Another year has flown by. It was my best year yet, both from a business and personal standpoint.
As we turn the page to 2025, I can’t help but reflect on a year that challenged, changed, and ultimately transformed me. Here’s what made 2024 my best year yet—and the lessons I’m carrying forward.
Enjoy!
What Happened
In a nutshell, last year, I:
- Launched Beginner Chess Mastery
- Spent 8 weeks in the US
- Moved away from my hometown
- Finally recovered from a 7-year-long TBI
- Hired a part-time VA
- Took on students again
It was an intense year with a lot of challenges, most of which I managed to overcome.
Beginner Chess Mastery Launch
After over half a year of preparation, I launched Beginner Chess Mastery in March 2024. More than 400 students have since enrolled and taken their chess closer—or past—the 1200 Chess.com level.
This course made me a better teacher because I had to put myself at a beginner level and explain difficult concepts in an easy-to-understand manner. I’m proud of the course and especially happy about the feedback that shows a Grandmaster can teach chess well to beginners.
US Trip
Visiting National Parks with Alessia was a very special experience. I realized that nature energizes and heals me like nothing else. After this three-week private trip, we spent some time filming videos in LA and NYC, which was a great experience.
My video in NYC against Paul, a chess hustler, went viral, has close to 1 million views on Alessia’s channel, and gets me recognized when I play card games in Switzerland.
The disproportionate nature between normal results (Alessia’s channel averages 15–20k views) and exceptional results (933k views) further taught me the lesson of working smart, not hard.
Moving Away
US people laugh at me when I say it was a big step to move 2 hours away from my hometown. In LA, that’s just across the city; in Switzerland, it’s halfway through the country.
Living in a new environment has helped Alessia and me live even more true to ourselves and not get caught up in old habits we want to let go of.
I’ve always lived life differently than most, and following standard practice has usually made me miserable. Trusting my gut, even without strong arguments for the move, has paid off immensely. The change in environment has been a key factor in making 2024 so amazing.
Finally No More TBI
Back in 2017, I hit my head in an unfortunate accident. For over 7 years, I suffered from the effects of that traumatic brain injury.
After trying almost every method of recovery, I can finally start a year as a healthy 28-year-old who can work 100%. The whole health journey has made me much stronger mentally, and I’m deeply grateful for everyone who contributed, even in small ways.
The final step on this journey was allowing my mind to believe I was healthy. The mind-body connection is truly fascinating, and I believe we’ve only scratched the surface of understanding it.
Hired a Part-Time VA
I started writing about chess improvement in 2021 and didn’t intend to make it a business. Over time, it naturally evolved, and now I’m more determined than ever to make it a great business. A big step in 2024 was hiring a part-time virtual assistant.
Tihana helped me with admin tasks and took over some customer support for my courses. Going into 2025, I’m excited to outsource more of the tedious admin work I tend to procrastinate on.
Took on Students Again
After recovering fully and delegating tasks to Tihana, I felt ready to take on 1:1 students again. Teaching has taught me so much about chess improvement, and I’ve been fortunate to work with inspiring adult improvers and non-professional players.
Helping someone improve their chess while developing smarter study habits, a positive mindset, and emotional resilience has been deeply rewarding.
My Learnings in 2024
Here are a few key lessons I learned this year. Treat them like a buffet: take what helps and leave the rest.
- Always make the first step. Be the first to be kind, reach out, or say sorry. More often than not, it will be reciprocated.
- Shut up and listen. When you talk, you can’t learn. Everyone has something to teach you.
- Don’t judge. Everyone carries a story, baggage, and weaknesses. Seek to understand instead.
- Work smart, not hard.
- Your body can only be healthy if your mind believes it.
- Daily action > perfectionism. Small consistent efforts lead to big results.
- You underestimate what you can do in a year. Get to work and surprise yourself step by step.
- Good for them might not be good for you. Trust yourself; go your own way.
- Knowledge isn’t the problem. Execution is.
- Repetition is key. Nobody does things perfectly on the first try.
- Freedom of time is the ultimate currency. Money is just a means to buy more of it.
Some of these lessons I’ve learned before—it’s a reminder that:
“Repetition is key. Nobody does things perfectly on the first try.”
Before sharing my goals for 2025 next week, I want to leave you with one question:
What is something you know helps your chess, but you don’t do it often enough?
Start with that as a small goal for 2025. You’ll be surprised how far you can go by simply applying what you already know.
But before that, I’d love to hear your thoughts—how was your 2024? What did you learn from it? And how do you intend on improving your chess in the new year?
Keep improving,
Noël
PS: This article was initially sent out to my Newsletter list. If you want to get chess improvement advice for free in your inbox, join 17,000+ chess improvers by signing up for Friday Grandmaster Insights here.
Whenever you’re ready, here is how I can help you:
- Want to know How to train chess well? Check out Next Level Training – The Chess Training Blueprint for Adult Improvers. This course taught 800+ students the How of Chess Training. Create your high-quality chess plan and learn how to study each part of Chess, from tactics to openings & endgames. Click here to learn more.
- Rated below 1200 Chess.com? Need to refresh your fundamentals? Check out my course, Beginner Chess Mastery. You’ll learn all the fundamentals, from strategy to how to get the most out of your pieces, tactics, and endgames. You even get a full opening repertoire for free. Click here to learn more.
