Oliver Kurmann

Swiss IM

“Combining my work as a lawyer with a semi-professional chess career was generally fine for me. But over the last decade, it has been very difficult to balance both while making serious progress.

So, at 40, I decided to quit my job at the end of August 2025, take a one-year break, and focus entirely on chess.

Objectively speaking, I chose the worst possible moment for an ‘Elo attack’. Due to rating inflation, it’s now harder than ever to make big leaps at this level. On top of that, I’m at an age where most players are already declining.

I dropped back below 2400 Elo for the first time in 17 years. My peak was in November 2017 — at 2488. So, I am simply trying to make the best use of the time available. It’s also important to enjoy this break with a focus on chess, which is difficult if I only think about the 2500 mark.

For me, it’s like in the movie ‘Mission: Impossible’: it seems impossible, but we know that in the end, everything always works out.

I remain optimistic, and we will see where I stand at the end of my sabbatical.”