Good thread. What would be most interesting and helful is to know what Naka attributes to his big jumps in rating.For example from 1846 to expert and then to master.Then all the way to a performance rating of over 2600.

it would be great to know how he trained during this period.

Alexlaw, your first statement of not having the time is certainly accurate. Especially if you aren't in your teens. People of my age with jobs, wives, kids, two yards to mow and trim, cars to repair, etc truly don't have the time to study as much as we would like. So, young people take note: if you are going to become really good at this amazing game, you have to start young! Of course, I believe it's the same with whatever you want to excel at, be it chess, baseball, football, or whatever. 

who really cares about someones chess rating ? Over time u will win games that are amazing, and u will blunder away games .It's a game of ups and downs. Great ? SURE ! But still just a game.....Name calling, resentment or jealousy are out of line.

cool

Excellent accomplishment!  I'm sure his parents are very proud of him.  Much of the credit goes to Sunil Weeramantry, his step father.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikaru_Nakamura

His record against leading GMs speaks for itself:

Head-to-head record versus top players

(Rapid, blitz and blindfold games not included; listed as +wins −losses =draws as of January 9, 2012.)^[56]
Players who have been World Champion in boldface

Some answering this thread have said that they don't have enough time to study. Quite understandble. OK, so how can we learn from Naka's assent to greatness ( or any other great player for that matter) to use the time we do have to study most wisely?

Of course, having a strong chess player and teacher for a Dad certainly helped a lot. Perhaps some guidance from a teacher so you can identify your weakness and hone in on them would be one lesson to learn.

My Dad was an expert in biochemistry. I had my first chemistry lesson when I was 5. I worked through college chemistry with him from 9-11. Even though I don't have a degree in chemistry, it is easier for me to analyze certain problems than a lot of people who work in the field. I guess it is the same way for Naka in chess.

Sunil has the perfect character and personality as a chess teacher; friendly, open-minded, brilliant, was a senior master himself. His family was from Sri Lanka. 

Very few people have the perseverence to be in the top 1% in any given field.  It takes great devotion and sacrifice to be the best and stay on top. And there are dozens of various talented GMs eager to beat those on top by whatever legal means. 

That's great, but this news doesn't have any affect on my game.

To improve faster, I think it is valuable to find a chess teacher you really like and take a lesson or two -- more if you have the time and money. Make sure you are honest with them and concentrate on explaining your weaknesses. A good teacher will suggest a series of exercises that will help you improve what you need most.

I had lessons from Joseph Platz, Filip Frenkel, Larry D. Evans, Jay Bonin, Sergey Kudrin, Sunil Weeremantry and a couple others.  They were all great.  None encouraged speed chess, too bad I can't give that addiction up...

Did you improve wih any of these teachers? If so, what ideas did you really benefit from?

Dr. Platz played very solid chess, like Lasker, who he studied under; strong tactics if you look at some of his games which are online. Frenkel was a brilliant tactician.  He specialized in super-sharp postions with tactical lines that would keep the opponent on the defensive.  He recommended trying to go through ECO's book on GM and Master tactics with various themes as a path to becoming a master.  LD Evans had a lucid style, I took one lesson with him so cannot speak to his special ability. Bonin liked Pachman's books on strategy and follows his method.  Sunil struck me as a very practical teacher, liking to give the student openings to follow with standard tactical plays with excellent chances.  GM Kudrin strongly recommends Nunn's books for improvement. 

I answered this thread this morning, but somehow, it did not save.

First, thank you for your very thoughtful and helpful reply. We need more  communication like yours on these forums!

I have had only one chess lesson so far. It was with NM Dan Heisman who is known for his interest in teaching, a prerequisite, I believe, for a being a good teacher. He took time to analyze my weaknesses, First he looked at my games and suggested that some of the variations I am playing with white are weak and suggested others.

Then he evaluated my various skills and found that my board vision could stand improvement, so he suggested exercises to improve that. I left with additional homework to improve my chess play overall.

I benefitted enormously from this lesson and found it fun to be a student again. I will likely take additional lessons, when I feel I have thoroughly integrated all of Dan's ideas into my play.

Towards that end, I  like  the tactics training software that comes with membership here. I imagine I will discover more tools, as I have only been a member for a few weeks, Software that's interactive is so much better for learning than just working from a book.