tonydal wrote:
Yeah, I hear you can go to college, have a girlfriend...and still be one of them in six months.
Pffft... well I guess it might take six months if your I.Q was below 140.
Road to Grandmaster
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is the OP a GM yet?
On a separate note, what if the OP is already a very strong chess player (a lot better than he would have us believe) but wants us to think that he went from patzer to GM? Assuming that he is successful in his endeavor, of course.
Eo____ wrote:
is the OP a GM yet?
On a separate note, what if the OP is already a very strong chess player (a lot better than he would have us believe) but wants us to think that he went from patzer to GM?
You could just search his name on the ecf ratings website if you really wanted to?
http://grading.bcfservices.org.uk/getref.php?ref=242872G
Eo____ wrote:
is the OP a GM yet?
On a separate note, what if the OP is already a very strong chess player (a lot better than he would have us believe) but wants us to think that he went from patzer to GM? Assuming that he is successful in his endeavor, of course.
That would be pretty cool if you could pull it off. You just have to be a natural talent with some titled player friends who you play all the time. Once you start to score even with your GM buddies, you enter some tournaments as a no-name and play far below your level on purpose. Then you make this declaration and --
never mind, would be a tremendous waste of time. It could be done though :)
Nov 6, 2010
0
#146
Eo____ wrote:
is the OP a GM yet?
On a separate note, what if the OP is already a very strong chess player (a lot better than he would have us believe) but wants us to think that he went from patzer to GM? Assuming that he is successful in his endeavor, of course.
That's a cool idea, and I could pull a similar one off because I haven't played any rated OTB games. When I get to master strength some time in the next 10 years (which is quite possible, imo), I will try to appear on this site with a new account, as the genius who has no idea about chess whatsoever. I'll ask about the en passant rule etc. Then I'll start playing OTB, reach a rating, and share the whole progress, providing links to my official page with rating starting from 1200 etc.
When I have the NM sign next to my nickname, being the most popular user ever, I will curiously quit chess (but not the site, of course), because "I don't really like this game. I just thought of it as a challenge to see if I could get a title in a 2 months. It was fun, but chess is kind of boring. I like civilization 2 more."
Oh my goodness, this got me so excited I can't wait!
Nov 7, 2010
0
#147
@actually, even with excellent training I think it's difficult to reach a high level (say master level) without practice.
Say you play regularly against master players in offhand games (you'd need to pay them a lot of drinks !) and learn a lot of tricks, wisdom nuggets and fighting tips... Very well. Then you train like crazy with books/Internet etc. What you're still missing is the special focus required to play a 5-6 hrs. long game... It's just a different experience. There, a small weakness in a corner of the board can give you headaches for long hours... Your opponent will just spend the reqauired time to call your bluff, well a bluff, and you'll start spending more time than you used to checking some calculations, because you know some mistakes are irrecoverable in long-time OTB chess.
I often see people who come at my chess club with a decent background training. They've played computers, they've played on the Internet, they had a strong friend who helped them skip some steps in the learning process. And they make good players (1700-1800 elo OTB), but they usually need a couple of years of practice to reach their full potential, whatever it is.
I'm afraid there's no shortcut 
Nov 7, 2010
0
#148
Training and practice and all the will in the world still won't be enough for the vast majority of people. All that does is put you in the same category with a bunch of other people, and then you have to deal with the fact that there are still different abilities and no matter how hard most people try, they still won't be among the top levels. We hear people saying anyone can do anything if they try hard enough, and that's just nonsense. Just because someone runs wind sprints as hard as he can year after year does not mean he'll end up competing in the Olympics, let alone vying for medals and championships. Mental endeavors are no different-- it takes diligence and an unusually superior ability in the first place to end up in the elite ranks.
Cystem_Phailure wrote:
Training and practice and all the will in the world still won't be enough for the vast majority of people. All that does is put you in the same category with a bunch of other people, and then you have to deal with the fact that there are still different abilities and no matter how hard most people try, they still won't be among the top levels. We hear people saying anyone can do anything if they try hard enough, and that's just nonsense. Just because someone runs wind sprints as hard as he can year after year does not mean he'll end up competing in the Olympics, let alone vying for medals and championships. Mental endeavors are no different-- it takes diligence and an unusually superior ability in the first place to end up in the elite ranks.
I find it appalling that more people don't have the common sense to see this.
Nov 7, 2010
0
#151
Cystem_Phailure wrote:
Training and practice and all the will in the world still won't be enough for the vast majority of people. All that does is put you in the same category with a bunch of other people, and then you have to deal with the fact that there are still different abilities and no matter how hard most people try, they still won't be among the top levels. We hear people saying anyone can do anything if they try hard enough, and that's just nonsense. Just because someone runs wind sprints as hard as he can year after year does not mean he'll end up competing in the Olympics, let alone vying for medals and championships. Mental endeavors are no different-- it takes diligence and an unusually superior ability in the first place to end up in the elite ranks.
I dont think you know what you are talking about, and if you do, i would like to know what you base your theory on.
Most GM's ive heard talking/writing about this topic, believes in that almost everyone can become GM, if one dedicate his/her life to chess, and motivation to have the willingness to study the game hard.
A few examples of GM's agree with me is:
GM Yasser Seirawan: "Anyone can obtain a grandmaster title after 10 years of hard study regardless of 'natural gifts'"
WGM Natalia Pogonina: "I believe in the power of a humans brain. Probably given proper conditions, hard work, motivation, etc., an avarage person may indeed become a grandmaster."
Nov 7, 2010
0
#152
SimonSeirup wrote:
Cystem_Phailure wrote:
Training and practice and all the will in the world still won't be enough for the vast majority of people. All that does is put you in the same category with a bunch of other people, and then you have to deal with the fact that there are still different abilities and no matter how hard most people try, they still won't be among the top levels. We hear people saying anyone can do anything if they try hard enough, and that's just nonsense. Just because someone runs wind sprints as hard as he can year after year does not mean he'll end up competing in the Olympics, let alone vying for medals and championships. Mental endeavors are no different-- it takes diligence and an unusually superior ability in the first place to end up in the elite ranks.
I dont think you know what you are talking about, and if you do, i would like to know what you base your theory on.
Most GM's ive heard talking/writing about this topic, believes in that almost everyone can become GM, if one dedicate his/her life to chess, and motivation to have the willingness to study the game hard.
A few examples of GM's agree with me is:
GM Yasser Seirawan: "Anyone can obtain a grandmaster title after 10 years of hard study regardless of 'natural gifts'"
WGM Natalia Pogonina: "I believe in the power of a humans brain. Probably given proper conditions, hard work, motivation, etc., an avarage person may indeed become a grandmaster."
GM's aren't necessarily better at evaluating such chances than the patzer kibitzer. If those are real quotes, it just shows they don't know what they're talking about.
Take an average person. If he/she's 4 years old, fine, it's possible. If he/she's 14 and not yet a master, you can easily forget about it. The world would be fun with flying ponies and all, but alas, sometimes facts override human imagination.
Nov 7, 2010
0
#153
philidor_position wrote:
SimonSeirup wrote:
Cystem_Phailure wrote:
Training and practice and all the will in the world still won't be enough for the vast majority of people. All that does is put you in the same category with a bunch of other people, and then you have to deal with the fact that there are still different abilities and no matter how hard most people try, they still won't be among the top levels. We hear people saying anyone can do anything if they try hard enough, and that's just nonsense. Just because someone runs wind sprints as hard as he can year after year does not mean he'll end up competing in the Olympics, let alone vying for medals and championships. Mental endeavors are no different-- it takes diligence and an unusually superior ability in the first place to end up in the elite ranks.
I dont think you know what you are talking about, and if you do, i would like to know what you base your theory on.
Most GM's ive heard talking/writing about this topic, believes in that almost everyone can become GM, if one dedicate his/her life to chess, and motivation to have the willingness to study the game hard.
A few examples of GM's agree with me is:
GM Yasser Seirawan: "Anyone can obtain a grandmaster title after 10 years of hard study regardless of 'natural gifts'"
WGM Natalia Pogonina: "I believe in the power of a humans brain. Probably given proper conditions, hard work, motivation, etc., an avarage person may indeed become a grandmaster."
GM's aren't necessarily better at evaluating such chances than the patzer kibitzer. If those are real quotes, it just shows they don't know what they're talking about.
Take an average person. If he/she's 4 years old, fine, it's possible. If he/she's 14 and not yet a master, you can easily forget about it. The world would be fun with flying ponies and all, but alas, sometimes facts override human imagination.
So you are saying you know what it takes to become GM better than a GM? You must be joking.
About this age thing, if you live to age 30 without ever being in contact with and interested in chess, chances are your environment/friends group simply isn't chessy enough to become a real crack.
"Gm's aren't necessarily better at evaluating such chances than the average patzer kibitzer." So true! It's once again appalling that so many people don't have the common sense to see this. A lot of kids do start studying at the age of four, and never become GMs. You have to be born with the natural talent or you will never be a GM no matter how hard you study. COMMON SENSE for God sakes. If the average person could become a GM, there would be more of them.
Nov 7, 2010
0
#156
GM Yasser Seirawan: "Anyone can obtain a grandmaster title after 10 years of hard study regardless of 'natural gifts'"
Interesting - do you have the source for this quote ?
Nov 7, 2010
0
#157
SimonSeirup wrote:
WGM Natalia Pogonina: "I believe in the power of a humans brain. Probably given proper conditions, hard work, motivation, etc., an avarage person may indeed become a grandmaster."
Nice try! 
http://www.redhotpawn.com/blog/blogread.php?blogpostid=2&page=2
Nov 7, 2010
0
#158
Cystem_Phailure wrote:
SimonSeirup wrote:
WGM Natalia Pogonina: "I believe in the power of a humans brain. Probably given proper conditions, hard work, motivation, etc., an avarage person may indeed become a grandmaster."
Nice try!
http://www.redhotpawn.com/blog/blogread.php?blogpostid=2&page=2
Nice catch! Thanks!
He's talking about an avarage person
Ah yes, that lowly and embarrassing international master level...
Imagine the shame... poor sad fools... plodding along for years somewhere in the high 2400s -- well I suppose these apemen aren't actually self-aware enough to feel true human embarassment.