#1
"Are there any GM's who started playing at least age of 13 or 14" ++ Yes, several started later
"who did not drop out of middle school or high school" ++ Yes, several have university degrees
"have no Girlfriend" ++ Yes, several are married with children
"you need to play 8 hours a day to have improvement" ++ For GM, yes, for improvement, no
I am saying this because i know that you need to play 8 hours a day to have improvement
I played chess only on rare occasions, sometimes less than a dozen games a year, and I made it as far as (over-the-board) Champion of the four Atlantic Provinces of Canada, back in the 1980s.
i read about some FM in chessbaseindia who later became a GM but after studying as he considered studying his top priority in college. there are also GM's like ben finegold who i think got it late but not sure though yeah i mean it depends but its definitely something there
also a recent chess.com article reviewed a person with no sight achieving the title, just beautiful
also a recent chess.com article reviewed a person with no sight achieving the title, just beautiful
Amazing! Link?
Grandmasters can start late. The reason most don't is adults have to work for a living and lack the time to study enough. Also, if a kid does study a lot and fail to excel, it is more likely they won't excel later either. Also, if you drink or eat unhealthy, your brain won't be as sharp. Most people take 10 years or more of unhealthy lifestyle to reduce their maximum capacity. That is part of why world champions peak while young. The other reason is they already reached their goal and have less to prove.
If you never had time to study before, or were doing it wrong, and now at an older age you want to be a grandmaster, and you eat healthy, give it a shot. Just be aware most people can't become one. And many who could are afraid to take the risk of all that studying without knowing in advance that it will pay the bills. If you won the lottery, go for it.
Be aware, the reason so few people are 2000+ is not because most tried and failed. It is because most people have other priorities. If you break 2000, most people will assume you just spend a lot of time on chess. Others will also assume you are intelligent. If you reach grandmaster, everyone will know you are intelligent and hardworking, but the main job you'll qualify for is chess coach or tournament winner. Grandmaster might get you hired or trained elsewhere, but you still have to put in the work all over again to learn other jobs well.
At least as a grandmaster, women will know you are smart. Just don't fall behind too far in other areas, or they will think you only have chess potential.
also a recent chess.com article reviewed a person with no sight achieving the title, just beautiful
IIRC he wasn't born blind, and even after getting the title still isn't completely blind.
i read about some FM in chessbaseindia who later became a GM but after studying as he considered studying his top priority in college. there are also GM's like ben finegold who i think got it late but not sure though yeah i mean it depends but its definitely something there
Yeah, Finegold got GM at or after age 40... but was a strong IM at like, 18 years old so... lol.
Mostly it means that you have to travel to Europe to get the title and he couldn't afford it / didn't think it was worth it.
Grandmasters can start late.
It sounds nice to say, but it doesn't happen in reality so... mostly it's just a nice thought.
I think when you reach a certain age and your brain becomes fully formed, it's pretty rare if not impossible to achieve GM. You have to start developing your chess brain really early. How early I have no idea but I think after the age of 10-11 it becomes increasingly difficult. I don't think there's any documented persons that have reached the GM title after starting as an adult. Someone please prove me wrong!
I have an interest in psychology and although it is true that your brain has a period it absorbs information really well (circa age 3-5) and another time period where most developmental functioning from birth stops maturing (roughly late teens to mid-twenties), the brain actually never stops "adapting" and "restructuring." Any age can learn and the brain can literally restructure itself accordingly.
I've heard of some GMs who began chess in their 20s or 30s, but I can't remember any specific names/hyperlinks (I read this in some articles years ago).
However, there are many famous chess players who began "late" based on what one defines as "late." Howard Staunton didn't begin chess seriously until his mid-twenties.
Mikhail Chigorin learned the rules of chess from a school teacher at age 16, but didn't take up chess until he was 24 (he finished his schooling education to become a government officer before he got into chess).
Akiba Rubinstein also didn't devote himself to chess until his twenties. He was 23 years old when he decided to devote himself to chess (although Rubinstein did begin relatively late learning chess at age 14).
I'm sure there are other examples although I will admit that most of the examples I found were not "modern" players.
However, what does seem more common is a chess player learning the rules very young, hardly ever playing and then "taking up chess" sometime after 18 to about mid-20s. This is merely a common trend I see, although I'm sure outlier examples exist. There are also many cases when players begin chess early in life, but finally make a master title much later in life (like say after 50) as this version of "late blooming."
I guess the moral of the story is that it is never too late to improve and maybe even a master title is possible, but GM specifically is such an elite of an elite level that ANY age is statistically unlikely to reach this ability, so it just so happens that the few who do typically began very young. I wouldn't go as far as to say it is a requirement though.
I've heard of some GMs who began chess in their 20s or 30s, but I can't remember any specific names
Well, you're going to have to remember, because this topic has been repeated often over the last 10 years, and no one has ever come up with a name.
Chigorin and Finegold are often mentioned, but neither of them count for obvious reasons.
There's some Chinese player that people mention. The wiki gives no source, just casually mentions he didn't learn until age 18 or something (which is silly, because as the only modern GM to claim this we need more than that).
I've heard of some GMs who began chess in their 20s or 30s, but I can't remember any specific names
Well, you're going to have to remember, because this topic has been repeated often over the last 10 years, and no one has ever come up with a name.
Chigorin and Finegold are often mentioned, but neither of them count for obvious reasons.
There's some Chinese player that people mention. The wiki gives no source, just casually mentions he didn't learn until age 18 or something (which is silly, because as the only modern GM to claim this we need more than that).
In modern times, the closest is this guy probably:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ye_Jiangchuan
Though it is not really 20s or 30s.
I've heard of some GMs who began chess in their 20s or 30s, but I can't remember any specific names
Well, you're going to have to remember, because this topic has been repeated often over the last 10 years, and no one has ever come up with a name.
Chigorin and Finegold are often mentioned, but neither of them count for obvious reasons.
There's some Chinese player that people mention. The wiki gives no source, just casually mentions he didn't learn until age 18 or something (which is silly, because as the only modern GM to claim this we need more than that).
I'm sure some GM must exist statistically. Like I said, it was many years ago I read this (maybe my memory on it isn't perfect), but I was pretty sure they did include some name(s). The hunt is on xD
theres a rumor out there that im friend started like 4 yrs ago...& hes as old as the beetles. tho he haznt made gm quite yet, his opening repatwower is definitely elevated to the highest title.
I've heard of some GMs who began chess in their 20s or 30s, but I can't remember any specific names
Well, you're going to have to remember, because this topic has been repeated often over the last 10 years, and no one has ever come up with a name.
Chigorin and Finegold are often mentioned, but neither of them count for obvious reasons.
There's some Chinese player that people mention. The wiki gives no source, just casually mentions he didn't learn until age 18 or something (which is silly, because as the only modern GM to claim this we need more than that).
In modern times, the closest is this guy probably:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ye_Jiangchuan
Though it is not really 20s or 30s.
Yeah that's the guy I was talking about.
If, for example, he was playing xiangqi from a young age, then learned international chess at 17, that doesn't really count now does it.
also a recent chess.com article reviewed a person with no sight achieving the title, just beautiful
Amazing! Link?
https://www.chess.com/news/view/visually-impaired-daniel-pulvett-grandmaster-norm
31 year old visually impaired Daniel Pulvett
Yeah that's the guy I was talking about.
If, for example, he was playing xiangqi from a young age, then learned international chess at 17, that doesn't really count now does it.
Ehum, I know nothing about mandarin, cantonese or any other language used in China but this wiki version: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%8F%B6%E6%B1%9F%E5%B7%9D does have a link to what appears to be xiangqi and year 1974. If that means he started playing in a club or learned for the first time, I have no idea.
Everyone is saying how grandmasters had to play at the age of 5 to 7 to achieve a GM Title. But tell me. Are there any GM's who started playing at least age of 13 or 14 who did not drop out of middle school or high school and litteraly have no Girlfriend to play chess?
Edit: I am saying this because i know that you need to play 8 hours a day to have improvement