Chess is Life and Life is Chess
Is Chess just a mere sport played for fun and relaxation? or does it have anything more to offer to the person playing the game?
Well, it offers both the things and that too in loads.
Chess is one of the most ancient and most popular games being played since the 6th Century A.D. The game, said to have been originated in India, had spread over to many countries across the world, and since getting popularized since 1475 and developed as a professional game in 1900s, the game is now played worldwide by many players.
The advent of Internet has made it possible to take the game a bit more to the masses through the concept of online chess. By playing chess online, one can satisfy his need to play the game whenever he wants, without waiting any further to go in search for a partner or ideal time.
What is life? – It is a sport meant to be enjoyed and played with spirit and passion. In life, sometimes you make the right moves and win and sometimes you end up miscalculating and lose. In order that you increase your success percentage and minimize the losses, you should be alert and stay one step ahead. You should have a plan in place, strategy to achieve that coveted plan and the alertness to stay on top of the plan and ensure that you do not make a mistake. For example, if your intention is to become a doctor
In chess, a player has to do a lot of thinking and deploy a number of tactics and strategies in his effort to gain advantage over the opponent. But, unfortunately all the tactics or strategies need not end up in success for the player. Some might yield the desired result, while many may not yield the desired result. Just because, the opponent also sees the same board and the pieces, and he can visualize the plan behind your tactics and nullify the plan by a defensive move or a counter attacking move.
When your attempts fail in life, one does not get dejected, lose heart and kill himself. He consoles for a while, and then gets along with another plan or strategy. In chess, if the opponent nullifies a tactic or strategy to occupy the central square, then the chess player need not or will not lose heart and resign the game. He regroups his forces and starts looking for other viable options.
This is yet another vindication that there are some things that are common between the two things – the game of chess and the Life.
Now comes the interesting part in the game of chess. By playing chess games on a regular basis, which is now possible with online chess as well, one can exercise his mind and stimulate it adequately to cultivate the virtues of attention, concentration, planning, staying alert and visualization.
Not only will he be developing these important traits, but will also improve his intelligence. When faced with a critical situation in life, he will be matured enough to look at the problem in different angles, assess the options, think more than once about the possible repercussions and then take a wise decision. He will not be bound by his passion, haste or anger that occasionally leads to wrong decisions in life.
Playing chess frequently and playing chess online now frequently will definitely refine the thinking capabilities of a person and helps him lead a quality life.
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.
Chess Links
Killer Chess Tips
- 12 chess tactics and how to use those to gain advantage – Part 10, 11 and 12
- Endgame Lessons From Game Twelve of the 2010
- 12 chess tactics and how to use those to gain advantage – Part 9
- 12 chess tactics and how to use those to gain advantage – Part 8
- 12 chess tactics and how to use those to gain advantage – Part 7