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Useful lessons for life from Chess

I often used to ponder what is the reason for the popularity of this board game called Chess, which is said to have been played by people across the world since the 6th Century A.D. More than 1400 years is quite a long time and still this game appeals to many in the world. The advent of technology and the super computer challenging human brain in the game of chess also amuses me quite a lot.

Now, people having interest in the game can seek the help of a personal computer with internet connection instead of a partner for playing chess online. The concept of online chess has captured the attention of the people as is evident from the number of websites vying to offer this exciting game over the Internet.

What is it in the game of chess that makes it stand apart from other games? Why is this game called as the King of Games by knowledgeable people?

Well the game of chess mirrors the life in many ways. The situations which one face in life and encounter the same and the situations on the board are more or less similar and can be compared. If you make a wrong move in the board, then you are bound to face the consequences of the same. If you do not plan a move and act in haste, then you are liable to lose a piece, an advantage, or the game itself.

If you take your life, a small mistake, an error of judgment or a miscalculation, be it in spending money without planning, choosing a life partner in a bar, or building a home with borrowed money – whatever may be the case, done without proper planning or thinking and due to passion, anger or haste, will result in bad consequences.

In that context, both chess and life have more similarities. Though categorized as just a game played for fun and excitement, the game of chess has a number of salient features that help us learn a number of good things useful for life.

The game helps in teaching us a useful virtue of analyzing. When a player sits across the board, before making his move, he has to have a close look at the board, the position of the pieces and the strengths and weaknesses of the squares, squares that need to be protected, squares that can be occupied and the squares that can be attacked. Only after getting a picture of the situation, he decides to move the piece. This habit of assessing the situation before deciding to act is a very important and useful trait, which will help us in meeting situations at life. Our mind will get tuned to look around, assess the situation, consider the options and then act, thus putting a lid on our tendency to take hasty decisions.

As a corollary to the virtue of analyzing, one more important virtue can also be learnt from the game of chess. That is related to planning. After looking at the board and analyzing the situation and just before making the move, one has to visualize the consequences of the move, and also the possible response from the opponent. The player should have a plan of action aimed at cornering the opponent’s King and should strive to take control over the square, occupy strategic positions and then launch the attack. All these things need planning – what piece to move, how to counter the move, which one to capture, which one should be sacrificed to gain positional advantage – all these things need to be analyzed , visualized and then executed for success.

In the life also, one needs to plan wisely. He has to decide which subject should be taken up for specialization, what university of school should he decide to enroll himself and how to achieve his objective. A decision on the academic career taken out of passion or haste, lured by what the other person did, might end up in a wrong decision and ultimately ruin your life. So, one need to carefully plan and take wise decisions. It is in this context the game of chess comes to rescue. The game teaches you to consider all possible options before deciding, and calls for careful and thoughtful planning.