5 Ways Chess is Like Crypto
Just like crypto, no one “owns” the game of chess. It made wonder how many other ways chess is like crypto. I came up with five. Can you think of any others?
1. Chess & Crypto Are About Strategic Deployment of Assets
Historians talk about how the game of chess is patterned after war. But few talk about how to win the war! Regardless of what you play, how you manage your strategic assets will be the difference between whether you win or lose.
From the all-powerful queen to the mighty pawn, strong players know how to defend and protect their pieces. Cryptocurrency is the modern equivalent of protecting wealth and defending a financial future in today’s world. Not only do you get to bypass conventional, centrally controlled systems (a bishop move if I ever saw one) you also get to hop over barriers to access, high interest rates and restrictions on international money transfers (knight moves). Did you know that more than one-third of the world’s population is “unbanked”? Meaning they can’t access even the most basic of traditional banking services. So when more than a third of the world’s population can’t get a loan, start a micro-businesses or start a small agricultural business, we all lose. The ability of cryptocurrency to lift billions out of poverty is a strategic move for the global economy.
2. All Information About the Game is Known to Both Players
There are no ‘hidden moves’ in chess. Both players see all the same information about the same game at the same time. Blockchain transactions work the same way. Each transaction is recorded in a distributed ledger. Just like the touch-move in chess — once you make a cryptocurrency transaction neither party nor anyone else can change the permanent record. In chess and in life, disciplined analysis and risk assessment is essential before you make your move. Any chess game played in public is archived and available for review and study later. This is how top players prepare for play against their opponents. It’s how GM Nepomniachtchi will prepare for the World Chess Championship later this year. Although transactions on the blockchain may be anonymous, the accounting ledger on which they take place is not.
3. Both Chess & Crypto Require You to Think Several Moves Ahead
Staying focused and keeping thoughts well-organized is crucial for beating strong opponents. Visualizing complex lines while simultaneously evaluating who will have the advantage at the end of a tricky line is similar to strengthening your asset portfolio in cryptocurrency. A similar mindset is required to be successful with your financial future. Just like in chess, how you deploy your assets today will determine your financial strength in decades to come. Increasingly, both chess and crypto are going to play a role in our lives in coming years. Cryptocurrencies are going to become part of seamless financial transactions, and chess is going to remain a mainstay of eSports entertainment and the world sports culture.
4. Chess and Crypto Transcend Borders
The last 20 years has shown what a distributed network based on a common protocol (TCP/IP) can do. It has revolutionized commerce, entertainment, culture, transportation and finance. Countries like El Salvador now accept cryptocurrencies as legal tender because it brings financial inclusion, investment, innovation and economic development. China is going against trend this trend by cracking down hard on the infrastructure that makes crypto possible. But they are going against the mainstream, and at the same time developing their own version of a digital currency. They want to make sure payment systems do not fall into the hands of the private sector. But that will not stop the cryptocurrency market. And if China is out of the market, that just leaves more room for the rest of us. The world is watching what China does. But the benefits of digital wallets, anonymous financial transactions and instantaneous global transfers is transformational economic power to those who have access.
5. Chess and Crypto Will Last for Centuries
In many ways, chess and crypto are embraced for the same reason: they tear down borders and unite people. Chess is a friendly meeting of the minds, even among the most competitive rivals. Chess may be the world’s most popular game, more so now than ever before. It’s estimated that more than 62 million people watched ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ and became hooked on chess. Growth in the number of daily active users at Chess.com grew more than 5x during the past year and the world’s most popular chess destination now has more than 70 million members. ChessKid also saw a huge spike in growth.
Understanding how both chess and cryptocurrencies work gives you a many advantages across all areas of life. Did you think of another way chess is like crypto? Let me know in the comments below.
