If a 9 year old can become a Chess Master, then ...

...maybe it's not to late for this 51 year old guy. The 9 year old boy didn't start to learn chess at birth, did he? And even if he did, I could still make Chess Master by age 60. :)

LINK http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40777043/ns/us_news-life/?gt1=43001

In case this link goes bad over time, here's the full article. I found it inspirational, as this young boy and I both hail from the golden state of California.  Enjoy.

California boy, 9, is youngest U.S. chess 'master'

Family is from Armenia where 'players are compared to rock stars'

A 9-year-old California boy has become the youngest-ever chess "master" in the United States.

Samuel Sevian, of Santa Clara, earned the title after a match in San Francisco.

The United States Chess Federation, the governing body of competitive chess, gave him a rating of 2,201 after the Dec. 11 match. A rating of 2,200 qualifies a player as a "national master."

Samuel achieved the rating at the age of 9 years, 11 months and 15 days, according to the The San Jose Mercury News.

He beat the previous record-holder for youngest chess master, Nicholas Nip, of San Francisco, by 11 days.

It's not the first record for the fourth-grader at Don Callejon School, who turns 10 on Sunday. Samuel also was the youngest person to reach the previous chess level of "expert" when he was 8.

The federation's ultimate title is that of "senior master" for ratings of 2,400 and up.

"It feels good,'' Samuel told the Mercury News. "I like the tactics and the combinations," he added, describing his interest in the game.

Better than dad
His father Armen Sevian, 37, a physicist who works developing lasers in Santa Clara, said his son now had a higher rating than him. Sevian senior has only achieved the expert rating, the paper said.

He and his son play chess together, the Mercury News reported, but the boy's mother Armine Sevian, 37, and sister Isabelle, 8, do not. Isabelle prefers playing the violin and dancing. "Every attempt to teach her to play chess fails," Sevian said.

Samuel's other interests include reading and playing soccer, the paper said.

Samuel's coach, the international master Andranik Matikozyan, of Los Angeles, said he had met the boy three years ago at a tournament in Santa Monica.

"When I saw him playing, I was amazed. I thought, 'This kid is really talented,'" he said, according to the Mercury News.

The Sevian family is from Armenia where chess is "very big," Sevian senior told the paper.

"It's certainly not a geek sport," he added. "Chess players are compared to rock stars."

Amazing - a 10-year-old with a FIDE rating of 2100 ... The closest I know personally is an 8-year-old with an ECF rating of 117 (#2 U8 in England).

The newspaper says that the boy was 9 years, 11 months and 15 days when his rating hit 2201 after a match on December 11. It makes him the youngest person to reach chess master in the USA by 11 days, beating a previous record holder from San Francisco.

He should still be 9, if my math is correct, since it is only December 22.

Interesting. California has produced some very young chess masters.

I played him a month ago, very talented child of course and a very nice family. I am sure he will reach at least an IM level

A small world.

What opening did both of you choose to play?

We played in a last round of a local tournament. I was having a pretty good tournament so far, drew 2250 and beat IM. I didn't want to get into theoretical duel with Samuel so played b3. I had the feeling that he didn't know this opening that well but he played some solid moves and position was even throughout opening and middlegame. Then I went for a sharp tactical variation in a time trouble, missed a counter attack and lost :)

Kid has Skillz 

I have played a lot of young kids around Sam's age and they all look for tactics and lack positional understanding. What they have to their advantage is a clear head and no worries about kids, wives and jobs

That makes sense. Kids would see chess as a game, unlike someone like me who sees it as some life problem to solve.

In the article, Sam metioned that he liked tactics and combinations. It sounds like he is having fun. He will see the need for a deeper understanding of positions down the road. Heck, he already knows a gazillion more about positional chess than I do, but then I won't need to beat GM's on a regular basis. He will.

Josh Waitzkin didn't make master till he was 13.

16.5 is already old for the GM goal, unless one is already well on the way.

Go for USCF Expert and if you get there look around and see how the GM goal looks then.

I know a lot of people on here don't believe this, but if you don't have the talent for it, it doesn't matter how young you are, you won't become one, no matter how much you study.

It takes BOTH hard work and talent.

your missing the point:  Most GMs start playing very young (such that, by the age of 16, they are allready strong players.)

...someone learning the game from sratch at age 20 and then going on to become a GM is practically unheard of. 

...so while 22 isnt too late for a mathmatician, it propably is for a chess grandmaster.

You didn't comprehend at all. Try again.

Carlsen a the age of 7 could recall from memory (get this) all the countries in the world, their size, population and flags. In his training he would be shown a chess position, and would indicate from memory who the players were, the year, where it was played and the result. It sounds like he has a photographic memory. 

...looks like a healthy memory is also needed to be a Master at this game.

My topic is about a 9 year old boy who made Chess Master, not Grand Master, but I do agree with you in that at age 51, I have no chance of becoming a Grand Master.

In the topic header, adding the boys age to my age to arrive at 60 causes me to ponder. Can I reach chess master by age 60?   To do so, I believe I would need to win the lottery, quit my job and spend the rest of my waking hours on chess to earn the title of CM in 9 years. 

I see becoming a chess master as something requiring an enormous amount of time and effort to aquire the necessary set of skills, especially when one does not have the talent of a Magnus Carlsen. A huge amount of talent would simply shorten the time required to become a chess master.

To become an IM or GM, I believe talent becomes more of a factor.

Last, I don't think anyone can become a chess master without some talent, just like anything else in life. I suck at basketball, never made the team after trying out for three straight years, and no amount of coaching can change that fact.

Don't you know that in order to be good at basketball, you need to have a basketball JONES?

lol

Leonid Stein, a 4-time Soviet Union champion I believe; he lived during the 1960's or so and played guys like Fischer, Petrosian, etc, and was always considered a very dangerous player, and was a very strong GM. Well, he only learned how to move his pieces at 17. He was also very talented. I would say if you start before 20 it's still possible to become a GM. If after 30 though, the habits you have; can be unfortunately bad habits, it gets progressively much harder to make significant improvements, but with a very strong well it is still possible; maybe not GM but certainly master is possible with a very strong desire and a clear plan on how to do it.

Alex