Can an old geezer make a comeback in chess?

I'm an avid chess player who used to play tournament chess (over the board) back in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. I carried a rating between 1650 and 1750 at that time. I recently discovered chess.com and am enjoying competing on here. The problem is, I'm having to work hard on my game to maintain a rating of 1600 or more. I haven't forgotten everything. I do well, sometimes. I recently got in a couple tournaments that require you to be at least 1600. One is 1600 to 1799. The other is 1600 and above. I don't think I'll get by the first round in either of those tourneys. I'm humbled but optimistic. I'll be world champion by the time I'm 180 at my current rate of improvement.

By the way. I'm 76 now.

Over-the-board ratings from the mid/late-20th century are almost certainly not one-to-one correlated with early 21st century online ratings, especially if the time controls are very different.

But 1600+ is pretty good, no matter what!

Multiple studies have shown that past a certain age, chess skill declines, but those studies are usually based on GMs who continuously play (but a GM playing "poorly" is still better than 99% of the chess playing population). On the other hand, I'd expect to see an uptick in your performance as you knock off the rust and more so if you put in some study time.

Being only a teenager, I am not qualified to answer this question, lol. But I don't see why you can't make a comeback in chess, just probably don't expect master level or anything though. Best of luck and have fun with ur chess.

I was also rated 1600-1700 back in the '70s. I'm about ten years younger than you.

I reached 2350 rating here on chess.com the week I turned 62.

This was the game that put me over 2300:

A Heroic Defense in the Sicilian Najdorf - Kids, don't try this at home! - Chess Forums - Chess.com

I watched a 73 year old beat Rosen....I think it was in Iceland. It just goes to show age is just a number.

Perhaps the rating system is tougher now. I still miss the over the board play. There, you look your opponent in the eye while you play. It is a bit psychological too. You can do little things that might distract him, or her, by drumming your fingers on the table or walk away after you've made a move. You can smile when he makes a move and make him think he just blundered. I can't smoke a cigar and blow smoke in his face anymore like they did to me when I was 13 at a local chess club.

//Can an old geezer make a comeback in chess?//

Nah, you've got no chance. You're a fossil with one foot in the grave already.

Joking!

Seriously, it's great you are back in the game. And there's a good chance that working the brain on something like chess can help to stave off age-related cognitive decline and dementia. So go for it.

I'm 67 and also played over the board in the same decades as you. While I never left the game because I was a scholastic chess coach I returned to competition here on the site. It's been fun learning and growing. It's my humble opinion that ratings here are on the inflated side but with that said I've had some real battles in rapid 30 minute games and where most of my growth has taken place in daily games. I also began entering daily tournaments and don't be surprised at how well you do. I believe those of us who have played over the board bring something a little special if not a little more to the site. Good luck!

If anyone wants to friend me and talk chess, I'm open for that no matter what your rating.

Great thread. I’m 72 and joined here a little over two years ago. I can’t claim a “comeback” since I only played sporadically with friends and family until I got hooked here. I started around 568 and hit 952 in a couple of years (before falling into the doldrums of a bad tilt which I’m not blaming on dementia quite yet). Anyhow, it’s a lot of fun playing and improving with some modest goals. I’d like to hit 1000, for sure. 1200 someday? Maybe just possible, but I don’t see myself as inclined to do the work I now know is required to get better than that. Plus this has to be good for keeping the old noggin in tune. Sort of meet people, mostly pretty nice. Thanks for the topic, prechamp.