4 Ways That Playing 9000 Games of Chess Has Benefited My Life (and Why You Should Play Too)
It’s an addiction — a healthy one.
The first time I played chess (that I can remember) was when I was 7 years old with my mom.
I fell in love immediately. So, I joined a chess club at school and competed a bit placing second in a provincial tournament and first in another.
After that, I stopped playing though. Unfortunately, chess was never a “cool” game.
It wasn’t until a few years ago that I decided to start playing again.
Now, I’ve played over 9000 online games and it has benefited my life in many ways.
Before you scream, “NERD!”, let me explain how it can benefit your life too.
1. Thinking ahead
The best chess players can think and visualize several moves ahead (or even see the whole game in advance) to help them make the best move now.
As a child, I never studied openings, end games, or any technical skills.
The only skill I had was that I could visualize multiple possible moves and plan far in advance. Having that unique ability was the only reason I was better than the average player.
Chess helped me nurture this ability and that has benefited me in multiple areas of life. It doesn’t matter whether it’s business or driving a car, thinking and visualizing what will happen next is useful.
If we use business as an example, thinking ahead is a valuable skill because you can analyze potential outcomes and plan accordingly.
Life is full of surprises. Chess can help you predict those surprises.
2. Problem solving
The entire game of chess is comprised of solving problem after problem. That’s why chess requires so much focus (in fact, it requires so much focus that you can burn 1000s of calories).
Simply put – If you screw up, you lose.
Becoming a better problem solver makes you a more effective worker, business owner and human.
After all, life is a compilation of problems. Is it not?
Life hits you with problems consistently. When you think your problems are finally over… boom! Another one!
How you approach those problems is important and can often determine whether the outcome will play in your favour.
Problems are an opportunity.
Coming up with a good solution to a problem is how you can move ahead in life.
Chess helps you gain comfort when dealing with problems, and the more you play, the easier it becomes to approach problems with a clear and calm mind.
3. Pattern recognition
Once you start paying attention, you notice patterns everywhere.
The easiest example is using people’s behaviour. Learning those patterns helps make life more predictable and you can use that to your advantage.
A chess board is 8 by 8 squares with multiple different pieces that move uniquely. They’re a team, that must follow rules, but are all different in their way.
The more you play, the more you notice patterns in how these pieces move, where they will move, and why they will move there.
That is a lot like humans.
We tend to repeat ourselves, how we act, and what we say. Humans can be quite predictable if you are paying attention to these patterns.
Chess will help you focus on the little things which over time reveal themselves as patterns.
4. Focus
If you cannot focus, you will fail to recognize patterns, solve problems, or think ahead.
Chess requires immense focus if you want to be a good player. The good news is that the more you play, the better you will become at focusing.
In a world full of distractions, focus is a skill that is becoming increasingly rare.
At the same time, focus is also one of the most important skills in high-performing individuals.
Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah, etc. They’ve all been known to be incredibly focused.
Chess has proven to be one of the most effective ways for me to improve my ability to focus.
Conclusion
While some other games and activities can benefit you in the same way as chess, chess has proven to be the most beneficial for me.
A couple of years ago when Queen’s Gambit came out on Netflix, I noticed a massive surge in chess players. It gauged interest in those who perhaps played as a child, or never played at all.
Chess almost became “cool”.
Many of those people still play today because they’ve noticed the same benefits I listed.
And if we are being honest here, it is also incredibly fun
Thanks for reading.