I really wanna be a GM!
Yes, you can, it'll just take intense practice. From any level you can be a GM if you put in the work!
If you can be ca. 1500 here and 2200 on chess.com, 2500 FIDE rating + 3 norms shouldn ́t be a problem.
Ask around, are there 1900 USCF players with a GM title?
"... the NM title is an honor that only one percent of USCF members attain. ..." - IM John Donaldson (2015)
www.jeremysilman.com/book-review/reaching-the-top/
"... born Jan-05-1952, ... GM Leif Øgaard was awarded the IM title in 1974. ... He got his final GM norm in 2007."
www.chessgames.com/player/leif_ogaard.html
"... SIMON KIM WILLIAMS ... born Nov-30-1979 ... IM (1997); GM (2007). ..."
www.chessgames.com/player/simon_kim_williams.html
"... Kaufman, Lawrence ... B-Year: 1947 ... International Master (IM) 1980" "... Grandmaster (GM) 2008 ..."
ratings.fide.com/profile/2000555
"... GARY W LANE ... born Nov-04-1964 ... became an International Master in 1987 ..."
www.chessgames.com/player/gary_w_lane.html
IM (in 2001) Willy Hendriks
players.chessbase.com/en/player/Hendriks_Willy/104362
IM (in 1990) Boris Zlotznik
players.chessbase.com/en/player/Zlotnik_Boris%20A/292197
"To become a grandmaster is very difficult and can take quite a long time! ... you need to ... solve many exercises, analyse your games, study classic games, modern games, have an opening repertoire and so on. Basically, it is hard work ... It takes a lot more than just reading books to become a grandmaster I am afraid." - GM Artur Yusupov (2013)
www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/QandAwithArturYusupovQualityChessAugust2013.pdf
"... Many aspiring young chess players dream of one day becoming a grandmaster and a professional. ... But ... a profession must bring in at least a certain regular income even if one is not too demanding. ... The usual prize money in Open tournaments is meagre. ... The higher the prizes, the greater the competition. ... With a possibly not very high and irregular income for several decades the amount of money one can save for old age remains really modest. ... Anyone who wants to reach his maximum must concentrate totally on chess. That involves important compromises with or giving up on his education. ... it is a question of personal life planning and when deciding it is necessary to be fully conscious of the various possibilities, limitations and risks. ... a future professional must really love chess and ... be prepared to work very hard for it. ... It is all too frequent that a wrong evaluation is made of what a talented player can achieve. ... Most players have the potential for a certain level; once they have reached it they can only make further progress with a great effort. ... anyone who is unlikely to attain a high playing strength should on no account turn professional. ... Anyone who does not meet these top criteria can only try to earn his living with public appearances, chess publishing or activity as a trainer. But there is a lack of offers and these are not particularly well paid. For jobs which involve appearing in public, moreover, certain non-chess qualities are required. ... a relevant 'stage presence' and required sociability. ... All these jobs and existences, moreover, have hanging above them the sword of Damocles of general economic conditions. ... around [age] 40 chess players ... find that their performances are noticeably tailing off. ..." - from a 12 page chapter on becoming a chess professional in the book, Luther's Chess Reformation by GM Thomas Luther (2016)
www.jeremysilman.com/book-review/reaching-the-top/
"... born Jan-05-1952, ... GM Leif Øgaard was awarded the IM title in 1974. ... He got his final GM norm in 2007."
www.chessgames.com/player/leif_ogaard.html
"... SIMON KIM WILLIAMS ... born Nov-30-1979 ... IM (1997); GM (2007). ..."
www.chessgames.com/player/simon_kim_williams.html
"... Kaufman, Lawrence ... B-Year: 1947 ... International Master (IM) 1980" "... Grandmaster (GM) 2008 ..."
ratings.fide.com/profile/2000555
"... GARY W LANE ... born Nov-04-1964 ... became an International Master in 1987 ..."
www.chessgames.com/player/gary_w_lane.html
IM (in 2001) Willy Hendriks
players.chessbase.com/en/player/Hendriks_Willy/104362
IM (in 1990) Boris Zlotznik
players.chessbase.com/en/player/Zlotnik_Boris%20A/292197
"To become a grandmaster is very difficult and can take quite a long time! ... you need to ... solve many exercises, analyse your games, study classic games, modern games, have an opening repertoire and so on. Basically, it is hard work ... It takes a lot more than just reading books to become a grandmaster I am afraid." - GM Artur Yusupov (2013)
www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/QandAwithArturYusupovQualityChessAugust2013.pdf
"... Many aspiring young chess players dream of one day becoming a grandmaster and a professional. ... But ... a profession must bring in at least a certain regular income even if one is not too demanding. ... The usual prize money in Open tournaments is meagre. ... The higher the prizes, the greater the competition. ... With a possibly not very high and irregular income for several decades the amount of money one can save for old age remains really modest. ... Anyone who wants to reach his maximum must concentrate totally on chess. That involves important compromises with or giving up on his education. ... it is a question of personal life planning and when deciding it is necessary to be fully conscious of the various possibilities, limitations and risks. ... a future professional must really love chess and ... be prepared to work very hard for it. ... It is all too frequent that a wrong evaluation is made of what a talented player can achieve. ... Most players have the potential for a certain level; once they have reached it they can only make further progress with a great effort. ... anyone who is unlikely to attain a high playing strength should on no account turn professional. ... Anyone who does not meet these top criteria can only try to earn his living with public appearances, chess publishing or activity as a trainer. But there is a lack of offers and these are not particularly well paid. For jobs which involve appearing in public, moreover, certain non-chess qualities are required. ... a relevant 'stage presence' and required sociability. ... All these jobs and existences, moreover, have hanging above them the sword of Damocles of general economic conditions. ... around [age] 40 chess players ... find that their performances are noticeably tailing off. ..." - from a 12 page chapter on becoming a chess professional in the book, Luther's Chess Reformation by GM Thomas Luther (2016)
You really should search the forums because this question has been asked 100s of times. And you will get answers to both ends.
But becoming a GM is extremely unlikely for anyone. Answer depends on so many things
- your base IQ seems to matter
- other personal traits - dunno know if anyone done any research on this but persistence seem to correlate well in any competitive endeavor
- your age. People who end up being grand masters certainly we master level players in their teens.
- amount time you can put in learning. That is several hours a day.
- Do you funding needed. Tournaments where you can gain enough rating and in later phases are such that you can win norms are about week long and are located on expensive hotels. Add those hotel bills and travel cost together and you fun thinking where that money would come from. Most common in parent willing to invest - well it is not investment as investments should have some tangible benefits if project succeeds.
So on answer is something like : yeah you do have about 1/1000 - 1/10000 shot succeeding. bit big bracket but because it depends on so many things
But becoming a GM is extremely unlikely for anyone. Answer depends on so many things
- your base IQ seems to matter
- other personal traits - dunno know if anyone done any research on this but persistence seem to correlate well in any competitive endeavor
- your age. People who end up being grand masters certainly we master level players in their teens.
- amount time you can put in learning. That is several hours a day.
- Do you funding needed. Tournaments where you can gain enough rating and in later phases are such that you can win norms are about week long and are located on expensive hotels. Add those hotel bills and travel cost together and you fun thinking where that money would come from. Most common in parent willing to invest - well it is not investment as investments should have some tangible benefits if project succeeds.
So on answer is something like : yeah you do have about 1/1000 - 1/10000 shot succeeding. bit big bracket but because it depends on so many things
The answer is very simple.
No. You can't.
You've played nearly 2000 games on lichess and you're a 1400 player.
Simply put, you don't have the talent.
The only exception is if you're six years old.
You might have talent for other things. You might be a good artist, or a decent writer, or maybe you have a knack for building things. I'm sure you'll find your strength, but chess isn't your strength.
Chess requires a high level of spatial intelligence, which would be self evident after 2000 games; it also requires a strong working memory, so that you can manipulate objects in your mind.
The other thing it requires is a good work ethic. As in any game, talent (i.e, spatial intelligence) will only take you so far. At some point you have to actually study chess, something most of us, myself included, don't want to do because we have other interests.
And even then, you might not have enough baseline spatial intelligence to make it all the way to GM. Even with all of the study and practice, and theoretical knowledge.
To some extent that's what makes chess beautiful. When you lose, like in Golf or Tennis, you can only blame yourself.
And hey, spatial intelligence is just one part of intelligence. It's quite possible to suck at math, like Magnus, and have spatial that's 150. You can have verbal that's 90, and spatial that's 170 or vice versa. People are good at different things. You might have a high i.q., but average spatial.
But based on the evidence provided, predominately rating and games played, I'd have to come to the conclusion that you have very average spatial intelligence.
No. You can't.
You've played nearly 2000 games on lichess and you're a 1400 player.
Simply put, you don't have the talent.
The only exception is if you're six years old.
You might have talent for other things. You might be a good artist, or a decent writer, or maybe you have a knack for building things. I'm sure you'll find your strength, but chess isn't your strength.
Chess requires a high level of spatial intelligence, which would be self evident after 2000 games; it also requires a strong working memory, so that you can manipulate objects in your mind.
The other thing it requires is a good work ethic. As in any game, talent (i.e, spatial intelligence) will only take you so far. At some point you have to actually study chess, something most of us, myself included, don't want to do because we have other interests.
And even then, you might not have enough baseline spatial intelligence to make it all the way to GM. Even with all of the study and practice, and theoretical knowledge.
To some extent that's what makes chess beautiful. When you lose, like in Golf or Tennis, you can only blame yourself.
And hey, spatial intelligence is just one part of intelligence. It's quite possible to suck at math, like Magnus, and have spatial that's 150. You can have verbal that's 90, and spatial that's 170 or vice versa. People are good at different things. You might have a high i.q., but average spatial.
But based on the evidence provided, predominately rating and games played, I'd have to come to the conclusion that you have very average spatial intelligence.
I don't play on this account
<Comment deleted by user>
I am at the world open
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