He was a child prodigy, a rising star, the future of chess. He grew up breaking one record after another and was the source of his nation’s pride. He loved the game. Yet, at a certain point he quietly stepped away from the spotlight. He stopped climbing the Mount Everest. With the same pair of hands that used to send pieces flying across 64 squares in one-minute bullet, he pushed open the heavy metallic gates of the Stanford University that stood before him. Why did Parimarjan Negi quit chess? Yuanling Yuan for Chess Life tells you why.