Becoming a chess master

I learned how to play chess 3 years ago (at the age of 32). before that, I knew nothing about chess and today my online chess ratings are between 1750-1900. I genuinely want to become a chess master(an FM or NM) within 2 years. How realistic you people think this goal is?

Thanks.

@ghost_of_pushwood

Thank you for the comment but what you said is quite funny. Where should I ask such questions if not on chess.com?

For example, although you are an NM, your blitz rating on this website is 1950. As there is only 200 rating difference between us, aiming to become an NM within 2 years seems to be a perfectly reasonable and realistic goal to me now.

Details like this can be useful and beneficial. Most of the time, all I do is to play or study by myself, and as we are social beings, I also want to discuss stuff like this with other chess players. That is what forums are for.

People might say that, "without 3-4 hours a day study it's not easy" or "you definitely need a coach" or "i found this or that to be very useful, definitely do it"... We cannot know without asking, can we?

Possibly of interest:
"... the NM title is an honor that only one percent of USCF members attain. ..." - IM John Donaldson (2015)
http://www.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Reaching-the-Top-77p3905.htm
What It Takes to Become a Chess Master by Andrew Soltis
"... going from good at tactics to great at tactics ... doesn't translate into much greater strength. ... You need a relatively good memory to reach average strength. But a much better memory isn't going to make you a master. ... there's a powerful law of diminishing returns in chess calculation, ... Your rating may have been steadily rising when suddenly it stops. ... One explanation for the wall is that most players got to where they are by learning how to not lose. ... Mastering chess ... requires a new set of skills and traits. ... Many of these attributes are kinds of know-how, such as understanding when to change the pawn structure or what a positionally won game looks like and how to deal with it. Some are habits, like always looking for targets. Others are refined senses, like recognizing a critical middlegame moment or feeling when time is on your side and when it isn't. ..." - GM Andrew Soltis (2012)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093409/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review857.pdf
100 Chess Master Trade Secrets by Andrew Soltis
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708094523/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review916.pdf
Reaching the Top?! by Peter Kurzdorfer
"... On the one hand, your play needs to be purposeful much of the time; the ability to navigate through many different types of positions needs to be yours; your ability to calculate variations and find candidate moves needs to be present in at least an embryonic stage. On the other hand, it will be heart-warming and perhaps inspiring to realize that you do not need to give up blunders or misconceptions or a poor memory or sloppy calculating habits; that you do not need to know all the latest opening variations, or even know what they are called. You do not have to memorize hundreds of endgame positions or instantly recognize the proper procedure in a variety of pawn structures.
[To play at a master level consistently] is not an easy task, to be sure ..., but it is a possible one. ..." - NM Peter Kurzdorfer (2015)
http://www.thechessmind.net/blog/2015/11/16/book-notice-kurzdorfers-reaching-the-top.html
http://www.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Reaching-the-Top-77p3905.htm
"Yes, you can easily become a master. All you need to do is some serious, focused work on your play.
That 'chess is 99% tactics and blah-blah' thing is crap. Chess is several things (opening, endgame, middlegame strategy, positional play, tactics, psychology, time management...) which should be treated properly as a whole. getting just one element of lay and working exclusively on it is of very doubtful value, and at worst it may well turn out being a waste of time." - IM pfren (August 21, 2017)
"Every now and then someone advances the idea that one may gain success in chess by using shortcuts. 'Chess is 99% tactics' - proclaims one expert, suggesting that strategic understanding is overrated; 'Improvement in chess is all about opening knowledge' - declares another. A third self-appointed authority asserts that a thorough knowledge of endings is the key to becoming a master; while his expert-friend is puzzled by the mere thought that a player can achieve anything at all without championing pawn structures.
To me, such statements seem futile. You can't hope to gain mastery of any subject by specializing in only parts of it. ..." - FM Amatzia Avni (2008)

https://www.chess.com/blog/EOGuel/so-whats-been-up-with-me

https://www.chess.com/blog/BlakeyBChess/3-signs-that-youll-be-a-chess-master-one-day

"... Though being a chess pro might sound romantic (it certainly did to me when I was young), the romance quickly melts away when you realize that you’re broke, starving, and living in a hovel. Iif you live in America, then you can forgot about health insurance … way, way too expensive. Other than the top 10 or 20 grandmasters, most of the rest will never make a lot of money. As a result, grandmasters usually have to teach chess and write chess books. It wasn’t what they wanted to do when they started out, but when reality hits you in the face, you have to bow to it.

Of course, being a grandmaster and teaching students and writing books isn’t that bad. But you would make far more money and have much more security if you went to university and got a great career. And don’t forget that very few people ever become international masters and grandmasters. Keep in mind that there are 600 million to 800 million chess players in the world and only 1522 grandmasters.

It's not all bad news!

Mr. BeekeeperBob, let’s discuss this in a positive light. I’ve known many very low-rated chess teachers who are absolutely excellent. Teaching is a skill, and even if you’re rated 1500, you might be just what the doctor ordered for children or beginners of any age. …"

https://www.chess.com/article/view/can-anyone-be-an-im-or-gm

https://www.chess.com/blog/BlakeyBChess/5-keys-to-becoming-a-chess-master-as-an-adult
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kids-fight-stereotypes-using-chess-in-rural-mississippi/
http://brooklyncastle.com/
https://www.chess.com/article/view/don-t-worry-about-your-rating
https://www.chess.com/article/view/am-i-too-old-for-chess
https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-can-older-players-improve

ok boomer

Yes, your rating is pretty common of all those who dedicate their time to this game. Congratulations on coming this far. You're going to need some coaching to breach that wall. You're going to have to immerse yourself in endgames and strategy, and you're going to have to study a lot of theory and memorization to breach that wall and become a master. You're almost there.

There is a lot of theory in this game that most amateur players don't even know about. It's the fine and vigorous knowledge that you'll mostly find in the professional circuit. It's like the difference between a high school physics teacher and a molecular scientist at cern. They both talk science, but one can only really build smoke bombs, while the other can develop some really ground breaking stuff. The theory and the secrets coaches will pass down to you will really help.

Then there's also the matter of having that outside perspective, that objective perspective, to critique your methods and polish them.

ok boomer

Just git gud lol

But seriously, I started 4 years ago when I was 11, and I recently obtained the coveted NM title. Where I live there aren't any tournaments or chess scene at all, So I could only play about a single tournament per month. I didn’t work particularly hard or think I played particularly well, but I’ve gotten here. It is absolutely achievable, best of luck 😉

@OP. It's possible. Take an indefinite leave from your work. Hire a coach.

Most of these guys already have coaching at school, and they take it for granted at that phase in their lives.

Coaching of course can mean something as simple as joining a local club and a lot of mean competition.

Doing it without a coach of course is perfectly fine. Even a high school science teacher can become the next Einstein if they're passionate enough.

I suppose the most important thing has always been creativity. You need creativity. You need to nurture it. You need to be in a good space. Creativity is the ability to create knowledge. It's how we solve the things we don't know. Creativity is the key.

The problem with asking anything on the internet is that you don't know if the responders really know the answer it are just giving their opinion, as evidenced in this thread.

You'll soon learn that 200 points is a very big difference. It marks the difference between a FM and a GM. Recently there was a GM who was caught cheating after he struggled for many years to get his 2500 rating anywhere beyond that. At a master level, 200 points is tough work. Anything before master level is just a learning curve, it's easier to build your rating. But at a master level it's a matter of creative ingenuity.

agreed. thank God, ratings say enough for the credibility of the responses.

No, my answer is based on all learning experiences. I've achieved many of my goals by now at this stage in my life and they all pretty much follow the same formula.

thanks a lot, friend. congrats on your achievement.

Apologies then.

You need to study at least 6 hours a day. 5.5 hours is not enough. Start with Capablanca's best games of chess. Then move on to Alekhine. Then finish with Kramnik's best games. If you are not a master by then, play in more tournaments. If that doesn't work, play 1-minute games online.