Is It Possible To Become A Pro Chess Player?

Chess is one of my passions (after electronic music production).

I've been playing chess for a few years now but have never been serious about it. I'm 20 now (around 1700 on chess.com). Can I still become a pro chess player if I'm dedicated? Time is not a problem as I have a lot of free time to work on chess.

Theoretically: yes.
Practically: I would rather bet on Elvis being alive.

PS: I mean I don't know what you mean with a "pro". Leading a life like a clochard and calling yourself a chess pro, sure, that's possible.

time is a problem as you are already 20. Youngster heading for title train often like 5 hours a day in age of 12 or so. You should be about IM already to have realistic chance. Besides there are vert few chess pro who make living playing the game. It aint enough to be GM but you have be upper echelons of grand masters. People who make living out chess make it mostlyas chess teachers and trainers

Just making to NM title woud take you several years of hard study and trainign

You said chess is your passion and at the same time you wonder if you should invest more of your time in it during your free time

I think you mix passion and hobby. For you chess is just a hobby. I also bet on Elvis been alive lol

@ParentalAdvisory Think you are asking the wrong question. You should ask how to improve your gameplay.
20 years is still young, if you can learn, you can improve. Rather if you can make money out of it... well, most great players doesn't make a living out of playing chess or chess related work. That's only the very small part of the elite. Focus on education, you are 20, so this should be your focus. and have chess as a hobby:)

@ParentalAdvisory I got to playing chess a lot when I was around 25, I some time later after reading some books and getting some experience playing, I had an opportunity to take lessons from a GM, and I remember, when asked what my goal is, I said "I want to become [at least] IM". Looking back, I see how foolish it was.

I'd say, that at my peak I was around 1st rank chess player (not sure, I called it properly in English - the rank under CM). At some point I realized, how much work I'll have to put into that in order to improve further (always hard and often unpleasant, doing something that I wasn't comfortable doing), and I gave up. Now, I was working a fulltime job, so I had much less time available, and I believe I made a reasonable choice not trying to chase that dream.

To me personally, even though I was fascinated with chess having not played it for 10 years before getting back to in the age of 25, and I was enjoying every little bit of positional nuances I was able to comprehend at all times. One might confuse what I was feeling with passion. Make sure you know if you are this one.

You didn't specify what you mean by "Pro", but to me it sounds like @RegisLakrids nailed it. If chess was your passion, you'd already be spending all of your free time studying it.

I'd recommend you giving it the best you can for a year, and then evaluate the result. See if you are satisfied with the progress, see if you enjoy it and that your work ethic is good. If you are satisfied, then by all means continue and review the progress a year later. Repeat until you are "Pro" or come to realize that chess is just a hobby for you.

Even strong grandmasters struggle to make ends meet so I'm not sure why you want to be a 'professional'. Unless you're GM by 12, just forget it. You're also an adult already, making progress even slower. Just have fun and treat it as a lifelong hobby with the ambition of becoming master or something like that.

it is virtually impossible for you. you're too old and don't sound very dedicated.

It's up to you but I don't think you're bright enough. Prove us wrong.

Realistically unless you are 14 yrs old or less and about 2200 level I would forget about a pro career.