From quitting chess to becoming a Grandmaster - Interview with Arturs Neiksans

by Arne Kaehler
10/19/2026 – GM Arturs Neiksans looks back on his remarkable chess journey, from growing up in the small Latvian town of Valka and discovering chess at age nine to representing Latvia and eventually becoming a Grandmaster. He explains why he stepped away from competitive chess, how a career detour ultimately brought him back to the game, and how coaching, streaming and commentary became increasingly important parts of his life.
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From quitting chess to becoming a Grandmaster

Interview with Arturs Neiksans

Arturs speaks about working with strong students, including Levy Rozman, his decision to skip the 2026 Olympiad, and why he is gradually shifting his focus from professional play toward commentary and content creation.

During his first visit to the ChessBase studio, he also recorded three new courses covering the Scandinavian with ...Qd8, the Alekhine Defence and the Chigorin Slav.

  • 00:00 Arturs Neiksans at the ChessBase studio
  • 00:42 Growing up in the small Latvian town of Valka
  • 02:40 How did Arturs discover chess?
  • 04:58 Latvia’s chess tradition and the influence of Tal and Shirov
  • 07:43 What fascinated Arturs about chess?
  • 09:34 Loving chess versus loving to win
  • 12:16 When did his chess talent become apparent?
  • 16:30 The breakthrough that sent him to a World Championship
  • 19:45 Dealing with expectations and a major setback
  • 22:01 Arturs’ first FIDE rating and a lesson about setting bigger goals
  • 24:04 Why failure became important for his chess career
  • 24:58 Why did Arturs take a long chess break?
  • 29:30 Studying public relations and searching for the right career
  • 31:18 How did Arturs become so fluent in English?
  • 32:34 Returning to chess and becoming a Grandmaster
  • 35:33 Becoming a coach and reaching 2631 himself
  • 39:20 His complicated relationship with Alexei Shirov
  • 41:45 How Arturs became a chess commentator
  • 45:40 Why he skipped the 2026 Chess Olympiad
  • 48:14 Will Arturs return for the 2028 Olympiad?
  • 49:11 Coaching GothamChess on his road to GM
  • 51:43 Perfectionism, self criticism and taking responsibility
  • 53:35 The future of Latvian chess
  • 55:38 Arturs’ first experiences with ChessBase
  • 57:20 Three new ChessBase courses
  • 1:00:23 Is Arturs stepping away from professional chess?

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Topics: arturs neiksans, Fritztrainer, Interview
Arne Kaehler, a creative mind who is passionate about board games in general, was born in Hamburg and learned to play chess at a young age. By teaching chess to youth teams and creating chess-related videos on YouTube, Arne was able to expand this passion and has even created an online course for anyone who wants to learn how to play chess. Arne writes for the English and German news sites, but focuses mainly on content for the ChessBase media channels.
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