Check Mate is every chess players favourite phrase if you are the one saying
it . It is the end result of pure concentration, focus and strategy on what
is the best game in the world. Why do you think it is still taught in schools
and why do you think there are so many chess clubs? Computer games have
soared in the last 10 years but you never hear of a Star Wars or Matrix club
which play against each other. Teachers don't teach you to play computer
games at school, or maybe they do but I am too old to have heard about it.
Chess however, is a different matter. Why chess? Because once you learn to
play chess and how a chess strategy works it teaches you how to think in life.
It is a game of two minds. Yours against your opponent's. There is no luck
involved. If you make a mistake then it is your fault. You have not thought
your chess strategy all the way through and this is the whole point of chess.
Whoever thinks the deepest; whoever can take their chess strategy through to
the highest level wins the game.
This is something which children and adults alike should aspire to. Thinking
a problem out logically. Leaving no stone unturned. I learned to play chess
some 40 years ago and the problem solving techniques I have used in chess
have never left me. I recently had an interview and was told later by the
interviewer I had blown the other candidates out the water with my
presentation. Before the interview I covered every possible question the
interviewer could ask and was ready with my well rehearsed answers. Moreover,
I had created flow charts to show how I would improve the way the department
was run. I produced graphs at every turn to back up my plans. I waited to
near the end of the interview the came out with all guns blazing with "and
here is my idea to save money in the department." Come on admit it, you would
have employed me wouldn't you? All this from playing chess and learning chess
strategy and tactics.
If I was to teach a new player how to play chess I would introduce him to
Paul Morphy. If he or she was not inspired by this genius of the chess world
then nothing would. Morphy was studying to be a lawyer and played chess in
his spare time. He took the world of chess by storm. His chess tactics were
second to none at the time. Although he died many moons ago his legacy lives
on and every good chess book will examine the chess strategies of Paul Morphy.
That said, you do not have to be a genius to play chess. Remember it is a
game, but the more you play the better your grasp of chess strategies will
become. Automatically the way you think about problems, during the course of
your life, will change. When I play chess I can anticipate the next 3 to 4
moves my opponent is going to make, sometimes more. I use this tactic a lot
during my work and during leisure.
I love to tell stories to my colleagues during a boring spell at work and one
of the ones I use needs a certain response from at least one of the listeners.
It goes like this: I was woken up at 4 in the morning when I heard a noise in my
garden. I got up and looked out and to my astonishment there was a man with a
screwdriver removing my gate from the garden. I watched this for half an hour
and saw him put the gate in his van and drive off. I the wait for the
reaction. There is always a silence but you cannot speak, just wait. "Did you
not do anything" someone will ask. " Did you not shout at him"...no I reply.
I was scared in case he took a fence (offence). Alright I know it is corny
but the point is it works because it has been thought out to the nth degree.
Somewhere in the world of chess there is a chess strategy or strategies which
will mimic this. A chess strategy or trap which will need patience and nerve
to hold out until your opponent makes that fatal move.
Even if you have learned all the best principles of playing a good chess game
and you have used a strong chess strategy you may find you are still getting
beat. This is most likely because you have not learned yet to think outside
the box. Once you can do this your opponent will never know what you are
planning and you will start to win even more games. When I was at school I
noticed my dinner school ticket was peeling apart . I had an idea. The next
day at dinner school I showed only the back of the dinner ticket. It was
accepted. I proceeded to peel the two halves apart and then glued each half
to a thin piece of card. I sold the front part to a friend for half the price
of the dinner ticket and we both got our school dinners half price and we
kept half the money. Highly unethical I know but hey I was a schoolboy. Once
you can think outside the box at chess you can think outside the box in real
life.
Get you kids to start playing chess. It is the best game in the world and one
of your proudest moments will be when he or she finally outhinks you on the
chess board and screams "Check mate".
