Despite what some chess sites would like us to believe....

Sam Shankland became a grandmaster while producing chess videos...

That wasn't the question, but nice try... N.B. Shankland is an employee of the site that I shall not mention....

Plenty of people have learned about different aspects of chess by watching chess videos and improved their understanding of the game. Just because the highest pinnacles of accomplishment are not obtained doesn't rule out it being a valuable resource.

Nobody has become a world class chef by watching cooking shows either. They have become better at cooking though.

In a way vicarious learning, along with practicing yourself also, is the most natural way to learn. Sometimes I wonder if perhaps everything else is a fallacy. Never underestimate your power to learn by copying others.

This way you don't need to worry about how many moves deep you should memorize in the openings, you don't need to worry about the frequency this certain ending will come up, you can just watch, and it will/should start to come.

Have you ever caught yourself speaking like someone on tv just was, or even dancing or making moves like you just saw? That's learning by imitation, and it can be very powerful.

Chess videos can't make you even master.The reason is simple.Chess needs serious study, serious study needs serious books.You can't even be a good chef  or a good driver from  videos, how can you possibly  be a good chess-player from them?

   Chess videos is the easy solution for those not capable or not willing to do what they must.And they just fool themselves believing that it is enough.At least 95% of beginners (on any chess site) are mislead and greatly confused and chess videos only make things worst.

To be fair , chess videos can help but only combined with good books and serious study.For example, only reading about opposition and critical squares is not enough , you have to see it too.Either someone will show you or a chess-video will.It's only a suplementary teaching tool and as such should be treated and not as the main source of chess knowledge.

Bingo... From my own experience, 90% of chess videos are basically a commentary on some game that is supposed to illustrate the main point.  Unfortunately, the point gets lost in irrelavancy after about 5 minutes....

 Such videos are basically time-fillers for the authors, because they get paid by the minute. Nothing puts me faster to sleep than watching such crap. 

It's Carlsen, the guy who never even used a computer until he was 10.

I'm pretty confident I'd beat magnus at soccer, so who cares :P

I sure that a lot of grandmasters watched chess videos.  I don't know how you would go about proving cause and effect.

True.

I'm sure some chess sites would love us to believe that - they have something to sell after all. However, I don't think any would make that claim, because it is frankly absurd - at least the claim that anyone could become a GM just by watching chess videos.

Whether players become masters or not, it depends on their efforts, not wheather they watched videos or not

Poor thread, I don't know of any claims that chess videos by themselves can make you a GM, but of course they help along the way.

I don't want to cool down your enthusiasm but I did not need a single video since my beginning. In fact no one need a video; the videos are optional, not necessary. Books are sufficient, in fact even less than a book could be enough; the most important thing is practice.

I think if someone uses all the resources religiously and in the right way, he can obtain roughly whatever he wants and not only in chess.

Again I will disappoint you; having played some former tournaments winners, champions, IM, GM, I would say your statement is false. To get better results, practice, learning (not necessary videos) and determination are what you need above everything. I would add patience. Other factors are, imho, secondary.

I just gave everyone the answer  ^^^^

Nobody has yet posted a more absurd statement than this one... True or False?

Chess Videos certainly are not needed.Usually the knowledge a Chess Video can give in an hour is about 5-10 minutes teaching with a human.

Chess Videos help only those that get money from them, no one else.Of course if you don't study chess from books then watching a chess video can help.But in the long run is a total waste of time and money(for those who buy them).

       Nothing is better than a good book , a chess board , and a friend that can answer your questions.In an hour, you can learn more than you can learn in 30 hours of chess videos.

      Problem is , very few know what "good book" means , even fewer add personal effort and they prefer instead to do it with an engine, and even fewer know who can answer their questions.Proof is the hundreds of topics where ignorant and confused beginners are being advised(and in many cases concinced)  by other even more ignorant and confused beginners.

Absolute subjective and arbitrary garbage. It takes the same amount of time to speak in a video and real life, you don't have to set up the position, how can it possibly be so much quicker with a book and board. Depends completely on the video.

Maybe you don't like videos, maybe they don't help you, but it doesn't make any of what you say correct.

Once again...true