I Quit My Job to Play Chess
Hi everyone! 
It's been almost a year since my last blog post. Long overdue, I know! But I'm back and a lot has happened!
This year has been quite special for me in terms of OTB chess. From February to late May, I played more classical, rapid and blitz chess than I had in the past two or three years combined. And there's a reason for that.
At the beginning of this year, I made an important decision: I left my office job, which had nothing to do with chess, and committed fully to chess coaching and my own chess development. It was a big step, but I have no regrets. And these five months turned out to be surprisingly tournament-heavy!
Let me walk you through everything.
January: Friendly Blitz Tournament, Bishkek
The year started with a small closed blitz tournament here in Bishkek, organized by a fellow chess player. It was an invitation-only event, nothing official, just a good game among friends.
But I did have one result I was particularly happy about: I beat one of the strongest International Masters in our country. A nice way to start the year!
February: Women's Rapid Tournament & SCO Selection
Next came a rapid tournament for women, which also served as a qualification event for the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) Team Championship.
At the time, I was still working at my office job, so preparation time was limited. But the tournament went well. I finished first, which earned me a spot on the Kyrgyzstan national team for the SCO Championship in China. I was very happy with that result!
March: Bishkek City Championship
In March, I participated in the Bishkek City Championship. I can't even remember the last time I played in this tournament. It had been years!
My performance was inconsistent... I wasn't fully satisfied with my play. But I managed to hold on and finish second, which I was ultimately happy with. Not every tournament goes according to plan, and that's okay.
April: SCO Team Championship, Shanghai, China
April brought something very exciting: my first ever trip to China! 🙂
The SCO Team Championship was held in Shanghai, and I have to say that the organization was at a very high level. A beautiful venue, smooth running, great atmosphere.
The format was rapid chess, played in teams. As for my personal performance, I would say I played to my level. I won the games I was expected to win, and lost to opponents who were stronger than me. No big surprises, but solid experience.
May: Kyrgyzstan Women's Championship 2026
This was the most important tournament of these five months for me.
The reason? The top four finishers would earn a guaranteed spot on the Kyrgyzstan national team for the Chess Olympiad 2026, which will be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan later this year. As someone who has participated in 9 Olympiads already, this competition means a lot to me.
The tournament didn't start smoothly. I lost in round one and drew in round two. Then a difficult loss in the middle of the event made things even harder. But I kept fighting, and by the end, I had tied for fourth place with two other players.
That meant a tiebreak, just the three of us, playing to decide who takes the final Olympiad spot.
I won two games against one opponent and lost two against the other. Second place among us three, one step away from guaranteed qualification.
Is it completely over? Not yet. There is a fifth spot – a reserve player – to be decided by the Kyrgyz Chess Union. No official announcement has been made yet. We'll see...
May (continued): Turkic Countries Team Championship, Kazakhstan
Literally the day after the tiebreak, our delegation flew to Kazakhstan for a very special event: the first-ever Turkic Countries Team Championship!
The participating nations were Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Turkey and Azerbaijan. And as you probably know, these are all very strong chess countries. There were no easy opponents.
Before leaving, I wasn't sure what to expect from myself. The competition level was high, and I was emotionally tired after the Championship.
Out of six games, I lost three, but I drew against players from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan who were rated significantly higher than me. And most importantly: I won against a Woman Grandmaster from Kazakhstan, rated over 2300.
That win meant a lot to me. It reminded me that I can compete at a high level, that my knowledge and experience are real, and that there is still a lot I can achieve with the right preparation.
Our team's best result came in the final round – a win against Turkey. Overall, it was a tough but valuable tournament.
My Takeaway: Quantity ≠ Quality
Looking back at these five months, I played a lot. More than usual. And while I'm genuinely grateful for every tournament and every experience, I also learned something important.
Playing many tournaments does not automatically make you a better player.
What truly matters is the work you do between tournaments: preparing for upcoming events, analyzing your games, working on your weaknesses. Without that, you can jump from tournament to tournament and not improve much – or even get worse.
That's something I want to change in the second half of 2026.
Right now, I have no major tournaments planned – just one local team rapid event here in Bishkek. And I'm actually glad to have this break. I plan to use it for training, for my students, and for serious work on my own chess.
I'll be adding my winning game against the Woman Grandmaster below, along with some photos from the tournaments!
Have you ever felt like you were playing a lot but not improving? What helped you break through that plateau?
Thank you so much for reading! 🙏
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