ago I was under 1000. While it is clear that a point exists where it becomes tough to improve, I do not imagine that two years would make too much difference (18 vs 16). The only thing I will say is that it takes work. You need to be playing in multiple tournaments per month and spending at least an hour a day on chess studies or practice. So if you're not willing to give it that then you may not get to 2000.

And yes, for the record I am so bad at blitz that my blitz rating on this site is almost 200 points beneath my U.S.C.F. 1600 rating floor. I recently did get it close to 1600, but then I started losing points again all the way into the low 1400s. The point is that blitz chess doesn't matter, and definitely learn how to play chess before blitz. I think I'd probably be better off not playing blitz nearly as much as I do.

On average, how much did you study chess per day?

2000+ is quite a humble goal for someone with your IQ and experience in chess. Of course you'll get there. Just don't be impatient and, except for fun, avoid blitz!!