According to u, What’s the best age to start playing and what’s the age that’s too late to start

There is a 95 year old man that plays in Reno. He will forever be a class D player, but his love for playing is very evident.

*There

Corrected. Thank You.

Probably like 5 or 4 for maximum brain plasticity

No. *Their. Go home and correct yourself first, 2-3 months of therapy would do It. I wish you well and I wish you a quick recovery. I believe in you, you can do it

I think that neuroplaticity is given too much emphasis. Yes, younger people can learn more quickly than older people. But that does not mean that older people cannot also learn.

i think a bigger issue is how people try to learn chess. Too many people on chess.com think that grinding rapid or blitz is the way to learn. I strongly disagree. Proper training that emphasizes concepts/principles will teach much faster than playing speed chess. And this is a kind of learning that is natural for adults.

Why then don’t more people who learn chess become masters? It is a matter of time, family, career rather than neuroplasticity.

Do you think that applies in other mind sports like competitive programming or Scrabble? Asking since you were a professor of psychology. I feel like it's much more for chess because of it's emphasis on pure pattern recognition and subconscious intuition.
 
I know Nigel Richards started at 30 and absolutely demolished everyone, but he is like the Ramanujan of Scrabble.

It's definitely plasticity and time. As an adult the ability to learn at an incredibly fast rate is diminished drastically id estimate my training effort is in the top 1% but progress is minimally slow. The absorption rate as an adult is garbage. But it's relative if you are a kid you can passively absorb most concepts very quickly. Calculation in your youth is when your at your strongest id say. Being a master is preferred in youth then at other ages the time vs investment after like 25+ is almost not worth it

I spoke about this with one of my colleagues, who is a clinical neuropsychologist. His opinion was that an 18-year-old can learn chess as well as an 8-year-old. The only difference is that it may take the 18yo somewhat longer. And, in most cases, the adult simply does not have as much time for chess as the 8yo, given school, career, family, and life in general.

i have no opinion about the areas you asked about. But I suspect the same rules of learning apply.

noooo I started at 13 i will never be GM like I always dreamed

6 or 7?

Some unknown homeless person on the street told me that he believes that the old people never learn because of their own arrogance, which grows inside them as they age and shapes the brain, makes it rigid. And I totally believe that. I think in most pple the brain gets shaped by their beliefs and experiences and this rigidity is accentuated with the desacceleration of chemical reactions happening inside, getting less and less fluid with time. I also believe It produces a certain type of personality in those same people who are stuck in their arrogance and complete lack of any ability of introspection

I learned to play chess at 11. I played off and on til I was 24. Got married, had a family, career and the usual stuff. I picked the game back up around the age of 40. All self taught and peaked briefly as a USCF A player. Took another break for 6 years, and picked it back up this past summer. Had one decent tournament considering the layoff and not practicing. Played a HORRIBLE tournament earlier this month, but decided to hire a coach. So now at 62 I have an actual coach, learning how to study properly, and have a few small goals of getting back to 1700, then 1800, then 1900, with the ultimate goal of making Expert - 2000. But I also understand that being 62 means by best years are behind me My biggest hindrance will be the fact that chess has never been a passion for. ts always just been a fun hobby. Having goals is important and I will put in the effort to try and make 2000. If I dont, life will go on.

I think it's never, "too late". The issue is, you become an adult and there are many other obligations that get in the way of serious study. I know adults who started as adults and are above 2000 rating. I also know adults whose rating stalled under 1000 because they decided to start a family. It's tough when you have to juggle chess improvement with work, bills, spouse, kids, house upkeep, yard work, etc.

You should start familiarizing yourself with how the pieces move as soon as you're out of the womb.

And, it's never too late to start.

I think fetuses should start familiarizing themselves with basic tactical patterns no later than week 24. Coaches should take advantage of the tremendous neural development that occurs at this time.

I started Chess when I was 7, and 3 years later (now), I am 1600. Starting around 12 years is hard because of middle school and homework and school projects.

There is a 92 year old in WA, and he is an NM. Even though he will probably not become a GM, but he is well respected around here.