Adult chess players improvement...

Hi Guys,

I just want to ask if you guys know how can an adult chess player be a professional chess player to grandmaster or International master... in Short how can an adult chess player(a player who started playing competitive chess at an adult age) attain such title...?

just wondering... if an adult has a chance of attaining such title... 'cause some players says that if cannot get a gm title of about age of 20 then you will be an amature for the rest of your life...

if that's true its like unfair Right... what do you think...? I am 24 years old now but still not played competitive chess because theirs no chess clubs and tournaments on our place... and I must find a job thats why I did not have a chance to be a professional player... Its sad on my part because I cannot do anything I want to do ... I know I have the talent but the experience  nope I don't. sometimes I think my talent in chess goes down... Maybe I will be an amature for the rest of my life....

Life is so unfair... sometimes I wish my dad had tought me chess at an early age... :(

Please help me I want to be a Professional chess player But still dont know where to start...

well, perhaps instead of whining about dad not doing stuff for you, start making yourself what you want to be. an important thing you need to do as an adult player, I myself didn't start playing chess until 17, is to drop your ego and start fresh in chess. Learn your fundamentals. So many players want opening secrets or secret formulas to win the game for them. Chess is won by hard work!  All complex ideas are made of the basic fundamental ideas. A chess game is won when the king is attacked by more force than he can defend himself with. Read that sentence again. The whole of the chess game is each player trying to upset the balance of force so that they have the necessary majority of force. How good you become at chess is up to you. I put forth mediocre effort myself, so I have a mediocre national standing (1560). More important is to put as much effort into chess as is comfortable and enjoyable for you. A national or international title is pointless if you are not having fun.

Crawl before you walk before you run, man. Just enjoy the game.

 

Nice message Negoba! ;)

If you are serious about wanting to be a chess professional the first thing you should do is move to Europe, where there is far more "opportunity" of becoming one. After you have done that you will have to work very hard on chess, and even with the hard work if you dont have talent for chess you are not likely to become IM or GM. I dont think everyone who wants to be IM or GM can do it, in fact very few can it seems.

  theplayer,  why do you want to be a chess professional?   Being a chess professional is not as glamorous as you think.  It means lugging your luggage to far off distant countries and staying in cheap hotels to compete in International tournaments to make your mark there!  If you can make the grade, good. Most can't make it.  Even if you have made the grade and become an  IM, you still have to fight your way to brcome a GM. Do  you know how difficult it is to get an IM norm?  You have to achieve this 3 times, before you are awarded your IM title, let alone your GM norm.  A chess professional life is a lonely one, living all alone away from your family and loved ones, most of the time! Do you want this kind of life for your self?  You should read Victor Korchnoi's book "Chess is My Life" before deciding!  Believe me, I have been there and came back empty handed.

http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/too-old-for-chess

I am 28 years old and have learned a little bit of the basics from my dad. I am learning a lot on this site. I am improving my chess skills.A good chess coach will help you practice. besides that practice a lot against equal of lower rated players. You will gain experience.

I think, becoming a good chess player is becoming an experienced one.

for example,I have read that space is important. But I saw the importance of this statement whenmy chess coach blocked my pieces. alsmost none of my pieces could move without being captured. Then I understood it and I did not make that mistake again.

It is really not practical.  You can always sign up for tournamants, though.  To most of the public, chess associations are almost a secret society, far less popular than sports.  Also, don't forget to play online, it is a great equalizer and let you know if it is worth moving to Europe.

PawnFork wrote:

It is really not practical.  You can always sign up for tournamants, though.  To most of the public, chess associations are almost a secret society, far less popular than sports.  Also, don't forget to play online, it is a great equalizer and let you know if it is worth moving to Europe.

---

How does playing online tell one anything about Europe and chess there? If he want to get IM or GM title that has absolutely nothing to do with online play. These titles are earned through otb play and the best opportunity for otb play where "norms" can be earned for IM and/or GM titles are in Europe.

Akiba Rubinstein was one of the strongest players in the early 20th century; he learned the game at 14 and didn't start playing competitively until he was in his early 20s. Jose Raul Capablanca was one of the strongest players in all of chess history, and he was already strong by the age of five. A famous chess player and author, Richard Reti, compared the two by saying that chess was Capablanca's native language, having spoken it nearly from birth; while Rubinstein had to learn it as a second language and therefore had to give his play more thought.

 

The young have a definite advantage in chess--their brains are still hardwired to learn, and they find memorizing things much easier. I've played any number of strong children who can pound out line after line from dozens of openings. How they play after that point, though, depends on their experience. This is where the work gets hard, for youths and adults--applying the lessons you've learned (from your own games, from studying, from books) to the game that's right in front of you.

 

In short, I think it's possible for someone to start at 24 and become a master. But I don't think it's easy, and there are certainly no shortcuts. Play as much as you can, read as much as you can, annotate your own games and those of masters, and for the love of God don't neglect the endgame in order to learn some flashy tricks in the opening.

Do you really want to travel to distant places and stay away from your family for a long time?If your answer is yes then make hard and intense practice,and play many games.If you really have the talent,it will show up sooner or later.

just enjoy the game, remember chess is about having fun.

Take up Heroin addiction. The habit is easier to break.

Life is for sure unfair. So what?! I wanted to join the chess class in my school during my 7th grade. But my dad's factory had labor issues and we had no funds to even afford the daily newspaper. Later when I got a job with a decent pay, I started playing chess. Yes, I have time disadvantage as I didn't start it early. But I just enjoy playing it.

As for your wish to earn a title, there is nothing wrong in aspiring to be one. But, there are 1401 Grandmasters as per FIDE database all over planet Earth(as on today 2-27-13). How many of them do you know 20 masters, 30 may be 50 master players. Rest are as unknown as the untitled players. My dear, Even if you earn the GM title, it is the game that gives you joy not the title!!!!

Of course it is possible. "All" you have to do is be willing to continue when 99,99 % would give up. I don't mean training 8 hours a day but be willing to do the training that most find hard. 

You have to become very good at evaluating positions. This is something most chess players never touch. At least not very much. To be able to tell if a position is to your advantage or not is most important. I hope you can see why. 

You also have to be able to calculate with very high precision. If you calculate 95% but miss the last 5% that will be enough to not win when you should. Against masters that is. 

You have to develop a thought process that is effective in finding the candidate moves that are worth calculating. This binds it all together

In addition you have to develop an opening repetoir. 

You can start doing all this on your own by picking up good chess books and doing what they say. When you reach around 2200 you will need a good coach. 0-2200 is much easier than 2200 to 2400 and beyond.

Can you do it? Yes! But you have to forget about most things in your life. When most people would watch tv, you will be training chess. When most people go on holiday you will be playing tournaments. Just be aware that what most people call normal you will not have. You have to be willing to put aside 3-5 hours everyday to chess. It is full dedication! 

PS you ask what is needed? You should already know if you really want this. My guess is you won't become a professional player. Sorry but that is my guess. It just sounds like you too much wait for others to help you. But you have to be willing to find out these things for yourself. You say you don't know how. All I ask is: why don't you already know? Anyways, good luck!

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What are those links?

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Since everyone else is doing it.

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