Why It's More Noteworthy to Be Young or Old when you Hit Expert or Master

I'm in the category known as "Adult Improvers."  I also have a young son 8-years old.  Now, there's always a lot of hoopla about youngsters or child prodigies making Expert or Master at a young age.  We remember Bobby Fischer (game of the century at age 13, US champion at 14), Magnus was IGM at 13, so was Kasparov, Carissa Yip, Pradda from India, Jeffrey Xiong, Awonder Liang, etc....

Now I'm reading a fair amount about guys in their 40's and 50's (that's me) who are trying to reach Expert/Master before they pass on.  And for those who make master at such a late stage, that's a heckuva a big accomplishment!!  Because it's hard, very hard to make master at that age when starting at or below Class "B".

Now if you hit Expert or Master when you're in between being Young ( < 18) or Old ( > 45), well, that's  very good, and let's celebrate that.   But if you hit Expert/Master when you're either Young or Old, that's even bettah!

So that being said, to all the young guns out there, the old farts are going to be difficult speed bumps on your way to Expert/Master!!

It used to be thought that children didn't have the concentration level to play at high stage. Now of course we know that's baloney. It is, in my view however, more noteworthy for an older adult to reach high expert level than for child to see him/her quickly climb the ranks into masterdom.

I would agree.  Especially when you compare the numbers.  Well, if chess federations keep statistics on age, I would assume that far fewer adults hit expert or master after age 45 than the number of kids hitting 2000+ before the age of 18.