It is no doubt a universal fact that the game of chess is not just a tool for relaxation or just a game played for fun by the people who have no other work to do other than kill boredom.
People who have learned the game and played it will no doubt have realized how interesting the game is and the challenges it pose to the thinking mind. The game is not only a very fascinating game that challenges your mind to the core, but it is also the oldest and the ancient game that is still enjoying the popularity among the people. Chess is not a game that is confined to one part of the world, but is a universal game played across the world by people in all strata of the society. There is no age or other entry barriers for this game.
The advancement of the technology, especially Internet, has not affected the popularity of the game amidst new innovations of Xbox, PlayStation and other video games. In fact, the Internet and the computer technology have been playing a much larger role in taking this noble game to the masses in the form of Online Chess.
Why Chess is still popular among the masses, even after 1500 years, in this new age world?
Chess has many similarities with the real life and many researches have confirmed this fact with valid facts and figures. Chess has been discovered to teach many invaluable lessons to the people who play and gain expertise in the game.
As a chess player playing the game, the most important thing you need to do is to have a clear understanding of the pieces in the board and their relative positions. Analyzing the situation and weighing the pros and cons before making any move are the essential prerequisites for a player in the game. This habit of analyzing things before taking any decision is a very useful trait that can be applied not only to the game but also in real life.
Chess is a turn-based game. In other words, you can make the second move only after the other player responded to your first move. Both the players will be looking only at the 64 squares in front of them and as such, as a player, you can understand from the moves of the opponent what he is thinking about the position in the board and what he is attempting to do. This gives you an opportunity to also analyze the opponent, based on his moves, what he intends to do or actually do. This insight or knowledge about analyzing the opponent based on his moves can very well be reflected in analyzing the people you come across in real life based on their activities and intentions. Thus, we can safely conclude that the game of chess will help you in teaching the invaluable skill of analyzing people and their thought process depending upon their actions.
Having analyzed the position of the pieces in the board and also the thought process of the opponent, you, in the game of chess, need to plan your move or a series of moves aimed at cornering the opponent’s King. The plan and the strategy should not just be a series of moves but it should encompass the counter moves of the opponent and how to effectively nullify the counter-threat. A little amount of foresight and creativity are also called for while planning your strategy. This invaluable trait of planning ahead, applying some foresight into planning as well as creativity can be of immense use to a person in real life as well.
In a nutshell, the game of chess teaches you the skill of
• Analyzing the situation
• Analyzing the people, and
• Planning your actions accordingly in line with the objective.
These three skills, apart from many other essential skills, will, no doubt, take informed decisions in real life and help you lead an organized and a qualitative life.