How many times have you failed? Let me be more specific—how many times have you lost 20 or more rating points in a single event? I chose 20 arbitrarily, but for most chess players, that kind of drop feels like a disaster.

Many of us have had these so-called “disaster” tournaments multiple times before reaching our current level—I know I have. Yet every time it happens, it feels like the end of the world. Thoughts creep in: Maybe I’m not cut out for this. Maybe I’ll never achieve my goals. Maybe I should be doing something else with my life.

This is a common struggle among chess players. We all have expectations. I know players rated 2550+ who expect to gain 20–30 points every tournament. Others enter every event believing they must win. Some, however, set more measured and realistic goals.

We’ve all been taught the importance of having a goal. As the great philosopher and yogi Swami Vivekananda famously said:

“Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached.”

There are countless quotes about setting goals and striving for success. That’s great, but no one teaches us how to handle, process, or perceive failure. Sure, we hear phrases like “Failure is the first step to success,” but do they really help in the moment? When we fail, the only thing we truly feel is remorse, frustration, and doubt.

What we fail to realize is that failure happens to everyone. We look at players like Magnus Carlsen, Gukesh, or Praggnanandhaa and set unrealistic expectations for ourselves. Of course, they experience setbacks too—but given the chance, most of us would trade places with them in an instant. Comparing our struggles to their success is both unfair and misleading.

Each of us has a unique path. It’s natural to want to be the best, to feel frustrated when our peers surpass us, to dislike the feeling of being stuck while others improve. But none of that defines your journey.

At the end of the day, this, too shall pass.

We have faced this already in our careers, and we will face this in the future!

We often fail to recognize a simple truth: we’ve faced setbacks before and come back stronger. Every one of us has had slumps in our careers, yet as time passes, we tend to forget those phases.

Think of the stock market. I’m not sure how many readers are familiar with it, but I’ll explain a concept in simple terms.

Let’s take a hypothetical example using Reliance Industries:

• Price on January 1, 2000: ₹100
  
• Price on January 1, 2010: ₹1,000
  

For those unfamiliar with the stock market, think of it like this: Imagine the entire value of Reliance Industries was ₹100 in 2000 and grew to ₹1,000 by 2010.

Now, suppose in 2008, the stock dropped from ₹800 to ₹700, and Mukesh Ambani thought, “This is it. I can’t handle this anymore. This is the company’s biggest failure. Maybe I’m not fit for this.”

Would that make sense? Of course not. To reach ₹800 in the first place, the company would have gone through countless rough patches, periodic drops, and setbacks. A temporary 5–10% decline would have been just a small part of the bigger journey.

The point of this (admittedly silly) example is this: we often exaggerate our current struggles, believing they are the worst we’ve ever faced. This is a cognitive bias—one that tricks us into forgetting how many times we’ve overcome difficulties before.

This is not limited to the stock market. Let’s take the example of Virat Kohli—one of the greatest batsmen in cricket history. Known for his consistency, he faced a tough phase after the COVID-19 pandemic, struggling to find his form. Despite already achieving great milestones, he could have doubted himself, thinking his peak was over.

Virat’s Stats Before COVID-19 (2016-2019) – Peak Years

From 2016 to 2019, Kohli was at his absolute best, dominating all formats of the game.

🏏 Batting Stats (2016-2019)

Format	Matches	Runs	Average	100s	50s
Tests	42	4,879	64.26	17	15
ODIs	77	4,983	75.92	19	23
T20Is	45	1,502	48.45	0	15

🔹 Key Achievements
Ranked No.1 in ICC Test & ODI rankings for batsmen.
Scored seven double centuries in Tests.
Fastest batsman to reach 10,000 & 11,000 ODI runs.
ICC Player of the Year (2017, 2018).

From 2016 to 2019, Virat Kohli was on a different level—he wasn’t just the best batsman in the world, he was statistically in a league of his own. Whether it was Test cricket, ODIs, or T20Is, Kohli made scoring runs look effortless, delivering one masterclass after another. But then as we all know pandemic hit us.

Virat’s Slump After COVID-19 (2020-2022) – Lean Patch

After the pandemic, Kohli’s form dipped significantly. His last international century before the slump came in November 2019 (against Bangladesh in Tests).

Batting Stats (2020-2022)

Format	Matches	Runs	Average	100s	50s
Tests	20	872	26.42	0	6
ODIs	26	985	39.40	0	10
T20Is	27	858	37.30	0	8

🔹 What Went Wrong?
Struggled to convert starts – many 40s & 50s, but no big scores.
Dropped from the top ICC rankings in all formats.
Stepped down as T20I & ODI captain in 2021, removed as ODI captain in 2022.
Resigned as Test captain in Jan 2022 after a dispute with BCCI.

After years of unparalleled dominance, Virat Kohli hit a roadblock. His form, which once seemed invincible, suddenly became unpredictable and fragile. The pandemic disrupted cricket, and when the game resumed, something was different—Kohli was still scoring runs, but the centuries had dried up, and his aura of invincibility started fading. He could have thought, “Maybe it’s time to quit. Maybe I no longer have what it takes to be the best.”

Virat’s Comeback (2022-Present) – Redemption Arc

In September 2022, after 1,021 days without an international century, Kohli finally scored his 71st century against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup (T20I format). This marked the beginning of his resurgence.

Batting Stats (2022-2023)

Format	Matches	Runs	Average	100s	50s
Tests	12	867	47.00	2	3
ODIs	26	1,503	62.62	6	8
T20Is	15	725	55.76	1	6

🔹 Key Highlights
2022 Asia Cup: Scored 122 vs Afghanistan (T20I century)**.
2022 T20 World Cup: Played a legendary 82 vs Pakistan, one of his greatest innings.
2023 ODI World Cup: Scored 765 runs, including his 50th ODI century, breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most ODI centuries.
Back in the ICC Top 5 rankings in Tests & ODIs.

( Data taken from ChatGPT)

There are many lessons to take from this story—resilience, perseverance, and mental strength. But that’s a discussion for another day. What I want to emphasize is that failures are not the end of the world. They are never as bad as they seem in the moment.

Now, let’s talk about chess players. Let’s take the most successful ones and see—was their entire career smooth? Of course not. Success is rarely a straight line.

1st Example Caruana 

Caruana had a successful run from July 2002 to April 2003 (back when ratings were updated every three months!). However, he then faced several difficult months with poor performances. Would it have been reasonable for him to think, “Maybe I’m not cut out for this?” Perhaps—but he came back stronger.

For many of us, bouncing back isn’t always easy, and that’s okay. But that’s a conversation for another day.

2nd Example

Here are Levon Aronian’s rating fluctuations from October 2006 to July 2008. As you can see, he faced several tough months. But do you think that was the first time he had disappointing results? Of course not. And it certainly wasn’t the last.

Levon Aronian wouldn’t be the player he is today if he had thought, “Maybe I’m not cut out for chess.”

By now, you probably see where I’m going with this—if you’ve recently failed, it wasn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last. Failure is not proof that you aren’t meant for this.

Take a moment. Visit your FIDE profile and look at your rating history. Count the number of “failure months” you’ve had. Then, notice how many times you came back stronger.

Conclusion

Don’t take chess—or your losses—too seriously. Failure is a part of life. Just like the seasons change, success and failure come and go. Neither is permanent.

If you ever feel like quitting, make sure it’s for the right reasons—not because of one bad tournament. This isn’t the biggest setback you’ve ever had, and if you look back, you’ll realize: you’ve made countless comebacks to be where you are today.

And you will again.

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