Will I be able to reach Master level?

No. Maybe a realistic dose of skepticism.

When I was 16, there was no internet. Folks in rural areas were stuck with local, inadequate resources. Also, chess was not my top priority.

Had becoming a master been a high priority, I could have chosen a college in a chess town and neglected my other studies. 

This is from www.queensac.com

One of our Message Board readers posted a fantastic review of Irving Chernev's Logical Chess Move by Move. Having completed the book, he is ready to tackle Chernev's The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played. As a result of these efforts, this reader has seen his rating hit 1400 and it will undoubtedly climb quickly from there. It's another piece of the proof that you will gain at least 1 point for every master game you carefully review. If I'm right, you can pick your rating so long as you're willing to work at it.

I wonder how true is that? GM-RAM seemed more easier by comparison.

does it matter omg

it's a simple case of mind over matter. If you don't mind, then it doesn't matter.

I was 1100 when I was 16 (I started chess then)

I got the title last year
So yes, it's possible :-) 

something that ought to be said, in each of these kinds of threads.

the odds are against you becoming a master. of course they are.  they are for everyone- becoming a master happens to only a tiny percentage of all chess players.

I'm not convinced that any given age, or novice skill accomplishment has much signficance to becoming a master...

Which category of chess are you aiming to be a master in? Correspondence, over the board standard, bullet, or blitz.

lol. They only give (real) titles for one kind.

Actually, they have titles such as correspondence grandmaster.

Can you reach master level? Yes. Will you reach master level, most likely not. When you get older, your interest may change, or you might not have the time with things like college, job, kids etc, or one of million other reasons.

I disagree. Most people "can" it's just that few people "do". Reaching master level is mostly a matter of dedication, not something that is out of question for most people that do not have some sort of severe handicap. It's just that even the majority of the people that play chess take it as an hobbie and club playing, and never really try serious training.

There are people who can reach master easily without effort, Magnus, Wei Yi, etc, those are people with real talent. For ordinary people, you have to spend a lot of time and energy to reach master level, and vast majority of the chess players are not willing to put in the effort for some hobby.

Hmm not saying you're necessarily wrong, but i think you underestimate the ammount of work even someone like magnus has to dedicate. Sure, he's "talented"/"smart" and could spend a lesser deal of ammount of work than average, but for his level, it still takes a great deal of work. Either way, the topic is to reach master level, not really "super-GM #1" level, which is a whole other deal for which nowadays you almost have to have "no life" at all to dedicate yourself to serious competition.

I was just saying it is easy for super gms to reach 2200, most of them have done so before they are even in junior high, to reach top ten in the world still require dedication even for super geniuses like magnus.

Let's assume that everyone has the requisite dedication and above average intelligence.* In that case, the skill level needed to reach 2200 would be far higher than it is today.

That's how statistics work. Ratings are a statistical system.




*It is statistically impossible for more than a minority of people to have above average intelligence, except in Lake Wobegon. 

Like I said, real titles