Why playing chess?

I discovered chess in my early years, I was around 5. I remember playing with my brother who always invented new rules and tricked me all the time (he was 15). Later, my father played a little with me and gave me also one book to learn the real rules.

source: pixabay

In the 4th grade I've discovered a chess club in my school and started to play in a more organized manner. I just loved it. It gave me the space to think a lot, to plan and to imagine, to try to be the best and to become more introspect.
In the next couple of years I had 2 participation to the national chess competition where I faced a totally different way of playing and understood more about the material of a great champion.
I've extracted some learning from those years that I apply now also and I would love to share them with you:

1. Equilibrium between thinking and acting

Playing chess, especially in competitions, means that you have a specific time to think and move. And you have to make sure that in that time you will win. If not, even if you had a better position on the table, you will lose. So it's a permanent quest between thinking your moves in advance and making sure you act fast enough to have a result.
The same with life.

2. Be aware of your emotions but be able to control them

From a higher level, you will win not based on your playing skills but based on your emotional skills. Being able to acknowledge your own emotions but to hide them from your adversary is the number 1 skill a great chess champ has. Also, you can use your opponent's emotions to win the game on a psychological level only. Things like stretching and yawning are quite small but can have a devastated effect on your opponent if he is stressed.
The same in life, you can navigate smoother if you know enough about yourself and you can identify enough about the others to make the best decisions not only on the rational level.

3. Remember that behind any game, there is a person

No matter how hard you'll try to win just keep in mind that on the other part of the table is another person, with it's own story, who wants also to win and who will sometimes do. Just don't take the dispute outside that game.
Consider the winner your most important resource to learn and grow. Do not envy, just admire and if you feel like befriend them.
One of my dearest friends is the girl that won the chess national championship when I was in the 6th grade. I am so grateful I met her. She is such a great person, smart, present and I know I can always count on her and she will always share with me happy and less happy moments.

So, if you never tried it, give it a chance and have patience through the basics. If you have children, encourage them to try it. Maybe they will like it and will write about this in 20 years :)

Have a good day, steemians!