[Rebelgecko]

Yeah, it's sad to see champions giving up chess in their 30s but I can also see the desire to leave on a high note, before you've declined, and also spend your life on other things- you've already shown you're the best so why invest all that time and effort into keeping your title? There's definitely diminishing returns.

[alar44]

If you're talking about competitive players, they don't give up, they stop competing professionally and usually go on to teach. Competitive chess is a gruelling full time job.

[Rebelgecko]

Exactly. It's interesting to see how poker seems to differ.

[amalcon]

Well, there's a lot more money in poker.