Answers.Body: <p>You don't need to be a professional to participate in a tournament, you just have to sign up for the tournament (as long as it's not by invitation only or has minimum rating requirements). You may need to register with your national chess federation first.</p>
  
  <p>As for becoming a professional, I'm not one but I guess the old "practice, practice, practice!" rule is a start. Of course, it also helps to start young, have talent and a good mentor.</p>
  
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Answers.CreationDate: 2018-11-03T22:37:55.247Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2018-11-04T13:05:11.623Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2018-11-04T13:05:11.623Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: itub
Answers.Body: <p>To become a professional player who makes a living from tournaments, you really need a GM+ level. Even as a GM, you might find yourself struggling for your bills.</p>
  
  <p>Raise your FIDE to 2500, come back then we talk.</p>
  
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Answers.CreationDate: 2018-11-03T12:23:48.173Z
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Answers.UserDisplayName: SmallChess
Answers.Body: <p>You would probably need to be <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_rating_system#Elo_rating_system" rel="nofollow noreferrer">2600+</a> and play a lot of tournaments in order to make a living, and don't expect to get rich. I'm from the Netherlands though, and the prize pool in most tournaments isn't as high as in the US for example.</p>
  
  <p>I know several strong grandmasters who play poker because you can earn a lot more. Even <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikaru_Nakamura" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Hikaru Nakamura</a> used to play poker a lot (though I'm not sure if money was the main reason there).</p>
  
  <p>If you want to make a living in chess, you need to either be really good, or do coaching on the side.</p>
  
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Answers.CreationDate: 2018-11-05T12:16:03.907Z
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Answers.UserDisplayName: Stef van der Zon
Body: <p>I need to know how start to become a professional chess player so that I can participate in tournaments.</p>
  
  <p>I first tried to find someone who knows how to play, but didn't find anyone. 
  So I started looking through the web.</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2018-11-03T16:25:39.917Z
Comments.Text: Possible duplicate of [How is the life of a professional GM with ELO around 2500?](https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/19433/how-is-the-life-of-a-professional-gm-with-elo-around-2500)
Comments.UserDisplayName: NoseKnowsAll
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2018-11-04T08:49:18.223Z
Comments.Text: How good are you at the moment? And how old?
Comments.UserDisplayName: user1583209
Tags: <chessboards>
Title: What does it take to become a professional chess player?
ThreadText: # What does it take to become a professional chess player?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2018-11-03)
  
  I need to know how start to become a professional chess player so that I can participate in tournaments.
  
  I first tried to find someone who knows how to play, but didn't find anyone.
  So I started looking through the web.
  
  **Tags:** chessboards
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: Possible duplicate of [How is the life of a professional GM with ELO around 2500?](https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/19433/how-is-the-life-of-a-professional-gm-with-elo-around-2500)  
  > **username_2**: How good are you at the moment? And how old?  
  
  ---
  
  ## 3 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2018-11-03. Score: 6
  
  You don't need to be a professional to participate in a tournament, you just have to sign up for the tournament (as long as it's not by invitation only or has minimum rating requirements). You may need to register with your national chess federation first.
  
  As for becoming a professional, I'm not one but I guess the old "practice, practice, practice!" rule is a start. Of course, it also helps to start young, have talent and a good mentor.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_4 on 2018-11-03. Score: 5
  
  To become a professional player who makes a living from tournaments, you really need a GM+ level. Even as a GM, you might find yourself struggling for your bills.
  
  Raise your FIDE to 2500, come back then we talk.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_5 on 2018-11-05. Score: 2
  
  You would probably need to be [2600+](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_rating_system#Elo_rating_system) and play a lot of tournaments in order to make a living, and don't expect to get rich. I'm from the Netherlands though, and the prize pool in most tournaments isn't as high as in the US for example.
  
  I know several strong grandmasters who play poker because you can earn a lot more. Even [Hikaru Nakamura](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikaru_Nakamura) used to play poker a lot (though I'm not sure if money was the main reason there).
  
  If you want to make a living in chess, you need to either be really good, or do coaching on the side.
  
  
  ---
  
  