subject: The Benefits Of Playing Chess [print this page] Chess is practically a simulation of life itself. This is because it is a game which needs the player not only to focus on one object but on coordinating the movement of all the chess pieces under his control. It is the strategy game par excellence and that is why a lot of mental and psychological benefits can be derived from playing chess.
While for some individuals, focusing on one thing at a time is difficult, the majority of people have no problem doing this. In a company, members or employees are tasked with focusing on one specific process, unmindful of other tasks other people may be performing within the business process. It is the concern of the managing officer to coordinate the activity in all the departments so that everything flows smoothly.
This is the same role that playing chess involves the player in. He is totally independent in selecting his moves but for those moves to be effective, the situation of the pieces on the board needs to carefully and accurately interpreted. An accurate comprehension of the situation on the board is required in order to select the moves which can possibly help him obtain his goal of capturing the enemy's king. The moves have to be well planned according to the potential of each piece and on an estimate of how many moves it might take the piece to gain its objective. This capability for planning is something everyone should develop in himself.
In playing chess, the task of the player is made even more complicated because he has to base his moves on the options open for his pieces as well as of those of his opponent. He has to deal with possibilities and probabilities. First, he has to consider the possible moves his opponent might make in response to his own. Then he has to make his move depending on what he thinks his opponent may probably do next. In this way, playing chess is conducive to making people understand situations and how they may be resolved. This is something that is an important skill to have in life.
A more than average degree of mental activity and psychological perception will be needed to perform the tasks already mentioned. In addition, the ability to formulate alternative plans of action and keep them in reserve in separate rooms in the brain will be an advantage in playing chess as in living life. The habit of formulating alternative plans for the attainment of one objective is needed for having a certain amount of resiliency for problems in life.
In order to do all of the above effectively while playing chess, the player's spatial intelligence should be more or less keen. Spatial intelligence is the intuitive apprehension of the state of things by understanding the implications of how objects are situated. This ability is essential in arriving at solutions to problems based on which factors involved are likely to happen before the others on account of the physical distance they have from the place where they can produce the effect required.
In short, because playing chess involves practicing all the skills that we need to cope with life, people should once in a while engage in it. This is particularly true for you if you have difficulty seeing the significance of logic in life.
