3 Critical Reasons You Should Learn to Play Chess Today
So you can bypass competitive businesses or job applicants
Chess is an exciting game that has many benefits to offer besides fun. I’ve been playing chess for two decades and got from this game a lot.
It has developed my thinking and provided me with tools to be more decisive under uncertainty.
Today, more than ever, the skills needed in chess are essential to anybody. As a result of the flood of social media stimuli and the recent revolution of ChatGPT and AI machines, humans have become lazier. We can get the information we need right away via Google or ChatGPT.
I’ve just written about that in the context of blogging lately, yet now I want to spot a light on a different aspect of the issue. That is a fun solution to stand out in a future where people think less and depend more on tech. Learning chess now may help you be ahead of your business competitors, colleagues, and friends in the long run.
What Is Chess, and How to Learn It Faster?
As you can tell, answering this question entirely is beyond the scope of this article. Nevertheless, I’ll give you a basic understanding of how to approach the game as a beginner.
Chess is a traditional board game that has become highly popular in the last decade. Since the Netflix hit “Queen’s Gambit,” more people have become chess avid. The goal of the game is to checkmate the king of your opponent. Each player has a set of 16 pieces; one is white, and the other is black. White has the advantage of moving first and dictating the game flow.
Each piece has its way of moving, like the bishop through the diagonal and the rook straight forward. There are tactics and strategies and different phases of the game you need to learn: the opening, middle game, and end game. The first phase is more theoretical and a matter of good preparation, and the second is more where you are on your own. The end game tends to be more technical (yet still enjoyable to play).
Mastering the game of chess takes time. The key is to play a lot and measure your improvement with a rating. It’s also advisable to learn some opening theory and tricks first, then solve chess puzzles and analyze the games of the top players, all of which you can do for free at chess.com.
I learned chess as a kid, participated in several local over-the-board tournaments, and even won a few. Today I play primarily at chess.com, like many other chess fans around the globe.
So, now that you know a bit about chess, see what the main benefits are of mastering the game:
1. Independent Thinking
As I noted, you should know some opening theories and tricks to approach the game properly. That can be done using chess books, YouTube tutorials, and chess engines like Stockfish. However, you are on your own after each game’s first 10–20 moves. At this point is where chess gets exciting the most. The minds compete on manoeuvring the position and leveraging the opponent’s mistakes.
For that, you must play a lot. From each game, you get to improve and recognize more patterns of the game. This so-called middle game phase is where you cultivate independent thinking. You develop ideas to improve your position and locate your opponent’s weaknesses.
This skill is fundamental in today’s world to better estimate business challenges, bypass competitors and become a good manager.
Another aspect of the same coin is critical thinking. Chess can help significantly with that. When everyone relies on ideas and solutions from Google and ChatGPT, a chess player can better estimate whether the output is reliable and what information is relevant and suitable for him. On top of that, it’ll be easier for the player to come up with his own solutions and ideas as he has already done so in chess.
2. Better Decision Making
As a manager, but also as an entrepreneur or employee, you should recognize opportunities and know what to do next. Decisions. Yes, this action we tend to hold because it’s uncomfortable.
We need to make several, if not tens, decisions every day. But, unfortunately, making an informed decision based on conflicting interests, considerations, and sometimes money could be debilitating.
Chess players who are trained in complex positions may have better decision-making skills¹. They know how to consider several scenarios simultaneously and make an informed yet quick decision about what is best.
Playing chess can help to see the larger picture of each situation in the game and life in general. As a result, you see further ahead and know what to sacrifice to reach a goal. Above all, especially in the middle game and tough tactical matches, you learn how to make quick yet optimal decisions (today, most play chess with tight time control).
That skill wins in chess, entrepreneurship, work, and life.
In a tech reality flooded by advanced apps, business opportunities, and career choices, being able to decide better and faster is a big plus. Chess precisely cultivates that.
3. Creativity
Being creative is especially important for those who work in marketing, copywriting, designing, and so on, but also for everybody. We all need creativity in our daily life — to find a way out of a difficult situation with our friends or spouse or to devise a solution to an unexpected problem in the project you just got from the boss.
Chess training imbues creativity. Those who play chess tend to think more divergently and creatively². Even passive, positional players who are best at taking advantage of the opponent’s mistakes (Aka the legend Anatoly Karpov) showcase creativity in some matches. In chess, it is inevitable to get sometimes into tactics and complex positions in which creativity is required.
Final Words
Chess is a fun game, but also highly beneficial in the age of excessive social media stimuli and information through Google and ChatGPT. The more technology develops, the lazier we become. Chess is an excellent way to force you to think independently, bypass your competitors, and make better decisions in life.
So, why not try?
Today it is easier than ever to learn chess for FREE through chess.com, YouTube chess tutorials, and watching top-notch streamers like GM Hikaru.
Footnotes
(2) A study on thinking divergently and creatively through chess
Affiliate Disclosure
Some of the links in the article are affiliate links. That means I’ll get a small kickback if, somewhere down the line, you’ll purchase something through them (at no additional cost to you).
