Why is it that most juniors stop playing chess around 15/16 years old?

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  • Why is it that most juniors stop playing chess around 15/16 years old?

    Personally i can't understand why as i entend to play chess for the rest of my life while i am still mentally capable of doing so.
    Small Business Coaching

  • #2
    Re: Why is it that most juniors stop playing chess around 15/16 years old?

    They get on with their lives and head off to university and a career.
    That was my experience: once I headed off to school and discovered wine, women and studies who had time for competitive chess. I have observed the same pattern in wave after wave of promising juniors.
    The real question is how some manage to stay competitively sharp well into their twenties.
    BTW I did come back to the game 40 years later when I had the time and still had at least some of the energy required.

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    • #3
      Re: Why is it that most juniors stop playing chess around 15/16 years old?

      Originally posted by statlerjames View Post
      Personally i can't understand why as i entend to play chess for the rest of my life while i am still mentally capable of doing so.
      That's kind of young so I would imagine chess isn't what interests them.

      If you have an ipad and want to play, an App called Social Chess is free. Some of the players are pretty quick and the game gets played in a few hours. Some are slower and it takes a couple of days. If I get the feeling I'm playing a computer I simply resign and go on to another game. You can play more than one game at a time.
      Gary Ruben
      CC - IA and SIM

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      • #4
        Re: Why is it that most juniors stop playing chess around 15/16 years old?

        It also probably has to do with the fact that it's relatively easy to make progress when you're a 10-12 years old kid with a sub-2200 rating. After that, it gets much harder.

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        • #5
          Re: Why is it that most juniors stop playing chess around 15/16 years old?

          At least some (if not many) juniors may have ambitions to make a living at chess, even, let alone to excel at it. It may take awhile before they realize that it's probably going to remain unfeasible for a long time for anyone to make a living at it just by playing inside of Canada. At the moment if one is sufficiently good at chess they can make something of a living by teaching chess in Canada. Meanwhile, there are easier ways to make a living in Canada, many of which pay better.
          Last edited by Kevin Pacey; Sunday, 12th January, 2014, 11:38 PM. Reason: Grammar
          Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
          Murphy's law, by Edward A. Murphy Jr., USAF, Aerospace Engineer

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