Is talent required to be a top chess player?

You could always teach Boxing.

I am not aware of any pro football coaches that were all pro football players. Don't have to be the best to teach something.

 

try teaching skiing without ever having skiied.

let me know how you make out

 

Actually, a lot of physical, mental and emotional skill-sets can be acquired with the right training, coaching and conditioning.

 

anyone can learn a 'skill set" but that's not same thing as the 'top' or 'one of the best" is it?

 

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2427

"Fabio Bruno, a 44 years old who only recently returned to chess after a 15-year pause"

rated 2374 his performance was 2600! in this tournament.



i also recall reading about a russian who got his FM norm at a tender age 70+.

so, old dogs can still learn new tricks.

 

I don't know for sure, since I am not a talented chess player. I can play chess but have talent no for it, and even little interest in staring at anything not female and at least partially-nude for a long period of time.

I am a profitable trader. The talented chess players I know have no interest in trading, as they are content with the idea of working until they're 75, then retiring on SSI. I don't get it, but that's their mentality about it.

 

maybe talented chess players are more like artists than like "normal" people.

 

Thanks for posting the article. I think it is. While you can train yourself to be "very good". Being "world class" takes something more.....
I was just "very good" and never had the magic something to be beyond that...

 

Bad analogy, as winning the WSOP is mainly due to chance. Also, a typical professional these days is a 20 something online player who become profitable within days to months, and online players can reach a high level of expertise within a couple of years. Poker is extremely accessible to new players due to the different limits (so it's not hard to become the big fish in your pond), the low capital requirement, and the ability to read a guide and profit just using abc poker (robotic poker).

What, because they're content to work until they're 75? That sounds pretty typical of most people.

 

I am an average chess player and a good trader. But one I do for a lioving, and one for fun. I am sure I could be as good at chess if i wrote down every move, the actions of such moves, and reseached, gone to schools, etc. get my point? it is very hard to be good at something with out a lot of work.