{"id":971,"date":"2021-04-21T18:42:52","date_gmt":"2021-04-21T18:42:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chessquestions.com\/?p=971"},"modified":"2021-04-21T18:42:52","modified_gmt":"2021-04-21T18:42:52","slug":"chess-players-worse-with-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chessquestions.com\/chess-players-worse-with-age\/","title":{"rendered":"Peak Age for Chess – And When To Expect to Get Worse"},"content":{"rendered":"
⭐⭐⭐ Take 6 minutes to read and improve your chess game ➡️ : This article was first published on, and is Copyright of Chessquestions.com<\/p>\n
The question at hand: do chess players get worse with age? It seems as if many people think they do. The reality is that the answer to this question is not a simple yes or no. As we will see, there are many factors involved in maintaining chess ability. In this blog post, I will explore some of these factors and examine whether chess players get worse with age or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Research would suggest that after a peak of ability between ages 28-38 chess players’ ability will lessen over time, deteriorating at a faster pace the older a chess player becomes. There are exceptions with some Grandmasters<\/a> holding form into their 50’s but they are rare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is not the whole story as we will discover with a study suggesting that the real peak for a chess player comes at age 21.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Understanding when players can peak in their games, what influences the overall quality of their games, and how they can ensure they never lose focus with normal brain activity will always be a big part of when they start declining. There are many things that you need to know about the world of chess to understand why players get worse with age, many of which will help you understand why it is vital to playing the game for as long as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a question that has such a wide range of answers as to generally be inconclusive, the general answer bandied about is that players reach a peak between the ages of 28 and 38, however, it has been shown that this figure is flawed due to the player samples used<\/p>\n\n\n\n The consequences of aging on the chess skills of competitive players have been one concern in studies conducted over the years. One study from 2015 entitled “Selection and the age – productivity profile. Evidence from chess players” printed in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization provided some unique insight hen taking into consideration older players who were no longer competitive having retired, as it were, due to lesser playing skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In including those older players that had stopped playing, it accounted for all older players rather than just those that considered their skills intact sufficiently t continue competing, and the result of this was finding the actual peak of chess-playing abilities reduced to a mere 21 years of age!<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has long been accepted that chess players tend to peak in their early 30s and before their 40th birthday as this is the age range that people reach the peak of their cognitive activities function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the 2015 study falls nicely in line with the average age of new grandmaster falling year on year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ironically enough after the chess rating<\/a> title of a grandmaster was introduced after 1950 the average age of grandmasters has been declining, starting at 26 years old for those born after 1945, while those born after 1990 have an average age of 18 and a half years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is why you continually hear people boast about being chess grandmasters at younger and younger ages, which is not as uncommon as many people think it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore it is, these days, more impressive to be given the title of chess grandmaster<\/a> after you have reached the age of 30 than it is when you are young.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many players aim to become a grandmaster as fast as possible, which has greatly influenced the overall decline in average age and the competitive strength of Junior chess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The oldest person to ever become a chess grandmaster is Jacques Mieses at the age of 85, he received the title in 1951, only one year after the title was created. This is heavily influenced by the fact that the title did not exist until 1950 and as such there was a need to award already existing masters of the game the title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a lot of challenges that people currently face, as they need to become grandmasters before their bodies start degrading and their minds becoming slightly slower. It has to be remembered that when trying to get the title of grandmaster you would have to compete in chess games against others trying to get the title. Usually, this means that older people are a lot less likely to win the title simply because their reflexes are not at their peak and that the other players can think just a bit faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Usually, older grandmasters have been awarded their titles not because they competed in a tournament and won, but because they competed in a tournament a long time ago and should have won. The world of chess is as competitive if not more than any other sport and many people would go to great lengths to be given the title of grandmaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The youngest ever grandmaster Sergey Karjakin was given the title in 1990 at the age of 12 years and 7 months and hails from Ukraine. He is considered by many to be a super grandmaster and has been active in the world of chess since he won the title. Many have tried to beat this achievement and have failed, and as a result, Sergey Karjakin has kept the title for more than 30 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coming in a close second is Gukesh D from India, who won the title in 2006 and was only 12 years, 7 months, and 17 days old. The close age to Sergey has caused many of the world, super grandmasters, to have their age measured to the exact days of their age, causing many to be unsure if the title of youngest can ever be claimed by someone younger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the last 30 years, there have been so many young grandmasters that it is impossible to all those under the age of 20 on a shortlist. While the title still holds some high regard, it should not be confused with the levels of getting a Nobel prize, as it is a pure measurement of trainable skill that anyone on earth can technically achieve given time.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAt what age do chess players peak?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Reason There is a Difference of Opinion in Peak Chess Playing Age is Data<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Grandmasters are Getting Younger<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Oldest Person to reach Grandmaster Level was 85<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Who is the youngest person to become a grandmaster?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Chess Players get Worse With Age Because it is Natural<\/h2>\n\n\n\n