Can I be rich playing chess?

Ironically, if you google "can I become rich playing chess", this thread is the first thing that comes up.

This is why I consider the bogus forum answer to be a plague on the internet. When I have a question that might have already been answered on the internet, it's likely to have been asked and answered in a forum. If the kind of gibberish we've seen here means internet forums can't be taken seriously, that's a pretty strong indictment of the internet as a reliable source.

Your answer wasn't just limited, it was false. I'm proud to have not contributed that. And, as I've stated before a good answer appeared before I posted in this thread. Unlike other people, I don't feel the need to hear myself talk for no particular reason, so there was no need for me to contribute.

I think you're missing the fact that nearly everyone is trying to get more money while less than 1% of the population is trying to become better at chess. If everyone were to become serious chess players the way everyone is serious about making money, there'd be a lot more masters.

I think the short answer to the OP's question is yes .  

That's not an answer, that's another question.

Maybe I should have said far less than 1%.

Approximations by the Chess in the Olympics campaign had put the number of people worldwide who know how to play chess at about 600 million. This would be just less than 1% of the global population. But this counts everyone who knows how the pieces move. The same group estimates that about 285 million people play via the internet, less than a third of the world population.

In my opinion, to be considered taking it seriously enough to be trying to be a master, someone would be competing OTB. There are 80,000 USCF members -- approximately .02% of the US population and many of these are scholastic members who also never take chess terribly seriously.

Arguably, not everyone's taking making money seriously either though.

Too OP:  dood most of these guys are telling you no.  but maybe you are the greatest chess player the human race will ever birth.  do you think alexander was told he could conquer the known world?  did a poor boy from corsica have a chance to conquer europe and the middle east?  I say go for it.

The answer is the same for you as for the overwhelming majority of people who play chess:

you COULD, but you most likely WON'T.

ya, definitely you can play chess tournament & became a millionaire but its need to know more about the rules of chess.

best of luck for chess tournament!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

=======

alpinto17

http://www.forums.wcbcomputers.com

No one's telling him not to try, they're just telling him what to expect. And that's exactly what the told Alexander, and that's exactly what they should have told Alexander (you're taking the one example where the guy was successful - you can't expect the people around him to know that he's going to be successful before he's achieved that level, simply because "he might" be that good, when in all of the other instances the people in question have failed to reach that level of success).

If you can win enough tournament money so that playing chess pays for itself you will be doing good IMHO. I mean it will cover your travel costs, entry fees, memberships, lodging and food. Most players probably never reach that level.

define rich?

I mean at least half a million dollars, you know what I mean.

I once got paid mostly to play chess (per my bio).

Granted, it was only 90-cents an hour. Allowing for inflation adjustment and that the dollar is headed toward worthless, that would be serious dinero nowadays...kinda.

As I recall, didn't Bobby F. leave around a $2M estate?

Of course...he really hadn't been "in the loop" of playing chess for decades.

Sure, but he also started extremely young, and rose to the top at a very early age.

Define "rich" first. If we consider a $ millionaire to be rich, then on needs to be top-50 (better top-20) level to reach that status. Also, not every top-20 player is a $ millionaire.

Nonetheless, in theory, the answer is "yes".

However, for most OPs the question is personal, i.e. "can I be rich by playing chess?". The answer is usually "no" since such people tend to lack the qualities required for becoming a top player.

re: Bobby Fischer

Yeah, but he also had a lot of years to spend the money that he earned when he was playing. I don't know why he didn't die broke. Maybe he gave lessons or played against the rich and famous, in private, for $$$.

Believe me, I know how easy it is to blow through the money earned when younger, as one gets "old".

Birthday: Jan 30, 1980 There is no chance you can become better than Kasparov,especially not being 30 years old already 

I was watching Lifestyles of rich and famous on TV and that was about 10 years ago and at that time to be considered rich you had to have 250 million dollars. Today without billion it does not count.

So you'll never be really rich playing chess. Besides there are at most 10-15 chess players on this planet who are making just nice money. I even know some GM who have full time job mostly on sport secton on radio and TV so if chess is not good enough for then your chances are just zero.

Time for reallity check.