In 1994, Bernard Friend became a chess master for the first time at the age of 71.
Valery Grechihin (1937-2008) became a grandmaster the regular way (gaining GM norms) in 1998 at the age of 60. He was the first deaf grandmaster in history.
Oscar Shapiro (1924-2004) was the oldest person to first make chess master. He became a chess master at the age of 74.
Norman Whitaker (1890-1975) played chess until he died at the age of 85. He became an international master at the age of 75.
I bet that every single one of these people already had master strenght long before they gained their titles. Noone with serious skills at chess peaks at 70.
For someone who starts chess at the age of 30, reaching 2200 is completely unrealistic already. I don't know (and frankly I don't even really care much) if there was one person in 100 years who actually did it, but as a matter of fact, at that age even with hard work for many years you can be happy if you get anywhere near 1700-1800.
I bet that every single one of these people already had master strenght long before they gained their titles. Noone with serious skills at chess peaks at 70.
For someone who starts chess at the age of 30, reaching 2200 is completely unrealistic already. I don't know (and frankly I don't even really care much) if there was one person in 100 years who actually did it, but as a matter of fact, at that age even with hard work for many years you can be happy if you get anywhere near 1700-1800.
Wait - if one was rated 2199 when he was 29, eleven months and twenty-nine days (and was never rated any higher), and then two days later he has an official game against someone rated 1600 - does it mean that he will not be able to win that game?
That's what the OP seems to imply...
What if he pays the 1600?
I'm 28. Learned rules and played roughly 100-200 online blitz games back 15-20 years ago and then long brake until around 2013 where i started to play chess in form of bullet chess and 3 min chess only for around 2 years. In 2015 i started to play rapid and slow chess too with goals reaching 2000 and 2200 somewhere one day in near future - probably after age of 30. My elo is estimated around 1700-1800 and i have plenty of room and time for improvement. I focus on chess only, but with no personal coaches.
You can surely reach 2200.
If you take a good personal coach with whom you have good chemistry your chances are even higher.
The answer would be no different if you said that you were 38, or 48.
It depends on your ability to learn, on your available time, and on your will - and don't let anybody tell you otherwise.
Of course, I'm no chess GM - but I'm speaking from my knowledge and experience as a musician and as a piano teacher.
I worked with all ages - including several students above 70.
The ability to learn and to apply new knowledge is available at all ages - so long as a person is relatively free from paralyzing, limiting beliefs.
If I could learn a new language (French) from nothing and without any tuition within six months at age 35 - and then repeat this (this time within FOUR months) with Spanish at age 43 (last year) - then here's some further evidence. If you want it and you apply yourself - there's no a-priori reason to suppose that you can't get there.
Theoretically I'm sure that I can still make IM and GM. Practically - will I ever find the time and the resources, as well as the motivation, to really do what it takes to get there? That's the grand question.
But that I'll reach 2200 one day, not too far ahead (several years)? I have absolutely no doubt.
Log on to this website one day in 2019. Look for my posts - they will not be hard to find - they will all have that beautiful pink background, and I will never pay for my premium membership again (unless they make the criteria tougher by that year... :-) !!!!!)
And funny - I was answering <AIM-Acemove> here and suddenly I discover that I'm blocked by that user...
There must be a reason for that, I'm sure - but blimey, I really can't remember what it was...
@OP : you may want to have a look at this thread :
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-players/inspirational-adult-improvers?page=1
I was talking about the last one, quite funny too. I also would like to know why you are blocked by Aim-Ace.
The 10-year-old grandfather - the antithesis of the 40-year-old virgin.
Hicetnunc: Great reference!!
Eaguiraud: Thanks for clarifying :-) I suppose that he'll unblock me when he revisits this thread. I don't really need an explanation... :-)
People believe what they want to believe. Including someone of grandfather age who likes the delusion that he could become a grandmaster. Well, I am quite a bit younger and FIDE-Master already, but even if I focused on chess 8 hours a day, every day of the week, it would be extremely unlikely that I would make it to IM even.
I bet that every single one of these people already had master strenght long before they gained their titles. Noone with serious skills at chess peaks at 70.
For someone who starts chess at the age of 30, reaching 2200 is completely unrealistic already. I don't know (and frankly I don't even really care much) if there was one person in 100 years who actually did it, but as a matter of fact, at that age even with hard work for many years you can be happy if you get anywhere near 1700-1800.
+1
This is ridiculous. Are you asking an adult to play chess 6 hours a day? 4 hours a day? It won't happen, unless he is a professional chess player already or still young enough with plenty of time and willingness to learn.
I bet that every single one of these people already had master strenght long before they gained their titles. Noone with serious skills at chess peaks at 70.
For someone who starts chess at the age of 30, reaching 2200 is completely unrealistic already. I don't know (and frankly I don't even really care much) if there was one person in 100 years who actually did it, but as a matter of fact, at that age even with hard work for many years you can be happy if you get anywhere near 1700-1800.
This is possibly the single most delusional/stupid thing that I have ever read.
I bet that every single one of these people already had master strenght long before they gained their titles. Noone with serious skills at chess peaks at 70.
For someone who starts chess at the age of 30, reaching 2200 is completely unrealistic already. I don't know (and frankly I don't even really care much) if there was one person in 100 years who actually did it, but as a matter of fact, at that age even with hard work for many years you can be happy if you get anywhere near 1700-1800.
I think you are correct. I looked up Friend,for example, he was beating some of the big names in the 30's.
An adult can become a master, it does not happen all that often but it is unrelated with its talent, IQ or anything of the kind.
Most early chess masters, like Morphy and Anderssen, do not know chess until they are grown. I presume.
I have been told by players who have been playing this game for over 100 yrs,that, if a person doesnt reach master level i.e. 2200, by the time one reaches the age of 30, they never will in the future. I dont know if this is based on scientific fact or not,however I dont believe it out of hand. I feel that yes it is possible to become a master eventhough you mmay have begone playing Chess at an older age. Have there been any late bloomers who have taken up chess later in life and did actually reached the high plateau of master level? I say yes, not based on fact, only my gut feeling. Can anyone substantiate this??? Thanks Aggie