What Is The Quickest Way To Become A Chess Master?

There are plenty of self-help books to guide the wannabe chess master. But that's too long-winded an approach, so here's a very condensed version of their advice:

Skill, intelligence and a tactical mind are a big help.
Know the rules, the names of the pieces and how they move.
Know how to set up the chess board for play.

So far so good…

Grasp the principles behind the game such as the relative value of the playing pieces, the strategy of game play and the power of threat and sacrifice.

Now the tricky bit…

Next, play lots and lots of games, preferably beating your opponent out of sight.

Patience and application are going to come in handy too…

Study the games of the Grandmasters and learn their strategies and patterns. Memorise and apply their game style while on the competition trail earning all important ranking points. With dedication, luck and perseverance the requisite number of points will be acquired. Sooner or later.

For the rest of us, we have to be content  with being somewhere in the vicinity of the chess master neighbourhood…no matter how remote.

Chess is much like learning any other discipline.  Many concepts must be mastered before one is able to create good combinations, identify and accurately calculate opportune tactics, defend precisely, and find paths to consistent winning.  Chess masters loose literally thousands of games before they themselves master their art ("practice, practice, practice").  

Strictly speaking, master-level designations require par-or-above performance at tournaments of master peers within said category.  I'll skip the details, but it should suffice that a personal involvement in tournaments and talking to FIDE masters, International Masters and Grand Masters will direct you in the right course.  Even dedicated students do not achieve mastery because their efforts fail to address their weaknesses as a player.  Find a qualified mentor in your area.

So, as you've guessed by now, there is no quick way to master chess.  If you see a young chessmaster, chances are he or she has put in much work through dedicated study that probably includes at least 4-5 years of tournament participation, chess literature study, and yet more playing with computer programms and online.  No one is born a chess genius.  Some people may be more inclined or neurologically adept to take in the demands of chess, but there is no substitute for hard work and dedication, just like in most areas of life.

The quickest way is to cheat. The easiest way to cheat is to get a good computer chess game, put it on maximum difficulty, and make all your opponents moves into it before making the moves the computer makes out on the real board.