I Want to Become a Chess Amateur Again

I've decided to close my business, Say Chess Publishing

Over one month has passed since the last newsletter. Stepping back from writing the newsletter weekly and participating in online chess discussions on twitter and Bluesky has had an unexpected effect.

It has completely drained my motivation to study and play chess.

This has made me think that taking a break from chess has been a necessary period of rest for me after some intense years of involvement.

Chess has been part of my daily routine for many years now. Checking chess twitter or squeezing in a quick blitz game had become second nature. Reflecting over the past month, I've realized how my intense periods of creating chess content: books, newsletters, YouTube videos, TacticsLadder.com, and The Chess Gym, gradually shifted my passion away from the game itself toward the excitement of creating products and running a business. This has been an interesting and rewarding process, and I have learned a lot from it, but it isn’t the direction I want to keep pushing. But it might also have burned my motivation and focus in the end.

Moving forward, I'd like to rediscover chess, to once again join the community of adult improvers without the pressure of content creation.

Consequently, I've decided to close my business, Say Chess Publishing. While I'm deeply grateful for the support I have received through the years from the many paid subscribers, I've paused all newsletter subscriptions and support for TacticsLadder.com as well, since I will no longer provide the same content.

This means if you are a paid subscriber, you will not be charged again (I still plan to send out any future books for free to you, since you have been kind and supported me).

Ultimately, pursuing chess as a full-time content creator isn't a realistic or truly desired path for me. Instead, I'm looking forward to reconnecting with chess purely for enjoyment and personal growth.

Finally, do not unsubscribe since I still might write to you if/when I have something interesting about chess to share.

Thank you for reading!

/Martin