Is Chess a Sport? Or Is it Something More?

Why chess is not just a sport:

Many parents have turned to chess as the pandemic continues to limit us to our homes. Online learning has become efficient and sustainable. This has lead to many parents enrolling their kids to online classes and ofcourse chess has gained sufficient popularity. This is because chess helps the kids in various ways but the most important one has to do with the increase in IQ. But why didn't chess gain popularity earlier? This is mainly because most people look at chess as just another sport. 

 Here are a few reasons why chess is beyond just a sport: 

         1.Helps recognise patterns: Did you know that chess has not only to do with your logical mind but also with your creative mind? With six different pieces having different movements your mind is forced to                     look at the different patterns these movements would create. This may lead to you recognising different patterns in your everyday life. For example, this may help you recognise patterns even in your                           decision making. And when you start recognising the pattern you can avoid the mistake a certain type of decision may lead to and this is possible because your mind is capable of recognising the                                     consequences of the familiar repetitive patterns.

2. Helps you build patience: this is an extremely common point that you might already be aware of. But there exists visual proof for this. Have you seen Vishwanathan Anand play chess?  Or maybe even photographs of him playing chess in the newspaper? His extreme focus might have definitely impressed you. This is because chess is a sport where you are supposed to make a move only after analysing the board. Where the pieces are, what pieces are under attack? what pieces you can attack? And so on. Now all this analysis is done to ultimately give checkmate to the opponent's king, i.e., win the game. But to reach the point of checkmate in the game one has to plan and plot continuously throughout the game. This builds enormous patience in a person.

3. Makes you efficient: like all other games, chess also has a time limit. From five mins each to two hour each game, chess has various time limits. When you have only 5 minutes to decide and make your moves, you are forced to think faster about the right move to be made. But you are also forced to avoid any possible obvious mistakes. With practice you might also be able to avoid minor mistakes. This skill will help you even in life. As we grow older we are posed with more serious problems that may have a time limit. For example you might be asked to choose a career path within some days or weeks or months. If you had to make such a huge decision within days, you would be equipped to think faster and avoid obvious mistakes that could result in negative consequences.

4. Helps you remain calm even in crisis situations: Imagine your opponent is about to give you checkmate and you cannot find a way out. You cannot flip the board and throw a tantrum obviously because you are an adult. You are left with no option but to face the reality. But, in the last minute, you see a way out, you make that move and you are able to save your king! Voila! There might be times when you'll lose the game in chess and your opponent will be able to give you a checkmate. But when it comes to life, you can almost always find a way out when you remain calm and composed. Chess teaches you this quality. It helps us stay calm even in crisis situations.

5. Helps you make the best possible decision even in difficult situations: this point can be considered as the continuation of the previous point. Like mentioned in the above point Chess helps you remain calm even in difficult/ crisis situations. You will still think of the best possible move and not give up until your opponent has finally given you checkmate. In the same way when you are posed with a different problem or when you encounter a difficult situation, instead of giving up you remain calm and think of the best possible action that would help you solve the problem. You analyse the situation well and think of a solution even when you are under enormous stress. This is not possible for your brain if it does not have the practice of making decisions under stressful situations and chess provides a great platform to develop this

6. Helps you deal with failure: Yes, you read that right. To back this point I'd like to give you an example. My 10 year old brother was playing a tournament. He was very excited and he had prepared very well for it. He was confident but a little nervous too. The tournament had a total of six matches and he had already won 4 of them. He lost the fifth game and won the last game. At home when we were discussing about his tournament he told me how he was sad about losing the fifth game but he was also okay because he can always try better in the next tournament. This shows how chess helps even kids cope with failure. In a highly competitive world coping with failure is more important than winning and chess helps you develop exactly that. 

If you are interested in Tips on Chess Games and how to win them against a tough opponent check out our other blogs filled with quality tips and effective knowledge from experienced coaches, check out our blog on How To Open a Chess Game for opening the game with a winning strategy.

I hope this article helped you expand your views on chess. So why wait? Start learning chess today! 

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