What Can Chess Teach You

 

Chess not only teaches you strategic and tactical ways to win. Chess also teaches you patience and perseverance. 

What is the difference between “patience” and “perseverance”? What are the meanings of these words? According to the online dictionary, “patience is the ability to accept or tolerate delay, trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset”. On the other hand, perseverance is defined as “persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success”.

If you play chess, you will learn how to be patient and how to persevere. Chess is a game where you have not won the game until you actually win. Chess is not won until your opponent resigns or gets checkmated. You may have an overwhelming advantage in terms of the number of pieces or tactical position. In some cases, your opponent would find a very creative way to win or find a resource on how to Draw. 

Take a look at this chess game between Wesley So and Daniil Dubov. This is game that ended after 118 moves. Both players tried to exhaust every resource they got in an effort to salvage their respective positions. Any player who makes a mistake loses. It is at this time, that each player has to play the most accurate move to avoid losing. 

Imagine a situation, where you have an overwhelming advantage and by a twist of fate or sheer luck, a dramatic change occurs on the chessboard. After more than fifty moves, you cannot convert your advantage into a win. Your advantage appears to be decisive, but with the clock ticking, you cannot find the right move to actually win the game. This is the time that chess teaches you patience and perseverance. 

If you cannot convert your advantage into an actual win, you should not be angry or upset. You should remain calm and learn to handle your emotions. You should not lose your focus on the game. Being angry or getting emotional will only affect your play in a negative way. When you become angry because your opponent is able to put up an obstinate defense, you will not be able to find the most accurate move. Worse, you may make blunders that may result in you losing your advantage and the game.

With chess, you learn to accept the suffering due to the delay in winning the game. The suffering brought about by a stubborn opponent teaches you patience. The moment you continue to play accurately without being affected by the situation, is the time you learn how to persevere. Patience and perseverance have to go hand in hand in ensuring victory in every chess game.

Chess is a game that mimics life. The complexity of life has been reduced to its barest minimum on the chessboard. If you play chess, you will learn valuable lessons that can be used in real life such as the value of patience and perseverance. Being patient and learning to persevere despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles is one way of being successful. Life is unfair and not everything you want in life is easy to achieve. There will always be obstacles and challenges along the way. 

When you are reaching a goal or a dream, you must learn how to tolerate delay or suffering without getting upset. Getting angry, frustrated, or upset will not get you where you want to be. Hurdles are meant to be solved and should not hinder you to success. Whatever happens, just try to play the correct move and everything will fall into the right place at the right time.