Chess as a career

You don't need to go pro to remain serious and/or deeply immersed.

well there is still people who love going to work. Some people it brings fulfilled, satisfcation and meaning. I guess everyone is different but some people love it. Maybe chess is different, but i loved my work.

Savant memorize images, music, make simple arithmetic operationgs with giant numbers and calculate prime numbers; but there´s no one that play chess.

Chess is more complicated that simple memorization or arithmetics.

You are 30 and you have not yet decided what to do with your life? 

I am 54; do you think if I bought all Silman's books and read them really carefully I could be a grandmaster next year? I can work really hard and I beat the headmaster when I was 7.  He wasn't very good though.

Just wondering, approx how many people in the world make a living at chess?  How many have achieved grandmaster status at 30+?  I am guessing at (i) less than 1000 and (ii) None.  But I might be wrong there.  I should get out more.

I think that in more than 95% of the cases the biggest achievement will be champion of the patzers in the local park.

 It is possible. You should combine reading Silman's books with watching tha  TheBackyardProfessor's analysis on youtube. It will boost your game in a very short period of time.

Thanks for that.  My worry is that many people on this thread won't realise we're talking rubbish.

I think the OP is being serious though.  Though I could be wrong there.  Sometimes coming on this forum seems like watching X-Factor.

Apart from all the trolling going on in this thread, I honestly would NOT like to have chess as a career (if I was strong enough, that is).

I could not bear such a competitive activity to be my whole life. It would not be fun anymore.

the competiveness is the greatest of all, i know i shouldnt mention it because it makes me feel low but its such a rush and ego boost if you beat someone with your brain. Yes it will never happen in chess, but i did other endeavors i did. THERE IS NOTHING MORE SATISFYING THEN WINNING WHERE OTHER HAVE FAILED, KNOWING YOU OUTSMaRTED THE MAJORITY. 

MAN the greatest thing is the competiveness i jsut love it!!!! man its awesome. it would be boring without. Thats why i love Fischer you just sense his fighting aura..

yes i know you were just trolling but still...

but i guess everyone is different, some people dont like it

I agree with that.  I think you need a certain kind of personality to play chess at the highest level, and a kind of ruthlessness that I certainly don't have.

Even most Grandmasters cannot make their livings exclusivly from their tournament winnings. They need to do instuction (pays modestly) or write books (a crap shoot, will that book sell?)

And bear in mind, most who attempt to become Grandmasters, fail. It's not something just anybody can do.

Even Silman isn't a Grandmaster yet. And he wrote those books.

things are different in different countries i think. chess is really popular here. i know that if I reach FIDE 1750+ then I can be a pro because I can teach at schools and stuff. Is it still worth a shot? I know that it will be a hard life but at least I will be doing stuff that I am passionate about.

I don't want to discourage you, but becoming a professional chess player at the age of 30 is as good as impossible. It's like saying I want to be a ballet dancer or a professional musician when you are almost in your mid life  If you want to become a pro, you have to start at an early age. Certainly before you are 10! And you've missed that boat I guess... If I were you, I'd make something else out of my life.

admit it, there is a difference. chess can be LEARNED. it is an intellectual activity. it can be learned through very hard work and through lots of motivation. all you have to do is solve problems, learn opening theory solve lots and lots of endgame problems and you are already a competitive player. ballet dancing or being a musician require tons of equipment and access to training which is maybe available once a week. however, with chess you can practice any amount, up to 7 hours a day. it is much more possible given the motivation and ability.

Well, no. As a musician you need an instrument, sometimes only your voice. As a ballet dancer, shoes and space? That is not what I call equipment 

I'm not saying you can't become a very strong player, but you'll always miss the part that makes you special. That's not your fault because it is something you can only achieve when you are already possessed at a very young age.

30 years?that's about 30 years too late.If u didn't come out of the womb with a chessboard in ur lap then you can forget about it.Maybe in the next life (If this game isn't completely solved by then)

That is what I thought too! Most people make mistakes and wrong choices at some point, but hey! That is life, face it 

it's up to you