15 Life Lessons we can Learn from the Game of Chess!

A chess player is always better prepared to deal with the world. From this game of chess, one learns some critical lessons that can be applied in life also and can lead to victories that are far sweeter than anything achieved on a practical chessboard.

Regular chess players are more intelligent and have more knowledge about everything in general. Playing chess is like playing the game of life. One’s decisions have consequences for the future. We know that each move we make, in life or in a game, determines a unique path for the future.

Both require a smart strategy and a confident sense of leadership to reach successful end goals. This strategy-based board game can teach you a lot about life:

1. How you start a game determines how you will finish it. Play wisely.

2. Learn to spot opportunities. There are often clearly defined lines of success that work well. Learn to see these when they repeat, and take advantage of them.

3. Try to simplify the things.

4. Sometimes you get stuck in a position known in chess as zugzwang: where whichever move you make is a bad one. This situation occurs sometimes in our life too.

5. When someone makes a move that you are not able to understand, don’t waste your time reading more into it than you need to. Sometimes people just make silly moves – they are not important.

6. Don’t get pinned down. Where something more cherished cannot be brought into play because it is stuck behind something trivial, make every effort to get it into the game – as soon as possible.

7. Be flexible. If the things do not go as you planned them – adjust and continue.

8. Never rest on your laurels or what you did last time for the problem. Keep thinking, looking for new opportunities and trying to generate new ideas.You cannot solve the same problem with old solutions.

9. Keep calm and move slowly.

10. Replace wishful thinking with action.

11. Don’t be overly impressed with lofty words or titles. Just focus on your goal and do everything possible to achieve it.

12. If you lose, do so graciously and try to learn at least one important lesson.

13. Appraise your position honestly. If it is bad, do something about it – if it is good, make it even better.

14. Don’t get swept up by distractions.

15. Keep your options open and always have an escape route.

                                                        Have a great life and keep  playing chess…