I see a lot of 1D+ players who got that rank in less than 10 games. I was wondering how long do you think they played before making an account to get that good? Or how many hundreds of games?
Those will quite probably be experienced players who are new here and quickly rank up.
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most people never get dan, even after thousands of games
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Yeah. According to the histogram someone made on here it’s like top 8%.
But I was wondering for the one who do make it how long it takes them.
I also wonder how they got the data to make that graph.
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From first learning about Go to reaching 1 dan could take anywhere from a few months (wildly optimistic lower bound, since probably about a year is more realistic for the most talented players) to many years (or simply never for most players). I don’t know about how to get data on the actual progress time for a lot of people.
I think that data for those graphs were obtained in an automated way via the API for the website.
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It takes as long as it takes. It’s possible at all for twice as fewer people as you would expect and for those it takes twice as long as they would hope.
For me it seems (never know with OGS ranks) it took around five years and 2500-3000 games. And even that only because OGS weakened the ranks. Old Elo ranks were mighty tough.
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Shortest I’ve heard for an adult learner was one year for now-professional Cătălin Țăranu. As for me, it took about five years. I’ve also met a 12-year-old 1d, although I never asked when he first started playing.
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Oh, I forgot to mention… for me, it’s been over 15 years and counting… hopefully, any day now…
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1 dan = 1000 games + 1 year
(if u play Go seriously…)
I’m 300 games + 3 months = 9 kyu.
I never review games, never count liberties, never learn jesokis and never solve tsumegoes… I never take Go seriously.
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According to zoom farid Farid Ben Malek became 2 dan in 11 months (on the French scale which is tougher than OGS). This is exceptionally fast. However he says he lost motivation after spending 1.5 years in Japan as an insei so what’s the point?
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This may be a bit semantic but achieving a rating of ELO 2100 would not automaticly imply you would reach, or be awarded a first Dan if you were training under the guidance of a Master or Grandmaster. Technical skills alone are hardly ever the only factor in being awarded a grade in the traditional system.
Besides that the question, however seemingly reasonable, is a strange one. Asking how long it takes to learn how to fly is a logical one if you are a bird. But what if you are a fish? 
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2 years 8 months from 5k to 1d.
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Everything is walking distance away, if you have the time.
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I’ve been playing for about 9 years but i still havent reached 1d, so i hope the correct answer is “10 years” XD
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Yes, but not because it is hard to reach - it just takes long to reach (each stone progressively longer and more experience), and most people quit earlier.
Took me 10 years with long breaks. Should be faster today with bot reviews - but the challenge not to drop the game is also harder for the same reason.
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Well, time is not enough for many who spent all of it with dedication. Guidance helps for efficiency too btw.
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For me it was a bit under 2 years and probably about 1000 serious games.
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One dan in a year is bit more common for children starting go early (7-8) with a good teacher and other children to play. But still no guarantee.
Note that Farid went quickly to 1k but stayed like half year at that step.
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