I stopped enjoying chess after years of playing

It doesn't require a commitment, just play for fun when you feel like it.

A good analogy is playing golf. There are people who are very serious about improving their golf game. They spend hours at the driving range, hours at the putting range. They sacrifice their personal and family life ("the golf widow"). They will likely never be as good as the pros, and the harder they try, the more frustrating and less enjoyable the game becomes. If they just went out and screwed around, and accepted the fact that it is a game of mistakes, errors, and snafus, it might even be funny and enjoyable. It should not be a reflection of their self-worth, just a silly imperfect game, just like chess. It does not require any practice or commitment of any kind.

Playing "just for fun" is not for everybody. It is normal for someone who takes the game seriously, who can't play to their potential to not want to play. You are still young if you are of college age. A break of a year or two to focus on your studies might be a good idea. It's a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of your life. And you will probably come back strong, having trained your mind with high level mathematics.

i feel you man im kinda going through the same thing but in a different way. im getting tired of chess too but i love it too much to stop playing. not making any progress just makes it even more frustrating. honestly it feels like a toxic relationship

"Chess requires a commitent, you need to solve puzzles, analize games, learn new things, and most importantly energy for thinking."

No, actually it doesn't require what you mentioned. It isn't your job. Chess is your hobby. The only requirement for your hobby is that you enjoy doing it. If you don't enjoy it, why do it in the first place? What activities you enjoy within chess depends on yourself. Some people don't enjoy playing and prefer solving endgame studies or even creating studies themselves. Some people only want to play a few games while commuting. Some players enjoy to only play games. Some people only enjoy analyzing other people's games. Some people only enjoy OTB chess. some players only enjoy bullet or blitz. Some people only enjoy rapid.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. If a hobby isn't fun for you anymore, you have to question, why you chose this hobby in the first place. What is the reason, you don't enjoy it anymore? Can you change something about it to make it more enjoyable and if not what other hobbies or activities do you find more interesting and enjoyable.

@be-kind-always said ^

@Damkiller25 One popular saying in the gaming community goes "You never quit Minecraft, you just take breaks." -- I think the same applies to chess.

Wow that’s a good way to put it.

I’d recommend taking a break if you aren’t enjoying it, but no need to put a specific timeframe on it. Chess can simply be: not right now.

@ThreeSadPandas thank you <3

@Damkiller25 said ^

It isn't because chess is bad or about venting lichess cheaters.
Mostly because I changed.
Chess requires a commitent, you need to solve puzzles, analize games, learn new things, and most importantly energy for thinking.
I have none of that, I have college and already I'm doing intelectual things, like higher level math and physics or programming, so appeal for another intelectual subject is lo...

See your rating you are better than half of Lichess players

There is probably no right and wrong decision, just take a decision.
But I must notice: enjoyment is good. Attachment to enjoyment is bad.
Whatever you do you won't enjoy it forever. You will have good time and bad time.
If you go to gym sometimes you enjoy sometimes not. Sometimes you use will power. Discipline. Effort.
If you are a boxer, you most likely are not enjoying when you get punches in your face....
Quiting is not bad itself. Quiting because of facing difficulties is bad. It's way more about... Why?
But I maybe wrong...

@Damkiller25 said ^

It isn't because chess is bad or about venting lichess cheaters.
Mostly because I changed.
Chess requires a commitent, you need to solve puzzles, analize games, learn new things, and most importantly energy for thinking.
I have none of that, I have college and already I'm doing intelectual things, like higher level math and physics or programming, so appeal for another intelectual subject is lo...

Same here ..Studies are tiring my mind and then at my playing time comes chess .All the sitting and mental stress again.So I am deciding to quit chess soon .You might see that my elo is good but reaching 2000 is just impossible bro. So I will tell the truth to my dad and play football as my career instead