Rediscovering Chess in 2022
Most of the teenagers that I work with rediscover chess and its symbolism during the communication sessions. We play it as a game but in reality it shows us our future. (Future that depends on the decisions that we make and resources that we have.)
Let’s look at the symbolism closer:
1. Pawns — They are opportunities that we are given.
2. Big pieces (Bishop, Knight, Rook) — They are our friends and connections.
3. Queen — This is our talent. Many queens, many talents.
4. King — This is us.
Basically, we all have opportunities in life which we waste and sometimes benefit from. Only few of them will hit the moon and will change our lives for ever. Most of the novice players underestimate these little guys in the beginning. Then they feel how vital they are at the end.
Quality in our life is the quality of our friends and connections. You may have great friends+connections but never connect with them in a genuine way or do something big with them. When right people come together they become an invincible force. When right people do the wrong things you see how useless they become on the “board”. They get stuck.
Our talents. They certainly open many doors for us. But we often think that talent is the only thing we need to win. Then we see how others with great opportunities, friends and connections show us a masterclass on winning. (Taking advantage from life.)
When you put all the pieces together you see what is missing and what is done properly. And in chess, I love the part where you lose many times. After you lose, you learn about not wasting opportunities, friends and connections. You learn about waiting, timing, calculating and using the resources at your disposal.
But regardless of how good you are there is still someone out there with twice the knowledge and skills. And on the top of the cake there sits Magnus. Every industry has Magnuses and A+ players. Then A players, B+ and B’s and then the rest. But regardless of the fact we enjoy our own matches. Because it is about our specific lives.
Cheers to the chess lovers. (And the potential ones.)
