Here is a comment regarding the question im asking based off what a previous user said
Oracle11 wrote:
I'm guessing only the top 5 or so have the potential to make 7 figures per year from playing.
I've been told only the top 30 or so can make a "decent living" off playing chess. Whatever that's supposed to mean.
The remaining GMs apparently need to do other things (teaching, writing books, and such) but even then getting students willing to pay the bucks is not so easy.
I was once friends with an IM that lived solely off chess, teaching online and in person. He once told me he makes 4 figures per week (i.e. $1000+) but he had to move to america to do so, he also figured out that his prize money wins barely covered his expenses for the tourneys so he plays in them mainly for enjoyment and exposure to gain more students.
I once asked him why he doesn't bother with gaining the GM title and potentially gaining more students from it and he told me "grandmasters often have a harder time gaining students because people are afraid of them". I can see how this would be the case, particularly with a lot of places teaching the idea of "you don't need a GM to teach you, just a player who is stronger than you by a few hundred points".
So perhaps it's better being an IM if you want to make money off chess and can't make it to the top 30?
Even before fischer became one of the top players in the world at the time
Sorry you all im not trying to bust a fischer or be one, but how did fischer make his living before winning the us championships. I know after watching the documentary about him and someone said he moved out of his mother house to focus on his chess career. I cant really imagine how he made a living. Cause i know still now chess isnt that lucrative or was it. Can somebody tell me how fischer made a living playing chess