Which is harder, to become a international chess master or run a sub 2:10 marathon?

Sub-2:10 for sure. It's miles harder.

Well, there are female real GMs and only 2:11:53 for the marathon.

Is this a joke? Almost half of D1 runners could grind 130 mile weeks after college and hit 2:10 especially with cheater shoes. Only truly gifted people become international chess masters.

Hardly relevant. There is far more overlap between the distribution of male and female abilities in a mental sport like chess than in a physical sport like marathoning.

I’m an IM at chess and a hobby jogger trying to break 3h in the marathon, so for me the answer is obvious. In general, I think a sub 2:20 marathoner is a better comparison for an IM at chess, 2:10 seems way harder, more like GM.

I’d say the main difference is that in running, you have to stay on top of your training at all times to have a chance at improving or even keeping your level. This seems like a pretty tough requirement to me as I’m not the most disciplined person. Meanwhile in chess, I’ve been getting by with playing a fair amount of tournament games a year (40-60), random blitz games on my phone and watching some YouTube videos. I love chess and most days it will be on my mind in some way or another, but for me it doesn’t require nearly as much structured work as running does. I can safely say that if I apply my chess attitude to running I will never become a truly good runner (and probably that ship has sailed anyway), but to be fair this might also be what’s stopping me from making significant strides towards 2500 and the GM title. Anyway, I do both things for fun, and I think they are fantastic hobbies complementing each other perfectly!

2:10 is far far far harder. England has about 50 Grandmasters alone currently, but only 3-4 people capable of sub 2:10. To run sub 2:10 you also need to be male which eliminates half the population, whereas you can be female and become an IM/GM.

Ik this is about international master, but CLEARLY running sub 2:10 is harder than becoming even a GM. Becoming an IM would probably be about 2:20 level.

2:09:xx = IM
2:05:xx = GM
2:03:xx = Super GM (2700+)

As a 2:10 marathoner running is much easier. Sub 2:10 are a dime a dozen in Japan.

The one who runs is cooler.

1,445 people have run sub-2:10 ever.

2,065 people have ever been a chess grandmaster.

worldathletics.org

Marathon - men - senior - all

Open link

Edit that to 1,450 have run sub-2:10.

That sub-2:10 list is rapidly increasing and should be higher than the chess grandmaster list within a decade.

The real answer is it depends on the person. Most have no chance at either. If you are a young woman, grandmaster will be easier, while there are maybe only a handful now alive capable of boing boing boinging on a future supershoe to a sub-2:10. If you are a fast D1 college distance guy who isn't good at chess, the sub-2:10 would be the only possibility. If you are a Japanese distance runner running for a corporation and yet to debut in the marathon, chances are really pretty high that you'll run sub-2:10.

Depends a lot on individual talent, as most people aren't equally gifted at endurance running and the mental prowess required to be a GM.

I've done both and didn't find either that difficult

The numbers are more similar than I would have thought...But the sport of running seems to have much more participation, so I'm still pretty convinced that 2:10 is harder. I'd say roughly

Sub 2:06 = world class = 2700+ GM

Sub 2:10 = among the very top in most (but not all) countries = regular 2500-2600 GM

Sub 2:20 = Sub elite = 2400 IM

A chess game has a fixed, if infinite set of possiblities, and the good possibilities are drastically limited by opening book. 99% of being good at it is experience. You are on a closed course as it were, always the exact same contest every time, no matter how it plays out.

A marathon is a different contest every time! Even if you run the same race year after year, they may change the course, the temperature may be different, maybe it's raining. Different chessboard every time. Maybe your opponent starts minus a bishop. Maybe you start minus a bishop! You have to be someone special to dominate the marathon, not just some dork who ran a lot, which is all chess requires.

I agree that it's two very different kinds of sports but certainly not everybody who plays a lot becomes good at chess and conversely really talented and hard working people achieve incredible things. Why else would there be 12 year old GMs who wipe the floor with many 40-50 year old professionals who have endless experience? Or Magnus Carlsen who has managed to stay on top for 10+ years reinventing his style multiple times on the way?

For an opposite perspective, one could even say that to be very good at running, you have to have the right body/aerobic predisposition plus years of consistent running training and "that's it". In chess, you have to know openings very well, master the endgame, practice your calculation, improve your strategic decision-making, be able to learn from your own mistakes, develop the right mindset (dealing with losses/unexpected turnarounds during a game, surprises in the opening...). I'm not claiming that chess is harder than running, just wanted to make a point that it's not just "play a lot and memorize stuff and you'll be a great chess player" because this is certainly not true.

on my chessboard i have miniature letsrun figurines. rojo as the king as he doesnt move much as much more sedentary now. rich in CA as queen because he's so cute in that dress xo. all the distance runners are the pawns - the weakest piece and watch a lot of pawn because they cant get any action. the moderators - rooks aka crooks. and TMADDHHDWOIDEJC as the bishop.

It's 2 very different things.All about talent and lots of training.