What if they weren't chess players?
Welcome, everyone! Becoming one of the world's best chess players is an achievement that very few people attain. It requires many years of effort and dedication and even then, success is not guaranteed. All of the players currently in the top 50 started playing at a very young age and have dedicated their lives to the game ever since.
Many of these talented players left their studies to dedicate as much time as possible to training and improving every day. We've seen players' skill levels significantly improve after reaching the legal age of compulsory education.
However, some players prefer not to dedicate themselves entirely to chess, choosing instead to continue their studies to further their education and learning either because they enjoy it or because they cannot make a living solely from chess.
Most surprisingly of all are the players who have earned a university degree and reached the highest level of chess, playing in the Candidates Tournament, becoming World Champion or achieving an elo rating above 2800.
Next, I'm going to show you what some of the world's best players could have achieved if they hadn't played chess.
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2. Ding Liren
This first case is probably the best known of all. Nepomniachtchi learnt to play chess at the age of four and excelled in European championships from a very young age, even surpassing Carlsen himself. His skill progressed remarkably well, with him gaining approximately 100 elo points every two years and reaching 2500 by the age of 14.
However, his chess career was suddenly cut short. In 2006, he started playing the video game Defense of the Ancients (Dota). He did more than just play it, he became a skilled player and eventually turned semi-professional, playing Dota 2 under the name FrostNova. In 2011, he was part of the team that won the ASUS Cup, a tournament with thousands of players. In 2018, he worked as a commentator for ESL One Hamburg on the Russian-language channels.
And if that weren't enough, Nepomniachtchi dedicated many years to video games and also studied journalism at the Russian State Social University, achieving excellent grades (although this isn't widely known and he has never expressed an interest in pursuing it professionally).
Many people have criticised his decline in performance during his time playing Dota, as it is very difficult to become the best at something without focusing on it completely. However, I understand that these players, who spend so many hours training, need time to disconnect from chess.
Had the chess world not worked out for Nepomniachtchi, perhaps he could have become one of the best Dota players in the world, playing against Yatoro or for teams such as Team Falcons. Having started playing at only 16 years old, he would currently have a lot of experience and countless hours of gameplay under his belt. Given his progress in this video game, it's highly likely that he would currently be a well-known player with many significant victories to his name.
Furthermore, Dota and chess have quite a few similarities. For example, they are both strategy games in which you have to consider your opponent's intentions, gain small advantages and try to deceive your rival. Therefore, excelling in one can enhance your skills in the other.
Next up is Nepo's opponent in the 2023 World Championship: Ding Liren. Like Nepo, he started playing chess at the age of four, going on to stand out when he won the Li Chengzhi Cup. He won every tournament in his age category until he was 18. In these tournaments, he competed against strong players such as Yu Yangyi and Wei Yi.
By the time he was 15 or 16, he had already decided that he wanted to become a professional chess player. However, when he turned 18, his parents advised him to enrol at university to gain knowledge and experience outside of chess. In China, it is common for chess players and elite athletes to have a university education. For example, Wei Yi studied economics and Hou Yifan has a master's degree in public policy.
Thanks to his chess results, Ding was able to enter Peking University without taking any entrance exams and enrol on the law course. However, when asked in 2017 after the World Cup had ended, he said that he wanted to dedicate himself to being a professional chess player.
Although the decision to go to university wasn't entirely his own, he said he enjoyed university life, despite the tough exam periods. Furthermore, he missed some classes due to having to participate in tournaments. Despite having little time to study, he generally achieved good results in all his subjects, except in the last few years when he had to repeat some.
In recent years, Ding has become one of the best Chinese chess players in history, although he is not currently at his peak. Had he not become a chess player, however, he might have become a partner at one of the world's most important and well-known law firms.
Ding has an excellent memory, which has helped him to memorise hundreds of laws. He is also a very calm person who doesn't show his emotions much, which could have helped him when facing a jury in court.
Firouzja started playing chess a little later than other chess players, at the age of eight. Despite this, he went on to become one of the greatest chess talents of recent years. At twelve, he became the youngest Iranian champion in history. At fifteen, he became a Grandmaster, at sixteen he became the youngest player ever to reach an elo rating of 2700, and at eighteen he became the youngest player ever to reach 2800.
With such impressive results, many people thought he would become Magnus Carlsen's successor. However, his results gradually began to decline. This surprised many spectators who couldn't understand the reason for this drop in performance. Shortly afterward, in an interview, Firouzja revealed that in recent years he had dedicated some of his time to learning about fashion.
Let's not forget that Firouzja, who is of Iranian origin, moved to France years ago, a country with a strong interest in fashion. In an interview after a friendly match against Pragg, he said that he had spent the past two years trying to balance his life as a chess player with his fashion studies, and that he was taking this very seriously.
Consequently, he has reduced the number of tournaments he participates in, explaining that they take up a lot of his chess study time. However, he likes having both interests. This isn't the first time he has mentioned that he doesn't see himself dedicating his entire life to chess. He has skipped some long tournaments, such as the World Cup, because they involve too much continuous playing time.
Since then, his style of dress at tournaments has noticeably changed, and he has occasionally hinted that he would like to create his own clothing brand one day, combining his personal style with influences from the world of chess. Had Firouzja not excelled at chess, he might have ended up working for Louis Vuitton, Gucci or Balenciaga.
Duda started playing chess at the age of five. Even at this early stage, he stood out as a player, winning the World Under-10 Championship, the Polish Under-18 Championship and the European Under-14 Championship. At the age of 15, he became the second-youngest Grandmaster in history and the second-youngest Polish Grandmaster of all time.
Although he doesn't mention it much in interviews, Duda studied at the University of Physical Education in Krakow, graduating in 2020. This doesn't seem to have had a significant impact on his results in the chess world, however.
Duda has never publicly stated that he regularly participates in any sport or is interested in pursuing anything related to the world of sport. However, he has appeared somewhat discouraged in recent years, participating in far fewer tournaments than when he started and expressing in interviews that he was unhappy with his performances and could only see the negative aspects of them.
After a Polish online mini-cup, he revealed that he was experiencing an existential crisis because chess was the only activity he had ever excelled in, and said that he would wait until 2025 to see his results before deciding on his future path. If he decides that chess is no longer his path, perhaps he will become interested in sports again.
On the other hand, although it's not often mentioned, a chess player's physical condition is a very important factor, especially in long tournaments. It helps to minimise fatigue during games, aid recovery after long games and maintain concentration for as many moves as possible. The knowledge he acquired at university has likely helped him improve his tournament performance.
Had Duda not become a professional chess player, he might now be sharing the bench with Lewandowski, or perhaps even be Carlsen's personal coach.
Like the other players we've already mentioned, Vachier displayed great skill from a very young age. He began playing chess at the age of four. He won four French Age Group Championships, came second in the World Under-14 Championship at the age of 12, and became a Grandmaster at 14.
As well as being talented at chess, he surprised everyone from a young age with his exceptional mathematical ability. His teachers noted his remarkable aptitude for recognising abstract patterns and solving highly complex logic problems. He participated in several mathematics tournaments, consistently achieving top scores and finishing well ahead of his peers. Those around him could attest to his exceptional mathematical intelligence for his age.
Unlike some of the other players mentioned, Vachier seriously considered pursuing an academic career in mathematics. He studied at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), earning a degree in mathematics. After graduating, he considered further studies in number theory or pure mathematics. In recent interviews, he has admitted that complex and elegant problems still fascinate him.
However, chess ultimately prevailed, thanks to his rapid rise in the rankings and the support of the French federation. Nevertheless, he still loves mathematics and has said in interviews that if he hadn't dedicated himself to chess, he would probably be doing mathematical research or teaching at university.
Mathematics and chess are closely related, as they both involve an understanding of abstract patterns, creativity and connecting various ideas. Therefore, it's quite likely that Vachier's knowledge of and curiosity about mathematics have helped him at some point in his chess career.
One can't help but wonder whether Vachier would have won a Fields Medal, solved one of the Millennium Problems, or be teaching at the Université Paris-Saclay if he had chosen mathematics over chess.
We've looked at some of today's strongest chess players, who have not only dedicated themselves to chess, but also pursued other passions outside of it. While it can be challenging to reach the highest level in any discipline, as you've seen, it's possible with organisation and consistency.
Furthermore, it's always beneficial to have an outlet that allows you to disconnect from your work or repetitive tasks and take a break to enjoy other activities. It's important to rest and have several hobbies so that you can enjoy more things and avoid becoming obsessed with just one.
If you know of any other chess players with a lesser-known second profession, please mention them in the comments, as I'm very curious to learn more about this topic.
I hope you enjoyed this blog, learnt something new and realised that there's more to life than chess. Thank you so much for reading to the end. I'll see you in the next blog!
