7 Lessons from a Top 100 Who Left Chess to Find His Purpose

2011. Last round of the European Team Chess Championship.

GM Georg Meier is playing for Germany.
The team is in a must-win situation for a gold they’ve never tasted.
3 out of the 4 individual boards end in a draw. 

It all comes down to GM Meier’s game. If he also draws, the team gold is gone.

But GM Meier wins!

His country is crowned the chess champion of Europe. For the first time!

That day, GM Meier lived every athlete’s dream – to score in the final and win the Championship Cup for his nation.

You can imagine how promising his future looked. He was in his early 20s, ranked in the top 100, and even had training sessions with Kasparov and Carlsen.

But surprisingly, he had already decided – to quit his safe chess career to explore a new path.

But why? Is he happy with where he has reached today? 

GM Georg Meier joined GM Avetik for a chat on the ChessMood podcast.

Here are 7 key lessons from their conversation that will change how you think about success in chess and life.
 

1. Explore new interests.

“I see a lot of chess players who have developed their intellect through chess and used it only for chess,” says GM Meier.

“You can’t have deep conversations with many of them on other topics. I didn’t want to stay like that.”

It's not an easy decision when you already have a well-established identity as a top 100 player.

But for GM Meier, personal growth mattered more. So, he made the bold jump into the unknown.

 

2. It takes courage to be objective.

"Working with Kasparov and Carlsen, I saw with my own eyes that I could never reach their level."

"If I worked very hard, maybe I’d make it to the top 20, but I wouldn’t be close to them."

Accepting that you’ll never be the best, even when others think you’re almost there, can be heartbreaking.

You can continue living in an illusion.

But it takes real courage to face your situation with objective eyes.

In the long term, this level of clarity helped GM Meier discover a different, perhaps more fulfilling, path.

 

3. Choosing selflessness over ego.

Would you give away your VIP pass to the best party in the country? 😊

You’d no longer be able to play against world champions like Anand, Kramnik, and other superstars.

GM Meier was a regular at super GM tournaments in his country.

But he selflessly offered his seat to a younger player, knowing chess was no longer his main focus.

In his last super tournament, GM Meier picked a young player as his second to offer him an opportunity to learn.

Today, this young player has touched 2650+ elo: GM Dmitrij Kollars.

 

4. Don’t stay where you aren’t valued.

Around 2021, GM Meier faced a major crisis when a controversy with another public figure in German chess cost him his place on the national team.

What would you do in such a situation?

GM Meier decided to switch federations and represent Uruguay, his mother’s country.

It was clear he wouldn’t enjoy the same monetary perks and opportunities as he did with his former federation.

But he would be valued, and was warmly embraced by the fans of the new country.

 

5. A title won’t bring you lasting happiness.

According to GM Meier, the title is just a stop along the way.

It’s the process of chess improvement that makes investing time worthwhile.

“When I became a GM, I still felt like a bad player because I was measuring myself against my own expectations. The title didn’t change that.”

“If you don’t enjoy the journey and think there will be a bag of gold at the end, you’ll be disappointed.”

 

6. Detach from the result. Focus on growth.

GM Meier revealed a common trap that many players, including his younger self, fall into:

“A lot is tied up in the result. This makes chess improvement harder.” 

You have to step outside your comfort zone without worrying about results.

“If you feel the opening isn’t the right one for you, switch! 

Maybe you’ll pay a price for a bit, but you’ll learn more about chess and, in the end, you’ll become a better player.”

 

7. Define what success means to you.

GM Georg Meier walked away from chess when most people would have called it a foolish decision.

He also left a job in finance, where he could have easily pursued a high-paying career.

But in both cases, he didn’t follow society’s expectations.

Instead, he kept searching until he found his true purpose — now making a real difference through his job at Germany’s main development agency:

“I was recently in the Democratic Republic of Congo for a project where we supported basic healthcare for children, women, and young mothers.”

GM Meier has created his own definition of success—and he’s happily living by it!

***

There are many more fascinating stories from GM Meier’s life, some of them featuring the biggest stars in chess.

For instance, spending just one day with Karpov forced him to change his opening with Black. 

He also shares insider details of the 2009 Kasparov-Carlsen partnership and what he learned from training with both. 

All this and more in the podcast episode:

You can also watch the episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

What’s your takeaway from GM Georg Meier’s journey?
Share with us in the forum.