Can Anyone Become Grandmaster?

Can anyone become grandmaster?

I mean.. Just if someone playes and learn chess and train him/herself systematically can he/her become grandmaster? Or do you have to have some gift to do that?

Yes

ofc why not, people flew to the moon, why wont anyone not be able to be gm.

the question is will it be worth the effort, if it were possible. i mean now its nice, but if you later have to decide between tons of cash and persuing your gm title. 

The answer is most likely no. In fact, this is an interesting question that has no definitive answer, but most agree that becoming a grandmaster is a combination of hard work and talent. Talent is not something you can aquire. There is one man (don't remember his name) who claims that he can do a brain scan and determine whether a person is likely to ever be able to reach the GM level. It's based on a person's activity in the long-term thinking parts of their brain. I'm not sure how accurate it is, but from what I know it's actually quite promising. If he's right and you really can determine that with just a brain scan, then the answer to this question is obviously no. As with all things there are exceptions to the rule (Judit Polgar is an interesting example), but my guess is that the answer is no.

im pretty sure the brain scan is a hoax, unless its a GM scanning the thought process of the player.

Answer = No.

Why do so many people on chess.com think they can become a GM? 

Well it's understandable why they would want to believe that. If I was told I had potential to be a GM then I would study chess much more than I do. I think people don't want to accept the fact that they aren't made for chess, and no amount of effort will make them among the best.

This is very strange. It's pretty clear that not anyone can be an NBA player or that not anyone can reach an olympic final. But when it comes to chess, many people apparently think that things are different, for whatever reason.

Couldn't agree more

how can you compare that, you know the competition is greater in nba. Its not only more fame, its also more money. And most people in the world are striving for money and fame, so probably way way eay more people compete for it. I mean if you are GM, you dont talk on Tv, you dont have hordes of women and piles of cash you know. You know probably  for 99,95 % people would be interested anyway in NBA even if they arent Basketball afficionados to beginn with.

Yes you could see it the other way around too, chess is purely passion so GM´s are already the hardcore players, but hey i dont know. I think its possible, why shouldnt it be??

Unless i see someone with my own eyes, who really has the passion for chess and really sacrifices a lot for it and doesnt become GM. Then i believe its not possible. Remember Bobby Fischer everything was second place to becoming world champion, women and everything.

If i see a person with that determination and he really put everything he had into becoming a GM and he failed, then i will believe otherwise.

No,

Not everyone has what it takes or the nerves to play chess maxmium tension,stress, extreme pressure across from you is killer you are in a real war with an opponent who will come after you and keep on coming after you relentlessly with everything he or she has got.

Can you hang in there 3 hours 4 hours how's 5 hours in front of someone like that? one mistake is all it takes and all your plans everything you've work to build poof.

i like how you dramatise it, i think you should right the chess articles from now on.

This is a false analogy.  There are thousands more GM's than there are NBA (450-500 a year), NFL (about 2000 a year) or MLB (750-900 a year) players. 

A better comparison is to scratch golfers (0 handicap).  Talent is less important in both chess and golf than hardwork and effort are.  The NBA in particular has had many very talented players who don't work hard (Joe Barry Carroll, Stanley Roberts, Benoit Benjamin come immediately to mind) but I can't think of a great golfer or a chess champion who didn't work very hard.

Once a golfer gets the basics and can break 90, he starts to think that by hitting hundreds of thousands of balls, taking hundreds of lessons and spending a fortune on clubs, he can break par, so a chess player thinks that by studying lots of books, playing in weekly tournaments and analyzing thousands of games, he can become a grandmanster.

The fact is that somwhere short of the goal, the player will loose interest or realize that the needed talent is just not there.  There is a story told about the eccentric Howard Hughes that illustrates the point.

During the 1930's when he was in Hollwood, Hughes became obessed with golf and played every day, took lessons and practiced regularly.  He asked his teacher if he continued could he win the US Open.  The teacher said no. Hughes than asked if he could win the US Amateur and was told the same.  Hughes was then told if he continued working  hard, he might win the club championship.  He then quit the game.

No.

how can you know, are you god?

How do you know my answer was "no"?  Are you god?

you know you forget always one thing, no mater if its possible or not. Most people dont even have the endurance i bet to really do the study, yes we all know titled players all study hard and stuff but i personally dont believe it.

Maybe they do and i hope they correct me if im wrong. I think they work very hard too but i believe there are very few who really go the extra mile and work more and more then the rest.

First I thought it was a weird question but everytime I see it the more profound it becomes.

The question isn't very accurate because there are a lot of factors that is involved with people's ability to become a GM or not.

Is the question asking about people as they are today with all their tendencies, experiences, and what else a person is comprised of?

Or does the question assume that people are willing to do whatever it takes to change their outlook on life, leave their "former" life to start a new one surrounding chess, change their mindset, maybe change diet, go see a life coach, maybe hypnosis if needed, etc?

I hope people can see that most people are not willing to make these changes to become a GM. But does this mean they aren't able to do so? I do believe that if people were willing to change much if not most of what they "are" that people indeed would be much more likely to reach a GM title. But the thing is some people order pizza delivery even tho the pizzaria is just across the street. xD

I would think that most people of above average intelligence, given the motivation and training, and an early start could become a master, but there's a long way between a master and a grand master.