From Triumph to Uncertainty: Jan-Krzysztof Duda on Crisis, Pressure, and Losing Joy in Chess

In a recent candid interview, however, he surprised everyone by calling that very achievement “a big step backward” for his career. He revealed how intense media scrutiny, mounting expectations, and related health issues pushed him to question his future in professional chess.

A Turning Point: The 2021 FIDE World Cup

Duda’s name had already been on the radar of the global chess community, but it was his victory at the 2021 FIDE World Cup in Sochi that truly put him in the spotlight. Among others, he defeated Alexander Grischuk and famously beat Magnus Carlsen in classical games—denying the world’s number-one a chance to reclaim the World Cup until 2023. At just 24, Duda celebrated the greatest triumph of his career, but paradoxically, it brought him as many troubles as joys:

“It was definitely my biggest success. But the media and public pressure became huge. I felt like my mental and physical health started to collapse,”
he confessed.

Despite continuing to post solid results on the surface—winning several online events, a Champions Chess Tour event, and a Grand Chess Tour event in Warsaw—Duda was privately battling growing fatigue, frustration, and doubts over whether he could sustain a top-level chess career.

Endorfy Chess Challenge Poland 2025: The Quiet Revelation

It wasn’t until late January 2025 that Duda opened up about his struggles—right after his victory at the Endorfy Chess Challenge Poland. This 15-player online rapid and blitz event used a Speed Chess Championship-style format. Duda won convincingly with three straight victories in the knockout rounds:

• 14–5 against IM Jan Malek,
• 14–6 against GM Szymon Gumularz,
• 13.5–4.5 in the final against IM Kacper Drozdowski.

After the final match, host IM Dawid Czerw had an extended conversation with both Duda and runner-up Drozdowski, who also lives in the town of Wieliczka near Krakow. Drozdowski spoke about his experiences at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), where balancing tough studies with competitive chess took its toll on his progress. Duda then opened up about his own “existential crisis.”

The 2024 Olympiad: The Final Straw

Reflecting on the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Duda revealed how that event became a breaking point for him:

“I had a huge crisis of faith after the Olympiad. It’s ironic because I gained +10 rating points and finished fourth on board one, but I was extremely unhappy with my play. At one point, I decided to become an amateur.”

While his statistics looked good—only Gukesh Dommaraju, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and Magnus Carlsen outperformed him on the top boards—Duda was haunted by two blunders. In the sixth round, he overlooked a straightforward winning move (36.Kxf1) against GM Valentin Dragnev and instead played 36.Kh2??, allowing a spectacular queen sacrifice and perpetual check. In the very next game, he lost to GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac with one careless move.

“Winning games doesn’t really give me a spark, but losing or messing up crushes me. The negative feedback is overwhelming,”
Duda explains. After the Olympiad, he turned down invitations to high-profile events in Wijk aan Zee and Prague.

A Blitz Bronze and an Uncertain Future

At the end of 2024, Duda’s spirits were briefly lifted by a bronze medal at the FIDE World Blitz Championship in New York. He reached the quarterfinals—beating Fabiano Caruana—and lost to Carlsen in the semifinals. He shared third place with Wesley So and wryly recalls how organizers mistakenly gave him a rapid medal instead of a blitz one. Yet even this success couldn’t calm his turmoil:

“I’m starting to lose faith in all formats of chess. Not long ago, I couldn’t imagine not enjoying blitz, but in New York it was exhausting and, honestly, not that pleasant,”
he admits.
Even in his free time, Duda’s passion for chess remains evident:
“Chess is my life. I don’t know anything else as well. As the saying goes, you don’t have to be a genius to play chess, but you do have to be one to quit.”

“A Big Step Backwards.” Where Did It All Begin?

Duda describes his situation as a “kind of existential crisis,” and surprisingly attributes its root to his biggest triumph: the 2021 World Cup:

“That was the happiest moment of my career, but also triggered the frenzy—media attention, demands—and then my health took a hit, mentally and physically.”

He admits that his motivation was always more about competition and ego than pure love of the game, and after Sochi, it nosedived. In 2022, he says he carried on “by inertia,” still scoring titles like the Oslo Esports Cup and the Warsaw stage of the Grand Chess Tour. However, the long-anticipated FIDE Candidates Tournament in Madrid ended in disappointment:

“Everyone expected miracles from me, and I also treated it as something sacred. I cracked under the pressure, finishing at the bottom of the table.”

He points to insufficient preparation, an inability to filter out media and sponsor demands, and a chaotic environment in the Polish camp at the 2022 Olympiad in India. There, he played only five rounds, partly due to the absence of a team captain and internal disagreements.

Creative Instinct Without the Joy

Renowned for his fighting style, Duda now confesses that training and preparation are increasingly taxing:

“I’ve never been as disciplined as, say, Radek Wojtaszek, who memorizes lines for hours before a tournament. I always relied on creativity and strong defensive skills. But now, I feel my energy fading.”

He also notes the rise of a new generation—players like Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, and Abdusattorov—who live and breathe chess training.

“I still believe I can beat anyone, but I realize my passion is waning. They’re chess fanatics. I’m no longer at that level of intensity.”

What Next?

Having declined Wijk aan Zee and Prague, Duda says he’s considering playing in the 2025 World Cup and the Grand Swiss. He believes these events might determine whether he continues in professional chess:

“If it’s going to be negative and exhausting again, I’m not sure there’s a point in carrying on. Or maybe I’ll find a way to rekindle my love for the game.”

For now, he’s open mostly to online formats and exhibitions where he can freely experiment without being tied down by exhaustive opening prep. He’s also intrigued by Fischer Random (Chess960), where the starting positions are randomized and rote memorization is less important.

Other Chess Legends Who Struggled With Pressure and Burnout

• Bobby Fischer (1943–2008)
  The legendary American world champion from 1972 famously disappeared from the public eye after defeating Boris Spassky. He grew increasingly reclusive, avoiding the media, and nearly stopped playing competitive chess. He remains a symbol of how external pressure and personal demons can overwhelm even the greatest talents.

• *Vladimir Kramnik (1975)
  The former world champion who dethroned Garry Kasparov battled declining motivation and health issues. He gradually withdrew from major events and in 2019 announced his retirement. Kramnik acknowledged that his enjoyment of chess had faded, prompting him to seek new challenges.

• *Teimour Radjabov (1987)
  An Azerbaijani GM and former chess prodigy, Radjabov took an extended break after a controversial exit from the 2020 Candidates Tournament. He spoke openly about how the politics surrounding chess events sapped his enthusiasm. Nonetheless, he eventually returned to high-level competitions and managed to regain solid form.

• Reuben Fine (1914–1993)
  An American grandmaster and leading player of the 1930s and 1940s, Fine largely withdrew from chess after World War II to focus on psychology. His story illustrates how even world-class players sometimes choose radical career shifts when fatigue or new interests arise.

Duda’s account highlights the fine line between peak performance and burnout in top-level chess. While fans track results and ratings, the world’s leading players wrestle with immense pressures, public expectations, and their own psyches. Duda’s journey reveals that even the most resounding successes can carry a hidden cost. Time will tell whether he can rediscover the joy and drive that propelled him to the world elite. The global chess community, for its part, would surely be thrilled to keep his creativity and fighting spirit on the grand stage.