Only the top players can earn money

The vast majority of chess players simply don’t earn money from the game. In fact, they spend lots of money on boards, tutors, and traveling to tournaments.

According to Hercules Chess, a resource blog for learning chess, the best players earn more than $100,000 USD per year, with the top 3 earning more than $1 million. Still, only a small portion earn money.

Salary	Number of players
$10 min/year	No one
Over $1 min/year	Top 3 in the world
Over $200k	Top 10
Over $100k	Top 50

Considering that 1 billion people play chess, there are undoubtedly untapped earning opportunities¹⁰