It's possible to start chess at 40 and make it to master level... but probably no one can come up with an example in the modern era, and even then, as a one in a million existence it's the exception that proves the rule.
There are more than 318 billion moves just for the first four actions of any game. Around 600 billion people across the world know how to play the game. There's no age limit on learning or playing chess, and there are many benefits for seniors who want to get into this classic board game.
Age-related decline in chess has been a subject of scientific research. The inventor of the Elo system – Arpad E. Elo – found that “the average peak is about 120 points higher than the level at ages 21 and 63” (Elo, 2008, p. 93).
I would say that a lot is decided on 15-19 year of age interval for most players, and after 25 big improvement is unlikely. For 2000+ rated players after the age of 25 many hours invested in chess don't improve playing strength,it rather keeps the level at the same place.
What age are you supposed to reach your peak in chess? The answer to this question depends on such personal qualities as physical and mental health, motivation, tournament experience, and numerous other factors. Many chess experts believe that most top chess players peak somewhere around age 35-40.
The paper suggests that a player's performance sharply increases until age 20, gradually improves until age 35, and then begins to decline. The next logical progression that aspiring chess players make is to say, "Well, does this mean that I can't improve after age 35?"
Many adults have flaws in their memory which will make it difficult to remember certain things that are important for succeeding at chess. Opening preparation, typical endgame positions and even pattern recognition are all heavily relying on good memorization skills.
Chess Helps Raise Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
It is somewhat true that the more intelligent kids tend to gravitate towards chess. But modern research has shown that it does not matter if a child has been previously exposed to chess, and only four months of chess training can significantly increase their overall IQ.
Improves Cognitive Function
Chess players also benefit from improved attention span, better planning abilities and strategic thinking skills, all of which goes a long way in slowing down cognitive decline which worsens Alzheimer's.
Theoretically it's very much possible to become a grandmaster starting late in your career. All you need is immense hardwork and study about chess. But practically, on a larger view the chances of becoming a grandmaster starting after 40 years of age is just negligible.
You can easily be National Master level if you work at it. I started Chess at 16, and at 17 and after about 15 tournaments was rated about 1300. I studied about 10-20 hours a week for about 9 years and played about 200-300 OTB tournaments and reached National Master level at about 26 years old.
Typically, it takes 1-2 years of daily practice to learn the chess game and become a good chess player. You can build a good foundation within this time frame. However, it depends on the player how much time he wants to dedicate daily to learning chess tactics.
However, it's important to note that playing chess for hours a day may cause fatigue and reduced attention span. In addition to physical health, chess players need to exercise to stay fit. Inactivity leads to mental health problems, obesity, and an inability to concentrate.
Over the course of a career, most players were found to peak at age 30, maintaining that performance for approximately 10 years before their play began to deteriorate. Similar to age, the authors also found a similar hump-shaped performance curve for experience.
Improves Brain Health
Playing chess every day improves dendrite growth. Dendrites are the neurological links from the brain to the rest of the body. Playing chess regularly enhances the development of these neurons, which is caused by better brain health and results in better mental function and overall health.
Chess is hard because there are hundreds of patterns, concepts, and strategies that a player must know before playing the game. Spatial and quick reasoning skills are also extremely difficult to play in this game. One must be able to visualize several moves ahead and still accurately analyze the position of the pieces.
When you win a game of chess, and outsmart your opponent, your brain releases dopamine which can, over time, signal a desire to play again and again to try to feel this euphoria again.
Studies have found that Chess players who play the game regularly, exhibit signs of intelligence and tend to have higher IQs. Some of the best Chess players such as Fischer, Carlsen, and Kasparov have genius level IQs.
Nobody is too dumb to play chess. Just always check your intended move is no blunder before you play it.
The same trick over and over. At some point people stop training and stagnate. Starting at age 30+ doesn't matter much, you can easily get 2000 if you study a lot. The really hard part is keeping up interest in studying chess intensively, for a couple of years.
In chess, reaching a fixed number of moves can trigger the gain of a fixed amount of extra time. This usually occurs in long games after the 40th move: e.g. 120 minutes to complete the first 40 moves, and another 30 minutes added to the leftover 120 minutes to complete the rest of the game.
Proper noun. (chess) A rule in professional chess that a player may declare the game to be a draw after 50 consecutive moves by each side without any capture or pawn movement, usually invoked during an inconclusive endgame.
There is no conclusive evidence that you will inherently be a good chess player if you have a high IQ. So yes, you can be both smart and bad at chess.