From so good they can't ignore you: Of the players who had 10,000 hours of practice, some had achieved the rank of grandmaster and others were at an intermediate level. The people who became grandmasters had spent half of their 10,000 hours on serious study (Reading books and training with coaches, which forced players to identify their weaknesses and then train to overcome them). The people who stayed intermediate had spent only 10% of their time on serious study. This is because playing in tournaments doesn’t offer an appropriate challenge, the first ingredient of deliberate practice. Serious study, on the other hand, is tailored to your skill level at any point in time.