Becoming a Chess Grandmaster
This is a very factual article explaining how to become a grandmaster, but I feel like it needs a disclaimer:<p>I know that Hacker News likes the idea that if you work hard enough then <i>anything</i> is possible [especially when there's so many easily available resources], but when it comes to becoming a grandmaster it has to be said that it's <i>painstakingly hard</i>. If you actually intend to become a grandmaster you'll essentially have to make your full life be devoted to chess for <i>years</i>. We're talking about making it your full-time job for at least 10 years. Yes, that's how hard it is. Today there are countless of IMs (the title just below GM) that has played since they were small kids, won a bunch of tournaments when they were teenagers and yet they realize that becoming a GM is so much work that it's not worth it.<p>If you like chess, then play chess! It's a fun game with an amazing depth and a huge player base. But if you're just starting out: Please forget about having "becoming a grandmaster" as a goal.