I haven't been aware that such thinking is common. If it is, it's just a bad assumption that people who are at the top of the game, make appearances, write books, etc. must be rich.
Why Do So Many Think Average GM's Are Rich?
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Sep 7, 2017
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#5
Personally I've never thought that. I don't know how ANY chess professionals can generate an income - surely not on prize money by itself. Obviously they do, but I've no idea how they manage to do it.
Probably because most players on chess.com have never played in an actual face-to-face over the board chess tournament or bumped up against a real live GM before. The assumption being made, that if you're famous, you must be making money. The reality is that many "professional" chess players barely make ends meet.
cuz they dump
darkhorsejames wrote:
#1 Why do you assume that such myth exist? I think it's the other way around. Many GMs don't earn enough money from playing chess to make a living out of it.
That myth does exist. Earlier this week my dad and I had a discussion because he thinks I'm "great" at chess and why I hadn't dropped out of the university and try to living off chess because he thinks that there's a lot of money to be made in chess, which quite frankly isn't true. It took me about 20 minutes to fully explain to him that I'm no where near great, that apart from the top 10ish players most people barely make a living off competitive chess and are no where near rich, and that their life is no where near easy because they use up all their time on preparation, and many times they don't even get to use it...
Sep 7, 2017
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#9
The top 20 or so make a good living. The rest depend on how much they coach/write.
The ones who don't do much coaching or writing struggle.
I do agree that the assumption is famous equals money. So unless you know a lot of these guys it's an easy mistake to make.
Though recently I've been challenged here when I've pointed this out and told I had no idea what I was talking about, lol
The ones who don't do much coaching or writing struggle.
I do agree that the assumption is famous equals money. So unless you know a lot of these guys it's an easy mistake to make.
Though recently I've been challenged here when I've pointed this out and told I had no idea what I was talking about, lol
Sep 7, 2017
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#10
I have a Doctorate in Chess Journalism. Of all the GMs I've met in my long and illustrious career, not one of them was making under 70k a year.
Sep 7, 2017
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#11
For the same reason that any myth persists.
Look.
Some people are smarter than average and some people are dumber than average. The rest are somewhere in between. I think most people would agree that at least 1 in 10 people is very stupid, and that's not a very cynical estimate. That means that more than 700 million people have ideas and opinions on things that are verifiably false.
Why Do So Many Think Average GM's Are Rich?
Think of the most ridiculous and insane conspiracy theory you can think of. The earth is flat, your president is an alien in a human suit, whatever.
Doesn't matter if just 1 in 100 or even 1 in 1000 believes it, there's always going to be so many who do because there are so many people.
Sep 7, 2017
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#13
Do you doubt my credentials? You wouldn't be able to understand my work anyways, unless you know Russian...
BeepBeepImA747 wrote:
I have a Doctorate in Chess Journalism. Of all the GMs I've met in my long and illustrious career, not one of them was making under 70k a year.
Yeah, right. Those that supplement their income with another, higher paying job. They can't make a living by playing the game alone.
Sep 7, 2017
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#15
And I would like to know your qualifications, Mr. I know lots of GMs...
Sep 7, 2017
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#16
this is the first place i read about this, why on earth would anyone think you can get rich in a game with so little spectator appeal ??
Sep 7, 2017
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#17
I'm an Associate Editor for American Chess Magazine, have written numerous articles including a cover story for Chess Life, and have written many articles for uschess.org
Now you.
Now you.
Sep 7, 2017
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#18
I'm an Associate Editor for American Chess Magazine, have written numerous articles including a cover story for Chess Life, and have written many articles for uschess.org
Now you.
Now you.
So why does this myth persist?