Is it really possible to become a chess master in 5 years?

In my opinion it is.😏But you have to practice VERY often...

This seems like a silly claim to me. It is very true that most adults do not have the free time to achieve master. It's also true that the brain slows down as we age. But there is no reason a 20 year old cannot learn chess and achieve master if they have the time and desire. The problem is, finding an adult who is independently wealthy and can spend all of their time studying chess, and who does not get bored with the hard work required, that is going to be a very rare person in our world.

Ye Jiangchuan learned chess at 17 and became a GM rated 2683, a top 25 player in the world. I'm not buying that if he learned chess at age 20 instead of 17 then he could not have acheived at least a 2200 rating.

You can become a master starting from beginner for 2-3 months if you are smart enoguht and study alot

I think by master they probably mean 2200. Yes, I think if someone really liked chess they could do it in five years, probably even faster if they did the right things and had the right resources.

Over 20? Then there's no hope. You should have started at 19 years and 364 days old. Then you could break 2000. Just kidding. Although I'm not over 20, I know some people over 20. They are smart and seem to learn things fine, often faster than me. I'm 100% sure there are players who did not learn chess until 20 and yet reached master level. I think I even know a player who is in his 30s who did not learn chess very early and is nearly 2300. I'll have to ask him.

But anyway, the main thing to ask yourself is if it would be fun for you to try. Do you enjoy the game itself? When you learn new concepts and ideas do you get excited and want to use them? Are you able to recover when you lose games and rating points? I've noticed that most chess players are very competitive (and no, that does not mean they are not nice). Part of the reason I enjoy chess is because I love the competitition. Do you hate it when you lose and love it when you win?

Well, those are my thoughts of the top of my head.

Thank you for your answers. Well, obviously it would be great if I could some day be able to become a master.

I enjoy the game and learning and improving. I often lose so I guess I am able to continue playing.

Obviously, I am not a fan of losing but I can accept it. I also love playing and trying to win. It is also one of the reasons I like to improve.

Took me~5years

Lasker seemed to have felt he could teach anyone to be a master at chess. It just takes work and time.

Highly unlikely. I think potential masters show their prowess early on - they don't stay at rating below, let's say 1800 for very long. 

carlsen got to GM in 5-6 years. i got to NM in about 5 years.

How old when you learned chess?

How old when you learned chess?

I think it's doable, provided they define master as 2200 or so.

But are you super rich? What kind of person over 20 can (and wants to) devote five years to chess only?

Yes that's the important distinction. 5 years of hard work, probably full time. Not 5 years of spending 2-3 hours on chess in the evening.

If that's a response to me, then you didn't understand me right. Carlsen was never stuck on 1400. Even at such a young age, he excelled really quickly.

But if you're a 20 year-old <1800 rated player who plays for a number of years already, then it's unlikely in my opinion.

Interesting point, but I disagree. If I played chess all day my brain would be fried. The only time I spend more than two hours on chess in one day are days when I'm either going to an OTB tourney, have a looong game, or am really interested in something. It's quite rare for me.

I know I've known how to play chess for 10+ years (but I only went to my first tourney 3 years ago) and have not broken 2000 yet (but I'm leading a 6 game match against a 1960 3-0 and it will be rated soon), so perhaps I'm not qualified to answer. But anyway, spending all day on chess for a long period of time would probably have adverse results for those of us who are not elite players. I suggest spending a 2-3 hours (max.) on chess per day. You'll still probably have great results.

BTW, I meant to say that it is a good thing if you cannot stand losing. When I start a chess game I have a strong desire to be the winner, but when I lose I'm able to recover. Both are important.

One thing that in my opinion stops many people from improving is the lack of true scientific experiments, analysis and researches about chess. The closest thing one can get is advices from masters and grandmasters. But these are not neccessarily accurate. Many will say different things. They experienced different things and will base their advices on their experiences. And while it is true that each individual is unique, scientific approach would be the most objective.

Scientific analysis would probably be the best for finding the most effective way to improve.

I am talking about whether 5 years is enough to become a master if you are older than 20.

I learned when I was 16. 5-6 years was with 2 year gap in between. I'm not really considered a "genius" or whatever... so others can definitely do it too!

I am not a genius either. Most of us probably aren't. But you did start with 16 which is younger than 20 or 25.

Ballmorphy, I do not understand what you mean by 4th level of competence.