Just wondering: If you play and study daily, how long does it take to become any good at chess?

I wish I would know... But here's a question for you: What is good? Does Master qualify? Or is above average enough?

Making expert would be nice! but I don't know if I can still make it at my age (40 something). Everybody seems to start young

Post edited by: Mike, at: 2007/07/19 17:43

I have read that it takes 5-10 years to become master. Allegedly the rule of thumb does not only apply to chess. I hope you're patient.

I finally remembered where I read about this. There was an article called "The Expert Mind" by Philip E. Ross in the August 2006 issue of Scientific American. It uses chess as an example for becoming an expert. Like CaffeinatedBishop already suggested above, the article states that it takes approximately 10 years of hard work to become an expert in any field.

For more see the online version of "The expert mind".