7 life lessons that a game of chess teaches you

It’s an all-out war between two minds as the players take their elephants, horses, kings, queens, knights, pawns and others into a battle over 64 blocks. This strategic game has fascinated the world since the sixth century and continues to bring together people from all walks of life. Like all other games, there’s a lot that Chess teaches that can be used in real life. We spoke to two Indian Grandmasters, Srinath Narayanan and Koneru Humpy to know what these lessons are.

Read also: The 3 most important lessons I’ve learned

You become more creative and logical, and your critical thinking develops

The game of chess requires us to come up with new plans for every move. The same applies in life, too. One cannot succeed if they do not think out of the box or are flexible to tweak their approach to life and their goals. Often, players visualise how the game is going to pan out—in some instances from the first move itself. Being able to visualise and understand is a major advantage of the game.
It trains us to anticipate what the other person has in mind

Some chess players go by their gut feeling, while others follow a strategy. In both cases, players have to see and understand the situation from the opponent’s perspective. If one keeps thinking about their plans and positions, without considering what the other player wants or has planned, they’re in for a rude shock.

Attempting to understand why someone made a certain move brings balance and perspective, be it chess or life. Learning how to anticipate, predict, and safeguard against any trouble is an asset worth having. Chess and life both teach you an important lesson: sometimes, there are external sources that decide the fate of your plan, even though you might think you have everything in control.

Helps make quick decisions

Just like in life, chess, too, sees one play against the clock. It’s these make-or-break situations and moments that make all the difference and determine a win or loss. Making the right decision within the given time frame is imperative. The same holds in life. This decision-making also helps us take ownership and be responsible for our actions.

Flexibility

Be it chess or in life, one can’t control everything. When other people are involved, it’s important, and necessary, to keep yourself flexible. You want the game to go in a certain direction, while the opponent wants something else. How things will pan out will be known only on the next move. It’s true for a game and life. The best way to deal with unpredictability is to be flexible.
You learn the importance of sacrificing

Lose now to win later—is a lesson best learned in the game of chess. Players often sacrifice a piece to make a better ploy later in the game. This principle applies even outside of the game. Sometimes, to get what you truly want or need, you may have to sacrifice in one way or the other.

You become aware of patterns

It doesn’t take much time for a chess player to realise what their opponent’s strategy is. Patterns exist on the board, and in life. The better we are at spotting them, the better we can deal with people and situations. It can help you become more self-aware and help understand others. The more we understand the better we become at dealing with things.

Read also: Do these for 60 days to become unrecognizable
You learn how the value of things change with time

Chess teaches you to appreciate the relative value of things. You’re taught that every piece has a certain value when the game kick starts, and that value changes through the duration of the game—a knight may become defenceless and a pawn may go on to become a queen. In real life, some people might cease to hold value in your life at some point or become more important than ever to you. Either ways, it is okay and one must move on with life.

Some pieces get you somewhere, some get you elsewhere. Sometimes taking one step is better than taking three or four. The goal is to eventually get there, and win.

Contributed by: Adit Ganguly

For more information and updates join our WhatsApp group HERE

Twitter HERE

Telegram HERE