The unique feature of chess, still considered as a professional or an amateur sport in common parlance, is its association with the real life and the many things that it teaches for a person to live a successful and a qualitative life. While this does not mean to infer that persons who do not play chess will not lead a better life, it just means that awareness and expertise in chess will help in not deteriorating your life to a lower level.
Before dwelling further in to the merits of the game and its relevance in life, let us just try to find out what things are essential in a person’s life.
It is quite common to find that many decisions taken in haste or without any thought always ended in bringing some sort of misery or trouble in a person’s life. Had I not taken this decision in haste then, I would not be facing this problem now – this is a common lament we often hear from many people or in our own life we experience this feeling. One needs to have patience in life to avoid such hasty decisions.
Man is bestowed with the sixth sense and the ability to assess the merits and demerits of each aspect we come across with. Awareness of these merits and limitations, utilizing the merits to the maximum possible extent and not exposing the limitations is very essential for a person to succeed in life.
As a man, you need to take decisions at the appropriate time and seize the opportunities as and when they present themselves. If you act too defensively and want to protect yourself from attack, then you can never succeed in life. You need to assert yourself at the appropriate places and take important decisions.
Again, no thing can ever be obtained without earning it or sacrificing some other thing in lieu of the same. If you are adamant and non-responsive to sacrifice some things, then you cannot achieve anything constructive or concrete in life. If you want to earn money, then you should sacrifice your sleep and toil hard. It is as simple at it can be.
In a nutshell, to succeed in life, you should be patient, have a thorough understanding or awareness about your own self, your merits, as well as limitations, resort to aggression in case of necessity, and also be prepared to sacrifice something to get something.
Now, let us talk about the chess game. What do you do in the game? You take time to take a decision, remain patient, and assess the pros and cons thoroughly before making a move. If it turns to be a bad one, you will get kicked instantly by way of punishment from the opponent. So, the game teaches you to be patient, and not act in haste without assessing the merits. Also you cannot execute the moves as you have planned well in advance. The moves might warrant a rethink if the opponent makes a different move. You need to exercise patience, alertness and also use dynamism to change the plans as per the requirement.
You, as a chess player, should be aware of the six main pieces and eight minor pieces apart from the king and the queen, and their capabilities and limitations. Only with that awareness and knowledge, you can plan the moves and corner the opponent’s King.
In chess, the primary responsibility for you is to safeguard your chief piece, the King. Your objective is to capture the opponent’s King. While being defensive in safeguarding your king, you should also display aggression, seize the opportunity, and attack the opponent’s King. You should know when to defend and when to attack for successfully saying checkmate to the opponent.
Again, you should be prepared to sacrifice a piece, be it a minor piece or a major piece, apart from the King, if you are likely to gain material or spatial advantage over the opponent. If you do not sacrifice or give your piece in the board, you cannot get a better piece from the opponent.
Playing the game, making the mistakes at each stage and getting punished instantly, will not only help you gain expertise in the game but also teach you these vital skills for use in life.
Is it not true when I say that chess teaches you the path to success in life? Ponder and prosper.
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