Looking back over the past 5 years in chess education, I have repeatedly gotten one piece of advice that never sat right with me:
“Don’t tell people it is hard. You need to make it fun, otherwise they’ll never buy anything from you.”
The people who told me this were well meaning. They thought I’d drive myself into a corner where I give away honest advice for free but can never make a living from it. For a long time, this confused me. I wanted to be myself, go deep, tell the truth, say the uncomfortable thing. But I also wanted to grow my audience and my business.
I’d look at creators with millions of followers and think: maybe they’re right. Maybe I need to soften it. Package it better. Make it easier to swallow.
I dabbled in it a few times. I made two opening videos. And while there were no quick promises, actual plans and ideas, it still wasn’t me.
That’s why I unlisted both of them.
Every time I tried to be someone else, it made me miserable. Because here is what nobody told me: you can’t be yourself and optimize for the algorithm at the same time. Those two things are at odds. And you have to pick.
I only recently managed to fully commit to my choice.
Since publishing The Price of Admission on February 20th, I’ve leaned into the “chess is going to be hard” philosophy 100%. Not even a little sugarcoating. Just straight what I believe to be true.
And what happened was the opposite of what everyone warned me about.
Instead of people walking away, 400+ of you now show up every week for Real Chess Training.
The replies to my newsletters became more personal, more thoughtful.
And most selfishly, I feel so alive. That’s the only way I can describe it. For the first time, there is zero gap between what I believe and what I publish. Every email, every video, every product, it’s just me.
Keep improving,
GM Noël Studer
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.
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