World champion title is not impressive anymore. You must aim for the GOAT. Don't even bother about a CM or FM. Start directly from a GM and subscribe to youtube motivational speeches.
@SilentGhost3625 said in #17:
> 10,000 hours generally depends on the person and it doesn't tell you how you are spending that time. I am 18 and am at 1600 like a majority of players. I don't know how to go beyond this on lichess. Of course, the only things that people told me were how much time to spend and not how to actually advance or at least, train to advance. In reality, all people told me in my opinion was how not to advance. I want to know what I should be doing rather than what to aim for and how long it would take. I get there when I get there. Doesn't say if or how long it's when.
If you want to make it to the top then you have to do everything. Read books and learn stuff. Play quality games and analyze them carefully to understand what you're doing wrong. Play more quality games being mindful of avoiding the mistakes you discovered in those analyses. Hone your tactics to the max. Build a solid opening repertoire and keep an eye on top level games so you can keep it updated. Get used to the many nuances of playing OTB by acquiring experience in tournaments. The things you have to do are nothing secret; you just have to do them with a lot of effort and consistency for a couple decades.
Then you're gonna need opportunities and/or money. You can't get norms if you don't go to strong tournaments (regardless of how good you are), and going there costs money. I imagine that it's a bit cheaper if you live in Europe, but otherwise I'm eyeballing that you're gonna need to fork about 360k USD during the next 15 years in traveling to tournaments. Of course your mileage may vary; I'm assuming that you're traveling to play every single month and going with an average price I got from some website, so I don't know how good that number is. In any case, another thing you need is a lot of free time, which is gonna become more and more precious as you grow up. Not to scare you or anything, but in a couple years you'll understand what I meant.
Make the most of the opportunities you have. For example, if you're going to college maybe there's a chess team there, and if you're their top player maybe they send you to tournaments in other parts of the country four or five times a year. Maybe they're not tournaments where you can get GM norms, but they're tournaments and they're free, so you might as well play them. It also makes sense to break down your goals into easier ones. Instead of aiming for GM you could aim for the NM title of your country, and that's a goal you could achieve with only local tournaments and in under 10 years for sure. You can always start working towards international titles after you get that one. All of this assumes that you're good enough at playing though, so yeah, the first step is getting good. Chop-chop kid.
> 10,000 hours generally depends on the person and it doesn't tell you how you are spending that time. I am 18 and am at 1600 like a majority of players. I don't know how to go beyond this on lichess. Of course, the only things that people told me were how much time to spend and not how to actually advance or at least, train to advance. In reality, all people told me in my opinion was how not to advance. I want to know what I should be doing rather than what to aim for and how long it would take. I get there when I get there. Doesn't say if or how long it's when.
If you want to make it to the top then you have to do everything. Read books and learn stuff. Play quality games and analyze them carefully to understand what you're doing wrong. Play more quality games being mindful of avoiding the mistakes you discovered in those analyses. Hone your tactics to the max. Build a solid opening repertoire and keep an eye on top level games so you can keep it updated. Get used to the many nuances of playing OTB by acquiring experience in tournaments. The things you have to do are nothing secret; you just have to do them with a lot of effort and consistency for a couple decades.
Then you're gonna need opportunities and/or money. You can't get norms if you don't go to strong tournaments (regardless of how good you are), and going there costs money. I imagine that it's a bit cheaper if you live in Europe, but otherwise I'm eyeballing that you're gonna need to fork about 360k USD during the next 15 years in traveling to tournaments. Of course your mileage may vary; I'm assuming that you're traveling to play every single month and going with an average price I got from some website, so I don't know how good that number is. In any case, another thing you need is a lot of free time, which is gonna become more and more precious as you grow up. Not to scare you or anything, but in a couple years you'll understand what I meant.
Make the most of the opportunities you have. For example, if you're going to college maybe there's a chess team there, and if you're their top player maybe they send you to tournaments in other parts of the country four or five times a year. Maybe they're not tournaments where you can get GM norms, but they're tournaments and they're free, so you might as well play them. It also makes sense to break down your goals into easier ones. Instead of aiming for GM you could aim for the NM title of your country, and that's a goal you could achieve with only local tournaments and in under 10 years for sure. You can always start working towards international titles after you get that one. All of this assumes that you're good enough at playing though, so yeah, the first step is getting good. Chop-chop kid.
I would start by beating the masters, then beating the international masters (have I got it the right way round?), then go three rounds with a grandmaster. Then invite him to a game.
"... the NM title is an honor that only one percent of USCF members attain. ..." - IM John Donaldson (2015)
web.archive.org/web/20220625175407/https://www.jeremysilman.com/book-review/reaching-the-top/
"... born Jan-05-1952, ... GM Leif Øgaard was awarded the IM title in 1974. ... He got his final GM norm in 2007."
www.chessgames.com/player/leif_ogaard.html
"... SIMON KIM WILLIAMS ... born Nov-30-1979 ... IM (1997); GM (2007). ..."
www.chessgames.com/player/simon_kim_williams.html
"... Kaufman, Lawrence ... B-Year: 1947 ... International Master (IM) 1980" "... Grandmaster (GM) 2008 ..."
ratings.fide.com/profile/2000555
"... GARY W LANE ... born Nov-04-1964 ... became an International Master in 1987 ..."
www.chessgames.com/player/gary_w_lane.html
IM (in 2001) Willy Hendriks
players.chessbase.com/en/player/Hendriks_Willy/104362
IM (in 1990) Boris Zlotznik
players.chessbase.com/en/player/Zlotnik_Boris%20A/292197
"To become a grandmaster is very difficult and can take quite a long time! ... you need to ... solve many exercises, analyse your games, study classic games, modern games, have an opening repertoire and so on. Basically, it is hard work ... It takes a lot more than just reading books to become a grandmaster I am afraid." - GM Artur Yusupov (2013)
www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/QandAwithArturYusupovQualityChessAugust2013.pdf
"... Many aspiring young chess players dream of one day becoming a grandmaster and a professional. ... But ... a profession must bring in at least a certain regular income even if one is not too demanding. ... The usual prize money in Open tournaments is meagre. ... The higher the prizes, the greater the competition. ... With a possibly not very high and irregular income for several decades the amount of money one can save for old age remains really modest. ... Anyone who wants to reach his maximum must concentrate totally on chess. That involves important compromises with or giving up on his education. ... it is a question of personal life planning and when deciding it is necessary to be fully conscious of the various possibilities, limitations and risks. ... a future professional must really love chess and ... be prepared to work very hard for it. ... It is all too frequent that a wrong evaluation is made of what a talented player can achieve. ... Most players have the potential for a certain level; once they have reached it they can only make further progress with a great effort. ... anyone who is unlikely to attain a high playing strength should on no account turn professional. ... Anyone who does not meet these top criteria can only try to earn his living with public appearances, chess publishing or activity as a trainer. But there is a lack of offers and these are not particularly well paid. For jobs which involve appearing in public, moreover, certain non-chess qualities are required. ... a relevant 'stage presence' and required sociability. ... All these jobs and existences, moreover, have hanging above them the sword of Damocles of general economic conditions. ... around [age] 40 chess players ... find that their performances are noticeably tailing off. ..." - from a 12 page chapter on becoming a chess professional in the book, Luther's Chess Reformation by GM Thomas Luther (2016)
www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/LuthersChessReformation-excerpt.pdf
"... I have always wanted to be a chess master. ... As I plod along my chosen path over the coming months, I will share with you what I am doing to improve at chess, ..." (September 11, 2012)
"Before getting into the nitty-gritty of how one should train to become a chess master, perhaps it is proper to address why. ... being a chess master does have a certain cachet. ..." (September 18, 2012)
"... After spending a couple of weeks alone in my study looking at chess books, with only the cat checking on my progress, I can tell you a certain existential angst occasionally creeps in along with the cat. ..." (September 25, 2012)
"My self-directed chess studies continue. ... I have never worked so hard at chess with so little payoff in the short run. ... But enough whining. I have begun a chess experiment, with myself as the subject, and I will see it through. ..." (October 2, 2012)
"... Without exception, whenever I have spent a few weeks studying hard, and then played in a few tournaments, my game has shown noticeable improvement. ... The biggest obstacle to chess improvement is ... maintaining your focus on chess for a sustained period of time ... however long it takes to reach your chess goals. ... there are many interesting, fun, and worthwhile things to do in this world besides play chess. ..." (July 9, 2013)
chessimprover.com/category/tim-hanke/
http://www.uschess.org/datapage/ratings_graph.php?memid=10135273
web.archive.org/web/20220625175407/https://www.jeremysilman.com/book-review/reaching-the-top/
"... born Jan-05-1952, ... GM Leif Øgaard was awarded the IM title in 1974. ... He got his final GM norm in 2007."
www.chessgames.com/player/leif_ogaard.html
"... SIMON KIM WILLIAMS ... born Nov-30-1979 ... IM (1997); GM (2007). ..."
www.chessgames.com/player/simon_kim_williams.html
"... Kaufman, Lawrence ... B-Year: 1947 ... International Master (IM) 1980" "... Grandmaster (GM) 2008 ..."
ratings.fide.com/profile/2000555
"... GARY W LANE ... born Nov-04-1964 ... became an International Master in 1987 ..."
www.chessgames.com/player/gary_w_lane.html
IM (in 2001) Willy Hendriks
players.chessbase.com/en/player/Hendriks_Willy/104362
IM (in 1990) Boris Zlotznik
players.chessbase.com/en/player/Zlotnik_Boris%20A/292197
"To become a grandmaster is very difficult and can take quite a long time! ... you need to ... solve many exercises, analyse your games, study classic games, modern games, have an opening repertoire and so on. Basically, it is hard work ... It takes a lot more than just reading books to become a grandmaster I am afraid." - GM Artur Yusupov (2013)
www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/QandAwithArturYusupovQualityChessAugust2013.pdf
"... Many aspiring young chess players dream of one day becoming a grandmaster and a professional. ... But ... a profession must bring in at least a certain regular income even if one is not too demanding. ... The usual prize money in Open tournaments is meagre. ... The higher the prizes, the greater the competition. ... With a possibly not very high and irregular income for several decades the amount of money one can save for old age remains really modest. ... Anyone who wants to reach his maximum must concentrate totally on chess. That involves important compromises with or giving up on his education. ... it is a question of personal life planning and when deciding it is necessary to be fully conscious of the various possibilities, limitations and risks. ... a future professional must really love chess and ... be prepared to work very hard for it. ... It is all too frequent that a wrong evaluation is made of what a talented player can achieve. ... Most players have the potential for a certain level; once they have reached it they can only make further progress with a great effort. ... anyone who is unlikely to attain a high playing strength should on no account turn professional. ... Anyone who does not meet these top criteria can only try to earn his living with public appearances, chess publishing or activity as a trainer. But there is a lack of offers and these are not particularly well paid. For jobs which involve appearing in public, moreover, certain non-chess qualities are required. ... a relevant 'stage presence' and required sociability. ... All these jobs and existences, moreover, have hanging above them the sword of Damocles of general economic conditions. ... around [age] 40 chess players ... find that their performances are noticeably tailing off. ..." - from a 12 page chapter on becoming a chess professional in the book, Luther's Chess Reformation by GM Thomas Luther (2016)
www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/LuthersChessReformation-excerpt.pdf
"... I have always wanted to be a chess master. ... As I plod along my chosen path over the coming months, I will share with you what I am doing to improve at chess, ..." (September 11, 2012)
"Before getting into the nitty-gritty of how one should train to become a chess master, perhaps it is proper to address why. ... being a chess master does have a certain cachet. ..." (September 18, 2012)
"... After spending a couple of weeks alone in my study looking at chess books, with only the cat checking on my progress, I can tell you a certain existential angst occasionally creeps in along with the cat. ..." (September 25, 2012)
"My self-directed chess studies continue. ... I have never worked so hard at chess with so little payoff in the short run. ... But enough whining. I have begun a chess experiment, with myself as the subject, and I will see it through. ..." (October 2, 2012)
"... Without exception, whenever I have spent a few weeks studying hard, and then played in a few tournaments, my game has shown noticeable improvement. ... The biggest obstacle to chess improvement is ... maintaining your focus on chess for a sustained period of time ... however long it takes to reach your chess goals. ... there are many interesting, fun, and worthwhile things to do in this world besides play chess. ..." (July 9, 2013)
chessimprover.com/category/tim-hanke/
http://www.uschess.org/datapage/ratings_graph.php?memid=10135273
have a look at this game: youtu.be/yUg4p9JduTU
Yeah, no one ask how NOT to become a GM
The 10k hour rule to become an expert is no fixed rule. But this time, if really used with dedication, can get you somewhere. But GM is quite a stretch from the usual expert in any other field.
Take a professional aspiring player, they will probably invest 2000 hours a year in chess. After five years, nobody is a GM.
If you started really young and got premium coaching, you might do it in 8-10 years. Usually it takes longer. Especially if you did not start out at five years and have a sponsor for coaches and travels,
Take a professional aspiring player, they will probably invest 2000 hours a year in chess. After five years, nobody is a GM.
If you started really young and got premium coaching, you might do it in 8-10 years. Usually it takes longer. Especially if you did not start out at five years and have a sponsor for coaches and travels,
@nadjarostowa said in #28:
> The 10k hour rule to become an expert is no fixed rule. But this time, if really used with dedication, can get you somewhere. But GM is quite a stretch from the usual expert in any other field.
Even if the 10k rule holds for most chess players, does that 10k get you GM, or just IM or perhaps just NM?
> The 10k hour rule to become an expert is no fixed rule. But this time, if really used with dedication, can get you somewhere. But GM is quite a stretch from the usual expert in any other field.
Even if the 10k rule holds for most chess players, does that 10k get you GM, or just IM or perhaps just NM?
@SilentGhost3625 said in #1:
You can become pretty good by grinding, but you cant become a GM by grinding alone. There are only a few born with outstanding spacial memory and extremely high IQ.
Its like wanting to be a top NBA player, but you if you are a skinny 1.65 mts, chances are you wont even make it to the G-League.
Some lucky biological factors have a lot to do.
As far as physical training, you dont need one, you have chess alone. The brain is the organ that consumes the most amount of calories in the body. As long as you keep your mind busy with complex problems, you will be fit, so long you have a balanced diet, though any kind of physical activity to relief stress is recommended, that is up to you.
And for training, I did 4 hours a day for 6-8 months. Its probably the most exhausting and taxing thing I have ever done.
For a GM that needs to maintain its level, its probably 8-12 hours a day.
So you dont only have to be mentally gifted, which you probably are not. You need to have an outstanding passion for the game above everything else, which you probably dont have it either.
Chess has to be your life. Only a few select people are like that. Probably only a few thousand on the world per generation.
That doesnt mean you cant aim for NM, FM or IM, but that is probably like 4-6 hours a day dedicated to chess a day for the entirety of the chess career. But i can tell you, its torture.
You can become pretty good by grinding, but you cant become a GM by grinding alone. There are only a few born with outstanding spacial memory and extremely high IQ.
Its like wanting to be a top NBA player, but you if you are a skinny 1.65 mts, chances are you wont even make it to the G-League.
Some lucky biological factors have a lot to do.
As far as physical training, you dont need one, you have chess alone. The brain is the organ that consumes the most amount of calories in the body. As long as you keep your mind busy with complex problems, you will be fit, so long you have a balanced diet, though any kind of physical activity to relief stress is recommended, that is up to you.
And for training, I did 4 hours a day for 6-8 months. Its probably the most exhausting and taxing thing I have ever done.
For a GM that needs to maintain its level, its probably 8-12 hours a day.
So you dont only have to be mentally gifted, which you probably are not. You need to have an outstanding passion for the game above everything else, which you probably dont have it either.
Chess has to be your life. Only a few select people are like that. Probably only a few thousand on the world per generation.
That doesnt mean you cant aim for NM, FM or IM, but that is probably like 4-6 hours a day dedicated to chess a day for the entirety of the chess career. But i can tell you, its torture.
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