Too often, we have come across the following quote, “Life is like a game.” Many philosophers and motivational speakers have also contributed to the thought that life is indeed like a game. For instance, take Alan Rufus who says that,
“Life is like a game of chess. To win you have to make a move. Knowing which move to make comes with insight and knowledge, and by learning the lessons that are accumulated along the way. We become each and every piece within the game called life.”
On the same note, another wise man pointed out that,
“Life is like a game of chess, changing with each move.”
Chess is indeed a fantastic game. Surprisingly, its origin still remains a subject of mystery. This has left many individuals wondering how a person or a group of people could just sit down and come up with the game. It often comes as a coincidence that from generation to generations, parallels have been drawn between the game of chess and life. At times, we have to give up the thing or things we love the most. As one great man once said,
“Life is like a game of chess. Sometimes you just have to sacrifice the things you love most for the better.”
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Indeed, love is life. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Where there is love, there is life.” The same applies to chess. Each piece has a role to play. Funny enough, chess has been compared to true love. In true love, a boy is always afraid of losing his queen, and the girl risks everything just to protect her king. Wow! How charming!
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In life, there will always be ups and downs. There are moments when we may seem to be taking two or three steps back and a step forward. In such a season, we often feel like we are not making progress. It feels like being stuck in the wilderness. However, we ought to remember that in all these, everything is working together for our good if and only if we are focused on progress rather than on the problems at hand. Back to the chess game, we ought to remember that no one has ever won by taking only forward moves. Sometimes it is necessary to move backward to take better steps forward and eventually win the game. That’s life.
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We ought to live organized lives. An organized life entails coming having a vision and backing it up with SMART goals. The scripture reminds us that, “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” (Proverbs 29:18, KJV). Without the vision, life is not worth living. Without vision, we lack a sense of direction. Without vision, a project is already a failure even before the foundation stone is laid. However, we ought to remember that in between accomplishing the vision and the goals lies hard work, discipline, and consistency. Additionally, living an ordered life involves taking calculated risks. The same goes for a game of chess where the players ought to take calculated movements to win. As Bing Gordon asserted, “Life is like a chess game – you don’t want to waste a move.” Indeed, we ought to be deliberate with every move we make.
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Our lives are made up of the past, the present, and the future. We ought to dwell much on the present with eyes set towards the future, and this is why we need vision. The past is behind us with its achievements (which we celebrate and esteem highly) and failures (which at times frustrates us but we ought to learn from them). Forethought is considered as an essential element in our lives. So, what is forethought? It is simply planning ahead. It is becoming a visionary individual. It entails having a careful consideration for what lies ahead of us. Much of the problems we experience can be avoided when we become prudent enough to engage in forethought. Even in chess, the players engage in forethought before making a move because one mistake can cost them the whole game. For this reason, “in life as in chess, forethought wins.”
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One of my favorite authors, Stephen R. Covey notes that one of the seven habits of highly successful individuals is beginning with the end in mind. This habit or principle is also applicable in a game of chess. Before making a particular move, the player ought to have seen the consequence of the move (whether it will favor them or their opponent or whether it will move them one step closer to victory). The same way, we need to look into the consequences of the actions we intend to take. It is only when we do so that we shall avert the adverse outcomes.
Bobby Fischer.
Bobby Fischer, one of the greatest chess players, said, “Chess is life.” Indeed, life is like a game.
kanyanga 