How to become a grand master?

Being Too 'ratings' oriented, has its' drawbacks. And, involuntary 'wi-fi' disconnects; Help keep one, from taking 'ratings' too seriously!

That, and the knowledge that, if you're 'super' at 'chess'  online - It Could be a sign, that one needs to 'Get-a-Life'! ..lol

It's comparable to a mountain your all the way at the bottom and have to fight scratch claw your way up every inch of the way and pay your dues and in your way are legions of masters, international masters, grandmaster and lots of extremely talented kids already there it's a crowded profession.

Players can spend years decades trying to get the GM title they never do nothing is guaranteed ever no one is entitled or special.

give up everything you have and have a new mindset 

go for it you may not become grandmaster but you will be strong unstopple great player

good luck

read this

https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-can-you-consistently-improve-your-chess-game

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

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
Train Like a Grandmaster by Kotov
Becoming a Grandmaster by Keene
What It Takes to Become a Grandmaster by GM Andrew Soltis
"BENJAMIN FINEGOLD (born Sep-06-1969 ...) ... Ben became a USCF Life Master at 15, USCF Senior Master at 16, an International Master in 1989, and achieved his final GM norm at the SPICE Cup B Section in September, 2009. ..."
http://www.chessgames.com/player/benjamin_finegold.html
"MARK IZRAILOVICH DVORETSKY (... died Sep-26-2016 ...) ... He was ... awarded the IM title in 1975. Dvoretsky was also a FIDE Senior Trainer and noted author. ... During the 1970s, Mark was widely regarded by the strongest IM in the world, ..."
http://www.chessgames.com/player/mark_izrailovich_dvoretsky.html
https://www.chess.com/blog/smurfo/book-review-insanity-passion-and-addiction
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/26/books/books-of-the-times-when-the-child-chess-genius-becomes-the-pawn.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2017/05/05/making-a-living-in-chess-is-tough-but-the-internet-is-making-it-easier/#4284e4814850

https://www.chess.com/news/view/is-there-good-money-in-chess-1838
"... Many aspiring young chess players dream of one day becoming a grandmaster and a professional. ... But ... a profession must bring in at least a certain regular income even if one is not too demanding. ... The usual prize money in Open tournaments is meagre. ... The higher the prizes, the greater the competition. ... With a possibly not very high and irregular income for several decades the amount of money one can save for old age remains really modest. ... Anyone who wants to reach his maximum must concentrate totally on chess. That involves important compromises with or giving up on his education. ... it is a question of personal life planning and when deciding it is necessary to be fully conscious of the various possibilities, limitations and risks. ... a future professional must really love chess and ... be prepared to work very hard for it. ... It is all too frequent that a wrong evaluation is made of what a talented player can achieve. ... Most players have the potential for a certain level; once they have reached it they can only make further progress with a great effort. ... anyone who is unlikely to attain a high playing strength should on no account turn professional. ... Anyone who does not meet these top criteria can only try to earn his living with public appearances, chess publishing or activity as a trainer. But there is a lack of offers and these are not particularly well paid. For jobs which involve appearing in public, moreover, certain non-chess qualities are required. ... a relevant 'stage presence' and required sociability. ... All these jobs and existences, moreover, have hanging above them the sword of Damocles of general economic conditions. ... around [age] 40 chess players ... find that their performances are noticeably tailing off. ..." - from a 12 page chapter on becoming a chess professional in the book, Luther's Chess Reformation by GM Thomas Luther (2016)
http://www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/LuthersChessReformation-excerpt.pdf

seems like there is no guarantee

In before the lock!

Trust me, to become a chess grandmaster you only need to learn a lot of theory about openings and middle games and end games, not only to memorize them, you need to understand them in a deep way, playing a lot of chess games also is important but you need to analyze most of your games using the engine, without analyzing you wont improve and you will make the same mistakes, the most important thing as i said is studing theorys, thats why some people in a 12 or 13 years old became grandmasters , they just know more Theory then you know, they beat you even if you played more games in your life then they played !.

thats why bobyfisher hated chess before he die, its all about theorys these days, but for me i enjoy it any way 🙂👍🏻

it seems hard

Ka.  If it is your ka to become a grandmaster, it will happen.  I am resigned to the fact that it is not my ka to become a grandmaster, at least not in chess.   

Three factors:

1. Start very early when neuroplasticity works to your advantage.

2. Be talented.

3. Invest many hours of well-directed work.

You will become a master in no time.

4. Having devoted parents

Its hard to become an expert but its almost impossible to become a GM with no talent.  Players with talent get to master title very young, that is how you know you have talent.

That's right Deirdre, all the world's GMs came from rich families.  You may be on to something; what it is, I have no idea. 

Is wealth the only factor? How does the number of Russian GMs compare with the number of US GMs? How does the current number of UK GMs compare with the number UK GMs five decades ago?

What about the last quarter of a century?

Anything to say about UK now and UK half a century ago?

You are the one making the claim. Either you want to answer questions about your reasoning or you don't. I guess you don't.

And what country was wealthiest from 1900 to 1927? Was Steinitz all that wealthy? Staunton? Is wealth the only factor for Go? Has the top Go country matched the top chess country?

Was the US the number two chess country from 1918 to 1991?