What It Takes To Be A GM

#benfinegold #chess #GM

[randybailin]

What Ben is basically saying is that Levy might drive his Chevy to the levy, but the levy is gonna be dry.

[warrenginmartini]

Bob Hope: I guess you really have to be dedicated to master chess.
Bobby Fischer: That's true. You have to give up everything, make chess your whole life.
B. H.: How about girls?
B. F.: I had a date last night.
B.H.: No kidding, how'd you do?
B.F.: Great, I beat her in four moves!

[nStudleyJenkins]

To add some perspective, Levy is currently ranked 2841 in the world. Andrew tang has exactly 150 more rating points than him and is rank 672. So going up 150 rating points for him would be like going from the bottom spot in a class of almost 3000 chess geniuses to being in the top ~23.5%. And consider that he is in that spot after already studying, playing, and improving himself for years and years.

[musical_lolu]

Yeah, I imagine gaining those FIDE points at that near-stratospheric level must be difficult. Everyone is so good up there.

[andersaskjrgensen]

I think this just made me root for that Lœvii fellow even harder

[joshuamitchell]

Exactly what Hikaru and Naroditsky said. He needs to focus on getting near 2500 before actively trying to get GM norms.

[filipsand]

"The truth hurts" (GM Ben Finegold)

[InvestorsHeaven]

Ben is obviously right. 150 FIDE points difference is like me playing chess with my dog. And winning. Which I never do.

[bozidarugljesic]

My starting rating was 1565 Fide i had to work for 5 years to get to 1800, now im 1816, i started playing in my early 30's i know how tough it is even on Amateur level to gain rating points i cant imagine how hard is to become an GM, for me it would be like asking how big universe is, its simple imposible to understand

[twistedbydsign]

I love the videos of Ben shooshing the children, Ben you are a national treasure.

[matthew]

The joke here, for those who don't get it, is that Ben Finegold is the rare case of someone who became and IM when he was 20 but didn't become a GM until he was 40. So when he's saying that no one does that, he's speaking half tongue in cheek.

[grayson]

To look at it another way, Levy has to consistently beat players rated 2500! That would take an enormous change in his playing strength.

[mortalwomprat]

Drove my Chevy to play Levy but then Levy resigned

[gatecampsrus]

Being a GM you’re the top 1% of chess players. The skill gap from 99% to 100% is 1000 times higher than 0%-99%. This is true in all aspects of life to be the best at something.

[playinsanity]

"I would be over 2700 FIDE... *Video card: BEN IS OVER 2700*"

[lukacalov]

Yeah this reminds me
I dont know how John B isnt GM yet
He is like super IM

[jesterflint]

It's the same in many sports, the very top rated players are many many times better than players 100-200 rating points below them.

[grayson]

What he says is so true. Even Chess protégés who get their grandmaster titles in the early teens does not guarantee that they will ever be a super strong grandmaster. Many of them plateau between 25 and 2600 Fide and simply cannot get any better. Think how much more infinitely difficult it will be for someone older.

[randybailin]

Gaining 150 FIDE rating points requires playing a lot of rated classical games and dominating the competition for a sustained period of time. He'd have to make a radical improvement and commit to playing a ton of tournaments in order to achieve that. As a full time streamer, I don't see it happening. He (Levy) is not even rated at an IM level, never mind a GM. I don't see it happening unless he dedicates himself fully and goes to Hungary or something. Even then, it's probably a long shot.

[Xplayer]

If anyone knows how hard it is for an older player to make the leap from IM to GM, it's a player who got his final GM norm 20 years after becoming an IM.