It’s been a while since I last posted something on the Millionaire Chess on my personal website. The seemingly lull is not a break from this activity. Far from it. The “absence” from my personal website was a felt “presence” in preparation for the MC in October this year. Still, I think this is a good time to reflect on my thoughts and findings over the past several months.
While I thought that preparing for MC2 would be a lot easier than that for MC1, I now realize that I concluded prematurely. This time around expectations are higher, the dreams bigger and thus the work has been much greater and the pressure, more intense. The result for me has been increased stress and strong feelings of prolonged depression. We all go through some kind of “hay leui (similar to discourage)” in life, the time when we struggle emotionally, feeling stressed or hopeless and some kind of “hay hui = sign” those times when we are on the brink of giving up. This is a project I have poured my heart and soul into, and it’s been difficult watching it struggle to gain real traction.
Maurice and I want to effect change in the world of chess. We have many of the tools to do so and the most amazing concept for high stakes chess. Even now, from a strictly business standpoint, I still challenge anyone that doesn’t see the potential for growth in the game. So why am I frustrated today?
What I did not know then and what I fully underestimated is the challenge it would be to fully penetrate the chess community. I know in my heart of hearts that there are millions of people who play love chess and play it often for their leisure. However, what no one has yet solved is how to get those people to want to support the game enough to allow it to rise in visibility. As for an idea like MC, is it simply a matter of spreading the word far enough? Are we still too unknown to those who love this game? Or is there something more we are not seeing?
While I was in Africa on my first solo trip, I was able to be table my expectations about MC. For the first time, I was able to acknowledge the possibility that there might not be MC3 if major milestones are not achieved. Our vision may be too big for the sport to “accommodate” at this moment in time. It’s likely that players need more time to adapt to changes; we could have taken things slower. Maybe the demand is just not there for the full-blown concept. Could it be that we need to make some major adjustments to keep testing the market? Maybe we need more of the trial and error experiences before we start tasting the sweet fruits of our labor.
Though these have been difficult realizations to consider, I fully embrace these sudden feelings of desperation and hopelessness as vital baggages on the road to success. I am grateful. I am inspired. We have already started new directions and several road-optons to ensure the growth of MC, even welcoming more stakeholders. All these however, do not distract us from our vision of taking chess mainstream. We are prepared and armed to do everything within our power to make our vision come true.
After coming home, I felt ready for the battle once more —