Is it possible to become National Master with late start?
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Yes it is possible but I recommend you study the classics (old games/books) such as Soviet chess primer, my system, soviet middlegame technique etc. forget opening theory, you likely would pick up opening ideas from those books. And turn off the engine - think for yourself. Hope this helps!
+1 for soviet middle game technique, a very good book. Not sure how possible a title is as I am not and will never be anywhere near 1, but study hard and enjoy the game and I'm sure improvements will come. Good luck.
yes it is possible
logozar wrote:
Agreed.
Yes it is possible but I recommend you study the classics (old games/books) such as Soviet chess primer, my system, soviet middlegame technique etc. forget opening theory, you likely would pick up opening ideas from those books. And turn off the engine - think for yourself. Hope this helps!
u have to study books and basics of chess.as well have to play lot of otb games
"... If you want to play chess competitively, then you must develop an opening repertoire. ..." - GM Patrick Wolff (1997)
"... I feel that the main reasons to buy an opening book are to give a good overview of the opening, and to explain general plans and ideas. ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
"... the average player only needs to know a limited amount about the openings he plays. Providing he understands the main aims of the opening, a few typical plans and a handful of basic variations, that is enough. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)
Here are two books that strive to improve the reader's understanding of opening play:
Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014)
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/
https://www.mongoosepress.com/excerpts/OpeningsForAmateurs%20sample.pdf
Discovering Chess Openings by GM John Emms (2006)
"... For beginning players, [Discovering Chess Openings] will offer an opportunity to start out on the right foot and really get a feel for what is happening on the board. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
"... For inexperienced players, I think the model that bases opening discussions on more or less complete games that are fully annotated, though with a main focus on the opening and early middlegame, is the ideal. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2010)
"... Everyman Chess has started a new series aimed at those who want to understand the basics of an opening, i.e., the not-yet-so-strong players. ... I imagine [there] will be a long series based on the premise of bringing the basic ideas of an opening to the reader through plenty of introductory text, game annotations, hints, plans and much more. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627055734/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen38.pdf
Also, possibly of interest:
Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson (2012)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf
https://www.newinchess.com/Shop/Images/Pdfs/7192.pdf
Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev (1957)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104437/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/logichess.pdf
The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev (1965)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/
Winning Chess by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld (1949)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf
Back to Basics: Tactics by Dan Heisman (2007)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708233537/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review585.pdf
Chess Endgames for Kids by Karsten Müller (2015)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/chess-endgames-for-kids/
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Chess_Endgames_for_Kids.pdf
A Guide to Chess Improvement by Dan Heisman (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105628/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review781.pdf
Seirawan stuff
http://seagaard.dk/review/eng/bo_beginner/ev_winning_chess.asp?KATID=BO&ID=BO-Beginner
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-winning-chess-endings
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf
http://www.nystar.com/tamarkin/review1.htm
What It Takes to Become a Chess Master by Andrew Soltis
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
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
https://www.chess.com/article/view/don-t-worry-about-your-rating
https://www.chess.com/article/view/am-i-too-old-for-chess
Yeah, it's shouldn't take you that long to be national master if you have 3-4 hours a day to study.
logozar escribió:
Yes it is possible but I recommend you study the classics (old games/books) such as Soviet chess primer, my system, soviet middlegame technique etc. forget opening theory, you likely would pick up opening ideas from those books. And turn off the engine - think for yourself. Hope this helps!
Wowowow, are you turning Socialist?
Cherub_Enjel escribió:
Yeah, it's shouldn't take you that long to be national master if you have 3-4 hours a day to study.
2Q1C?
Yes, I think you can do it.
And I also think it's possible to reduce or even eliminate your anxiety issues. Some anxiety is normal, however.
Best of luck.
It would be very rare, but it's not impossible.
By the time you reach your short term goal of 1800, you'll have a good idea of what chess improvement entails and whether or not you can go to 2200. It will take consistent and systematic work over many years. I recommend starting by reading one book in each of the following areas (listed in no particular order): opening, strategy, tactics, endgame, annotated game collection.
Seirawan has a good series of books, his "winning chess" series. I see you said you already have his tactics book.
You are doomed man, give up on chess, you are not going anywhere if you dont have social life, you are gonna go nuts. If you have that mindset of not being social you will have a hard time doing anything, stop watching Bobby Fischer movies, no, going inside the closet, reading 100 books and then going out will not make you a pro.
At least here in Mexico I had to go to a club association, talk with some people and get "contacts" to get invited to tournaments, classes, and just be aware of the social chess life in general, if I were to be the general weirdo/antisocial I always are I probably would have missed a lot of tournaments and resources like free classes with a Cuban GM.
And I was being serious with the "you are gonna go nuts" part, chess, specially chess competition, can be a little stressful and you need someone to talk with and hang out to have a little "break".
I remember I had a time, probably from a few months to almost a year... where I spent a lot of time in chess, probably 6 hours or so per day, (altough to be honest most of it was wasted in these forums...) I went from playing in the lowest sections to be playing in the second highest sections with relatively good results, so it is certainly possible to improve if you have the motivation and use the correct study techniques.
My chess time has passed and I dont think I will ever spend so much time on chess, altough if I have had someone like a coach to tell me what to study I would have probably improved much more during that "serious" time I had with chess.
RANTADDOCIO OVERDDOCINI.
See ya man, good luck with your chezz.
micky1943 escribió:
The simple truth is that no one really knows the answer to your question. We all have opinions, but that's all they are--opinions. But let me ask you a few questions: Are you currently a USCF member? Do you play in tournaments on a regular basis? Do you belong to a chess club where you can get regular practice and talk about chess with players stronger than you? If you can't answer yes to these questions, you're not even trying!
AGREE.
He doesn't need to be social to go to tournaments and win... but yeah he might be miserable and that would affect his ability to improve.
I also agree that going to OTB tournaments is important for improvement. You learn a lot about your strengths and weaknesses, and analyzing with players after the game gives you ideas. Not even necessarily good ideas, but you learn how other people think of things.
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3-4 hours is a long time, if I had that much time per say regularly I'd be NM by the end of the year easily.
Cherub_Enjel wrote:
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3-4 hours is a long time, if I had that much time per say regularly I'd be NM by the end of the year easily.
In 10 years when you're 28 try taking up a new hobby and see how far you get 
Perhaps, although I should say "soon" I mean maybe 5 years of the same serious study, which I think can be done.
The_Chin_Of_Quinn escribió:
Cherub_Enjel wrote:
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3-4 hours is a long time, if I had that much time per say regularly I'd be NM by the end of the year easily.
In 10 years when you're 28 try taking up a new hobby and see how far you get
Yeah, he is also not rated 1200 chess.com and "soon" is highly relative.
Hello, I have a long term goal of reaching 2200 chess rating which is national master in the USCF, and I have a more short term goal of reaching 1800. However, I am now 28 years old. I started chess when I was in 7th grade and played for a year and got up to 1150, and then I quit playing up until just a week ago. I have reinvigorated myself with the game, and I love playing it so much. I have been playing/studying probably 3-4 hours per day since then. I do not live a "normal" social life. I don't have any close friends, but I do have a job that I work 5 days/week from 8:00 am - 5:30 pm in a medical lab, so other than that I don't have any social obligations, and to be quite honest, I don't ever see myself developing them, although I would like to, but I would rather focus my attention on something like chess instead because I like it so much. I have bought two chess books so far (winning tactics and the amateurs mind), I play through chess tactics on chess.com and chess tempo a lot, and I only play 30 minute games on chess.com in which I have my very own chess board setup right beside of it, and I study the positions on the board instead of the screen. I also watch lectures done my grand masters on youtube). I have really bad anxiety, so I have to take medication for this or I won't even be able to ride out to nearest chess club without the med. I know my goal isn't going to be easy (and I'm not even sure if it's realistic, but I would like to know if it's possible and if it has been done before? Again, I am not looking at IM or GM.