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Do you lack analytical skills? Play chess online

One of the important traits that every person should have and develop is the capability to analyze the things in the right perspective and take appropriate decisions that will finally yield the desired results.

What is analytical skill?

In the strict sense, analytical skill refers to the capability of a person to visualize or foresee complex problems and concepts, understand clearly those problems, assess alternative solutions to solve those complex problems and take informed decisions based on the information available.

In simple words, a person should take into consideration all the aspects of a situation before taking any decision. Logical thinking is one of the aspects of analytical skills that comes into picture while visualizing the possible alternatives and also in devising plans.

This is all about the concept analytical skills in simple terms. Without dwelling more on the intricacies of this trait, let us try to exploit what connection this analytical skill has, if any, with the game of chess and how playing chess online can help in developing analytical skills.

Chess is a mind game or a thinking game that requires a player to concentrate on the game, think deeply before making any move and devise a series of tactics and strategies to corner the opponent’s King and say checkmate.

The game, having been played since the 6th Century, is quite popular even today and will continue to challenge the brains of many people in the years to come, simply because it is the ideal means to exercise a person’s brain and stimulate his mind.

The game is a fair one in that there is no room for chance or luck for any one of the players against the other player. So, it is the player who decides the fate of the game himself. If he makes a wrong move, or makes a move without applying his mind, then he will be punished for the same by the opponent. Some mistakes can be rectified while some blunders cannot be rectified and the person who committed the mistake may have to lose the game as a result of a mistake or a blunder.

Now, the onus lies on the chess player to make moves after deep thinking. He has to take stock of the situation, visualize the opportunities and threats, chalk out a plan in his mind, play out the same mentally under different combinations, and then finally take a decision to make a move.

Let me just give you an example. The dark colored bishop and the rook are stationed in their usual positions at “a1” and “c1” respectively. Pawns are guarding all the three pieces, including the Knight at “b1” from the second rank. If a player wants to open up the bishop, he has the option of moving be pawn at “b2” a couple of squares, which will then provide the option of moving the bishop at “c” to either “b2” or “a3”. Here, by opening up the pawn at “b2”, the rook at “a1” gets exposed to the “a1-h8” diagonal. AS such, before deciding to move the pawn from “b2” to “b4”, the player has to pause for a while and ensure that there is no threat to the rook at “a1”, and also have a plan to defend the rook if the opponent tries to exploit this weakness.

This is not just a particular instance. For each and every move, a chess player has to do all these things, calculate the possibilities and visualize them before making a move. He has to do a lot of thinking, which can be categorized as creative thinking, logical thinking or critical thinking. The player does not know all these things. He is only rooted to the game and thinking about the moves. Indirectly his brain is involved in serious exercise and stimulates the mind.

This exercise of logical, creative and critical thinking, which a chess player does, is all that we call it analytical skill in management parlance. By playing chess regularly, a person can master these skills and train his brain to foresee, analyze and take informed decisions.

Now, with the help of Internet, any person, fond of playing chess, can do so by just visiting the online chess site, register for free, and start playing the game with any of the players available on the Internet or with the computer. This online chess not provides the much needed relaxation and fun, it stimulates and exercises your mind and rejuvenates you for fresh challenge.