7 life lessons chess can teach

Thanks to chess, I found a girlfriend, went to college and graduate school, found my first job, and raised capital for my first business. Chess opened many doors for me, which in my environment were considered tightly locked.

1. Chess teaches to learn

Some people rearrange pieces on the board for years, but they never get better. I have a friend whom I meet about once every five years. He loves chess, but doesn't try to learn it. He plays every day. Makes the same moves. Makes the same mistakes. He does what he loves, but his level of play remains the same.

Why is that? Didn't he spend on it 10 thousand hours? Probably spent. Only it's not just 10 thousand hours. The point is 10 thousand hours of deliberate practice.

To become a good chess player, you need a teacher. You will have to analyze the history of the game in order to get acquainted with the strategies of the great masters of the past. You will also need to persistently master important elements, for example, openings. And of course, constantly play, lose and understand the reasons for failure.

And so everywhere. Running a business effectively requires rereading thousands of tips and stories from renowned entrepreneurs and CEOs. To write catchy texts, you will need to constantly work and listen carefully to comments.

2. Chess teaches you to lose with dignity

I started playing chess quite late - at the age of 17. A year later, I became the strongest player among schoolchildren my state. But despite the victories, I remained a failure.

After one defeat, I swept the figures to the floor and jumped out the door. Everyone was laughing, and I didn't go to school for several days. A couple of months later, we played a game with my father. And I, a grown guy, cried and screamed when my king was cornered.

And one more time: I was already 18, I represented New Jersey at the US High School Championship. Won the first game, but lost the second. Out of emotion, I smashed my hotel room like some kind of rock star. I was so shocked and upset that my grandparents had to come to pick me up. Naturally, there was no question of further participation in the tournament.

I had nightmares that I was losing again. The game never stopped spinning in my head. It was only after a long time that I learned to concentrate on the process, and not on the result. It is important not to win, but to become better. Then I began to study my losses, went to the mentor to take everything together from the first move to the last. This is how I grew from an expert to a master.

I still don't like to lose. I hate it. This is a disgusting feeling. But I’ll never let failure go to waste. The only way to learn is to learn new things. And defeat is a kind of map on which unexplored places are marked.

3. Chess teaches you to compete

We like to think that life around us is not a competition. But the reality is different: to be successful, you need to be better than others. Stand out.

Earlier than me was shaking before each tournament. I was nervous to the point of nausea. And when I made a mistake in the middle of a game, it became even worse for me, and I lost. Gradually, I began to change my way of thinking. I began to spend more time at the board. Concentrated. I analyzed each variation of the move.

I started to play better when I learned to treat defeat with irony. It was even better when I figured out how to finish off an opponent during a long game. And it’s even better when he mastered the ability not to lose hope even in the most desperate situations.

4. Chess teaches reasonable discretion

To play chess is to be paranoid. The enemy is a predator who wants to destroy the opponent. Therefore, you inevitably have to think through the options. How exactly is he going to devour you? What's the worst-case scenario?

Much later, when I began to manage other people's money, I again worried about the worst-case scenarios. When I met girls, I also imagined the worst possible scenarios all the time.

I may have been over the top paranoid. Too often I thought everyone around was predators. But after all, each of us, first of all, defends our own interests. This is how we live. The main thing is to learn how to manage your paranoia. Now I clearly distinguish: here you can be suspicious, but here it is worth relaxing.

5. Chess teaches you to overcome barriers

Thanks to the game, for the first time, I had friends much older and younger than me. They were from different countries and social groups.

We were all united by one language - chess.

Once I found myself in Buenos Aires at the world famous chess club, where Fischer beat Petrosyan, and Alekhine beat Casablanca. I didn't speak Spanish. And the guys who ran the club didn't know English. But my friend whispered to them what my chess rating was, and I immediately found myself inside: I played a game with the young champion of Argentina, and then I was given a tour of this historical place.

Chess has helped me overcome many social barriers that would have seemed unbearable. The game taught me to speak in a language that can be understood without words. In the language of mastery.

6. Chess teaches to find like-minded people

People often think that chess players are smart. In fact, it is rather a cultural myth. There are both geniuses and complete fools. However, the misconception about the relationship between chess and IQ has given me unique opportunities.

For example, before going to college, I had very poor grades. Fortunately, my examiner was a low-ranking chess player. During the interview, I helped him analyze several games. And I got enrolled in college.

Not a single university enrolled me in a postgraduate course. Except for one high school, which worked on the world's best chess computer.

Guess who eventually became my colleague?

When I was looking for a job, I failed at all the interviews. I couldn't answer any question. One day, after another shame, I got out into the street in my uncomfortable suit and called the girl to tell her: “It seems that I'm not good enough for New York.”

Then I went to play in the park next door, where the chess tables were set up. And he defeated the very first opponent - a real master. When the game was over, I raised my eyes and noticed the boss of the boss of my failed boss. “I've never seen anyone beat Elon before,” he said thoughtfully. Then we walked for an hour in the park, talking about chess, the Internet, television and other things. I got the job.

Chess means everything to me. I love them. No, I'm not the best at this. But good enough to be better than others. You can achieve the same results in any activity that you truly love.

When you passionate about something for real, a community instantly builds up around you, which protects you and moves you forward. You become something much more than just an individual person.

7. Chess teaches you to develop

When you look around, you realize that people seem to be located on different steps. There are those who are taller than me - you need to learn from them. Equal to me - you can cooperate with them. And those who are lower - it is important to share knowledge with them and help them climb a step up.

Such levels are everywhere: for writers, for businessmen, for developers. And a ladder like this is motivating. I no longer want to throw chess pieces at those who play better, I want to develop. I know who to learn from and what. I find like-minded people.