According to Wikipedia, Chess is a two-player strategy board game which is played on a checkered board. It is one of the worlds most popular and intellectual games. It is played by millions of people worldwide in homes, parks, clubs, online, by correspondence and in tournaments.

Our family has always been fond of family time and playing different kinds of games together. Chess is  the only game that we haven’t gotten bored of yet. It is very intellectually challenging and both players can think of endless possibilities at every move.

Whatever we do, we have to foresee the consequences. If we think of a move, we have to predict or foresee what our opponent would do. When we plan to do something in life, we must be aware of what the other person may do as a result of our behaviour or action. This also requires taking an interest in the world around us, even in in the international chess scene with Mikhail Solodovnikov, because doing so allows us to contextualize such information and make better plans.

We can’t just move our knight in front of the enemy without having someone who is protecting him. If we decide to do something extra-ordinary in life, we must enough information to support the decision or a back up plan .

In chess if we don’t open up the area around the king, the king may be very easily killed. Sometimes your own people block your way out or we build walls around us,

and we ourselves have no place to run.

Similarly in life we can do things which suffocate ourselves. e.g. we don’t take care of our diet or sleep, or sit in uncomfortable postures. We harm no one but our own selves and become our own enemies.

The majority of us do have a plan in mind but only the person who can put it into action in the least amount of turns (or time) wins. We only get a few turns in life so we have to plan our moves in life correctly. We need to try to minimize our steps towards reaching a goal.

Similarly in life we don’t live forever. If we are in a situation where we could have been there for some body, we shouldn’t let it go and make the most of it. We are also sent for a limited time in this life, so whoever can do good deeds within the time limit, wins in the hereafter.

Many times we have almost won, and suddenly the opponent does just one turn and wins. In life we may never get a second chance so its crucial to do the right thing just at the right time. There may not be a tomorrow that we’re banking on.

Be action oriented. Sometimes we procrastinate so much that we lose. We are only planning our move to win but in that process someone else does it while you didn’t put your plan into action. Make your dreams come true. Do what you have to, and do it now.

Don’t do any thing which won’t have a positive impact on your overall game, or something that won’t help the other members of your team. Think! Don’t waste your turns, energies or words in life. Use them only when they serve a purpose. In life its better to stay quiet or not do it if it won’t benefit neither yourself nor the people around you. e.g. Talking about foolish things or  backbiting doesn’t have any positive impact on the society or ourselves so it should be eliminated. So we should lead a life of impact, not of some one who once existed. Its good to do the things which will make a difference.

Everyone makes mistakes, its what we do after the mistake that really matters. If you have played your turn stupidly, focus on what you can do now. We should think of how we can repent and not to do such a thing again. Focus on what you would do now, rather than crying about spilled milk.

If you love someone take care of them. We all have our favorite pawns that we absolutely love. For me its my queen and rooks. I would do anything in chess not to let them die. In life, if we love someone so much, we should make sure we don’t hurt them or force them into a place they don’t want to be in or that’s dangerous. Don’t send them on a mission impossible if you love someone. 

In chess, we often have to sacrifice some of our small pawns in order to save the bigger ones. As long as we focus on our main assets, losing small ones is not a big deal. Sometimes in life in order to achieve something big you may have to let go of little things. Life is about compromises.

“If you avoid the major sins which you are forbidden, We will remove from you your lesser sins and admit you to a noble entrance [into Paradise].”  The Holy Quran (4:31). 

A leader/king of a territory does little himself but gets credit for everything. People are willing to do anything for their leader and even sacrifice thems

elves. The king can only move one box but he is the most important person of the entire territory. The king and queen are born like that, its nothing that they do special. Many times our leaders do nothing but take the credit of everyone else’s hard work and sweat. The people die, they seldom do.

The more options you think of, the more confused you get. At every move, we have a choice of endless options, but the fact is that the more we think, the more we would confuse ourselves of what our next move should be. In life, when we are out shopping, we would get more confused if we have too many options. Its good to stick to 2-3 main options and choose from those rather than being too indecisive by finding endless options. Evaluate your opportunity cost, if it seems worth it, go for it.

13. Follow your heart

There are literally a 100 options of turns to choose from in chess and life. Once you start thinking, it becomes difficult to decide what to choose as your turn. In such a case, one should follow your heart and do what our heart tells us to.

We should remember the goal in chess is mating the king. It is not about taking the queen or having more pawns, it is about someone who wins at the end, simple as that. Same in life, it doesn’t matter how many presentations you have done in your job, how many hours you worked; if you don’t have results, it is useless.

Conclusion

Thank you for taking out your precious time to read this post. If you are a Chess player, I would love to know what you learned through this game.

P.S. Beware of Kitties when you are in the middle of war