yes i agree.... most good or great players are that good cos of the studying and practice they have made..... chess is a prime example u get out of it exactly wot u put into it
This is exactly what I hope. I wanted to hear this. 
If I put enough into it, I could be a grandmaster. Not a top one, but one nonetheless. The same isn't true for basketball or football...
Is 5 hours each day in the summer and 3 in the winter enough? 
I'm 16 and ~1050 internally now, so I might have a chance to become titled... It's a longshot, but with enough practice...
Ah, then that's the answer. You're completely different from me. I don't think chess is fun at all! It's boring and tedious. I just play to improve, and getting better is the sole reason for being here.
The people who play lesser people must be people like you, who are here for fun. (how chess is associated with fun, I have no idea, but if you think so, I respect that)
but if chess for u is tedious and u wanna improve how can u do that??
a film i saw recently said "u cant improve at something all the time u look down ur nose at it" and i completely agree ... how can u sit here hour after hour and say its just for improvement?? u r here coz u wanna play chess ... fine i respect that as well but how can u expect to improve at something if u think its tedious and boring??
the best way to improve at anything is to relax and enjoy yourself with it
I would wholeheartedly agree with the first bolded part. However, I only partially agree with the second point. Yes, you need to like the game.
But, relaxation is not THE word I would put next to the greats at anything. MJ in basketball sure did not seem "relaxed" in the sense that you are seeming to use the word. That snooker player another poster while relaxed, I would argue, is not relaxed in the sense that you seem to imply. All the greats in all the games have a relaxation of the body but an INTENSE "indifferent"focus(of the mind).
I would argue relaxation of the body is key. But, the mind can not be relaxed. Back to the snooker(As an american I am much more familiar with the 9 ball, straight pool, or 8 ball example. But, it is the same none the less)
All pool, billiard or snooker players know that feeling of making a great run and then missing a dead ball. What do we attribute it to most of the time? I took it for granted(or some will even say I relaxed for a moment).
i always ask myself , "what would mr. Rogers do"? (wwmrd?) "it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood......would you, could you, be my neighbor"??? this forum just kinda made me think of that show....and i went into this stream of consciousness.......
I'm not naturally gifted at any sport, and so far as I know, chess is the only "sport" in which skill is dependent primarily upon practice, rather than inherent or physical skill.
I joined chess.com so I could improve enough to make my school's chess team next year, which I failed to do this year. The more activities you do, the more colleges you get into, so I'm just on chess.com to improve to make the school team to get into college.
Studying is boring too, but I have to do that to get into colleges too. Despite its "boringness," it is something that must be done to ensure a well-paying career.
same.
yes but again they did it coz they loved the game and had a passion for it not using chess to get ahead into some college