Second Peak for Chess Players (and perhaps in other Science and Social Science Fields)
Most chess players start peaking in their latter 20s.
But there is a phenomenon that I call the “second peak”. There are indications that chess players may play near their peak in their early to mid-50s.
Emanuel Lasker, Alexander Alekhine, and Mikhail Botvinnik were still going strong in their 50s. Jose Capablanca also played quite well in his 40s, except when his hypertension flared up, for example in AVRO, wherein I believe he actually suffered from a stroke. An examination of their games show that they were still playing world class chess at this age.
It seems to me that the main reason why there is a degradation of GMs’ play in their late 30s to their 50s is loss of interest in chess, due to a feeling of getting “burned out”. Is it because of playing too much chess? More on this below.
Lasker and Botvinnik did play sparingly in their 40s and 50s.
Yet Alekhine still played in a lot of tournaments in his 40s and 50s. And still played well, enough to attain world number 1 in chessmetrics in 1942 to 1944, when he was already 50. Chessmetrics indicates that Alekhine did overtake Botvinnik in the period 1942 to 1944, becoming number 1 once more.
An examination of his games in this period showed he played nearly as well or as well as in his prime when he was in his 30s.
Also, take Vasily Smyslov, among the World Champions (who made it to the Kasparov – Smyslov Candidates Final Match in 1984), and also Victor Korchnoi and Paul Keres (among the Almost World Champions), still formidable in their 50s.
And one must not forget Lasker, who dominated world chess for almost three decades, becoming world champion at the age of 25 in 1894, and reigned for a record 27, relinquishing the title in 1921 at the age of 53.
Ditto for Botvinnik, who retook the World Title in 1961 in a rematch, at the age of 50, after losing it to Mikhail Tal in 1960.
Regarding “burnout”, still many players nearing their 40s, and not having any real chances to even get to the Candidates, must have or must be losing interest in competitive chess, and sort of moving on to other things. The decrease in mental competitiveness among them must be affecting their play for the worse.
Eventually, some may move on entirely out of the chess community. Others may stick around as chess journalists, trainers, officials, etc…
Regarding chess data bases and the rise of AI (artificial intelligence): As a corollary, “old” players also learn more and faster. What applies to young players also applies to “old” ones. If anything, AI benefits oldies more because now they can do away with informateurs and ballpen and paper notes, and rely on chess bases and AI. Also see my post above.
Related to the above is the notion that younger players have better chances at present in competitive chess. Not true. Being a good chess player competitively at a young age also applies in the past.
There have been youthful World Champions in the past. Lasker and Kramnik became World Champion at 25. Tal and Karpov at 23. Gary Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen at 22. They were all younger than say Bluebaum, the youngest qualifier for the present Candidates so far at 28 years old.
It seems that even in the past, some World Champions peaked at an early age. I still remember Karpov, Kasparov, Kramnik, and Carlsen nuking their older opponents in their meteoric rise to be World Champion. If someone in their 20s were to win the Candidates, then they’re not exceptions as they’d only be following the steps of the young World Champions of the past.
As for older players, there have also been World Champions that peaked later in their 30s. Capablanca became Champion at 33. Alekhine at 35. Botvinnik at 37. Vasily Smyslov at 36. Tigran Petrosian at 34. Boris Spassky at 32. Fischer at 29 (almost 30).
Anand holds the record by grabbing the World Title in 2007 at 39, an age wherein most chess players (but not all as some still reach their second peak) are slowing down.
I still remember Anand creaming younger opponents on his way to become World Champion. (Even Keres and Korchnoi, the almost World Champions, were trouncing younger opponents in their later years. Ditto for the older Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Botvinnik, Smyslov, Tal, Petrosian, Spassky, Karpov, Kasparov, Kramnik, and Anand.)
What does the second peak of chess players tell us in non-chess matters?
It indicates that even in other fields, say Biology or Physics or the social sciences, a professional may hope to attain a surge in creativity and productivity up to his or her 50s, in a second peak. (Send comments and suggestions to mabuhibisaya2017@gmail.com)/PN
