Why I'm Quitting Chess

Hello everyone, welcome back to another blog post. Today, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on chess—and why I’ve decided to step away from the game.

Introduction:

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First, I should start off with my background in chess to provide context for those who don’t know me. I picked up chess in April 2020 because there was nothing to do during the pandemic, and I got hooked on the game. I played for hours every single day non-stop, and eventually started playing over-the-board tournaments in March of 2022. After a couple more years of online and OTB chess, I managed to reach Master status in March of 2024. My peak online ratings as of May 8th, 2025 are 2739 in Blitz and 3120 in Bullet (rank #26 in the world).


The Why: 

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1. The Dedication This Game Requires

There’s no question that chess is a game that takes a lifetime to learn—and none of us will ever fully master it. That kind of depth is actually part of what draws people in. Knowing there’s always room to grow, always more to discover, is an addictive feeling. When I was climbing the ELO ranks from 900 to Master, it felt like the sky was the limit.

Unfortunately, that perspective changed once I hit Master. After reaching the title, I took a break from the competitive scene for nine months. When I returned, I was no longer in the u2200 sections—I was playing with other Masters. Even though I was still gaining rating bit by bit, it felt like I was trying to climb Mount Everest. Masters don’t make the same inaccuracies u2200 players do. Every creative idea you come up with, every plan and calculation—they always have some resource to make your play as difficult as possible to execute. It really opened my eyes and made me gain even more respect for how much time and effort these players put into the game. It’s a completely different level.

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2. Modern Day Opening Theory Standards

Opening theory is no stranger to anyone. These days, everyone and their mother knows 50 moves of Sicilian Najdorf theory and a bunch of other lines. With so many resources out there, the expectation to know your stuff—especially in OTB play—is insane. Of course, opening theory isn’t everything (as they say, openings don’t win games—usually), but the higher you go, the more they start to matter. You’ll be punished hard for lacking opening knowledge.

I understand why many chess players want to switch to Chess960 (Freestyle Chess) to avoid all the theory. It makes sense in theory, but the truth is, Chess960 is very different from standard chess. It’s easy to underestimate how important pattern recognition is in chess, and in 960, a large part of that gets thrown out the window. It doesn’t surprise me that many chess masters become significantly weaker in this new form compared to the traditional version.

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3. Burn Out

The first couple of points were more about chess in general, but this one’s a little more personal. I’ve probably played over 130,000 games across all platforms in the past five years, tried every opening in the book, and seen tons of unique positions. I know true chess lovers like Daniel Naroditsky can play 250-game bullet matches through the night, but that just isn’t me anymore. It’s been a struggle to find enjoyment in chess lately.

Moving Forward

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Chess truly is a one-of-a-kind game. For those of you who love it, I hope all your chess goals come true. For those who’ve been following my blogs, you’ve seen my journey from online games to reaching Master OTB. Unfortunately, I decided a while ago that I’m moving on from competitive chess for good—so there likely won’t be any more OTB blogs.

Even half a year ago, I could feel the last embers of my interest in chess slowly fading, so I picked up content creation to try and bring them back. While it didn’t quite reignite the spark like I hoped, I’ve built a wonderful community that I’m truly grateful for, and I hope to continue having a good time with all of you.

Also, for anyone who watches my streams—don’t worry, I’ll still be streaming chess. I’m just shifting more toward educational content for now instead of playing myself.

Concluding Thoughts:

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The simple solution to beating better players is to just study harder. The simple solution to dealing with opening theory is to put more time into it. While both of those things are true, I’d rather move on to a new chapter of life. I’m really grateful for everything this game has given me, and it’ll always be a period I look back on with fondness.

Even though I don’t enjoy playing chess right now—not even online—I still love seeing others achieve their goals and hearing your stories. So, for the foreseeable future, all my blogs will be focused more on helping you improve rather than talking about my own journey.

The next blog idea is a complete guide to mastering Bullet chess, but if there’s anything else you want to see, don’t hesitate to reach out.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read. Summer is right around the corner, until next time!