The game of the kings
Chess is a very old game and was even played in ancient Persia.

Kings, the aristocracy and scholars have played the game for thousands of years. That's why it is often called "The Game of Kings" and you will find a hint in the figures as well- when you see the pieces which include; 1 queen, 2 towers, 2 horses/knights, 2 officers(bishops), one King and of course, 8 foot soldiers.

Actually, it is a war game that aims to simulate a medieval battle field. Both of the kingdoms have the same strength of arms, so making better strategical decisions is a sure way to victory.

It is quite similar to real medieval battle tactics- I'll give you a few examples:

You have to sacrifice your foot-soldiers to save the most important aristocrats who make the strategical decisions. It is the same today; if the officers fall, the soldiers have no leader and that renders them helpless.

Actually a Queen is not a stronger fighter than a knight and even in an direct fight often weaker than a footsoldier, but the chess game does not only represent the skill of direkt fights with a sword, it also considers the skill of strategy which is actually more important than every near fighter. Thats why the queen is the wizest and strongest figure on the board. Without a queen, the soldiers have no leading

The tower represents how the name says it the tower. That is the safe building where the bows can stop the nearfighters.

The officers are the commanders who are also strategical experts but not as wize as the queen. And the knights are actually the strongest nearfighters on the battlefield, with their horses.
So you will find out that they are even the biggest danger for the queen in the chess game if they comes to near.

The footsoldiers are the normal soldier who build the shield wall to cover the other fighters.

And the King is the most important political person of the kingdom, so the fighters and even the queen have to safe the king with their life.



Now after you have finished this chapter you get the first impression what chess actually is.

Even today is chess on of the most popular games in the modern times,
because you will never find a game which is completly the same.

There are almost eternity possible combination which are not possible to play for tausend of years.

Today we see it not longer as a game which shall teach us war skills as in the medieval, today it shall confront us with daily problems which needs a strategical solution. No matter if you have to solve complex tasks when you have to do schoolwork, to write exams, or if you have to make bussiness desicions which costs you all of your brain energy.

Thats why it is even a modern and complex game which represents even our modern life but also problems of the further future, which are also based on a lot of brain decisions.

So the game is even more useful and important today as in the past, because in our times almost every thing in our culture is based on brain decisions.

As a result we can see, the different movements of the figures as different complex problems which we have to solve. And it is the same as in the past every move represents a brain confrontation.

And another good thing is that every figure can stands for other things in our life.

The game is not dead as long as their are people who loves it to use their mind in their daily decisions. The game might be not as much played in our times, but there might be a new boom in the future generation by academic persons.

Of course it has also to be meantioned that chess is a very important part of a lot of east countrys today.

Chess is called the brain sport and that is true, because every figure movement is based on strategical logical mathematical decisions.

Chess teach you to analyse a certain position. You get a good picture vision in your brain and you learn to think in pictures.

Every movement is a brain conflict itself, because you have an plan in your brain, but it can happen that your whole plan is in danger and your brain is on high power then.

You have to react flexible if your plan is not longer useful, then you have to change your plans when you find new gaps in the opponents defens.

You need a wider vision and have to see possible results, which will happens in the future game, because you understand the plan of your opponent and you learn to know that every move will based on a master plan of logical decisions.

Strategical and tactical decisions are main parts of the game. There is no luck when you understand every move. So a master will always win against an new player.

you have to be very creative when you build an master plan.

every master plan can be seperated in different tacitcal plans to reach the master plan.
Thats why you have to think abstract.

The key skills you will improve by playing chess:

creativness, logic, mathematical understanding, flexibility, brain power ability, abstract thinking, the ability to make fast decisions, thinking in pictures will helps your reminding. You learn to becomes better by losing a lot of games. A possible result might be, that you fight for your aims without giving up and of course more skills.

As you can see there quite a lot of skills which you can improve by playing chess.

But most important is the fact that you will learn to handel a bunch of informations in a short time.

That might be the reason why so much academic persons love that game that much, because you will have an intellectual challenging game which helps you to enhance the power of your mind.

A lot of decisions are based on the so called heart decisions, and a lot of people learn to understand what they feel.

But does that means to makes the best decisions in a wider perspective and does it means that your neighbor will also see it in that way ?

Sure chess means to win and nothing else. That means you have no grace for your opponent.
But it also teach you that decisions must be based on clever brain decisions when you want the best solutions of a certain conflict.

So you stay calm and you wil try to find the best matematical strategy to reach that aim.
Then you will thinks twice before you makes your decicion.

Did you ever saw a professional chess player who is very emotional ?
There might be a few persons, and of course they have the same emotions as every other human on this earth. But what makes them different ?

I would say they have learned to control their emotions. With that ability they are only focused on their chess game. That is very practical if you handle an conflict in your daily life, so to example you are able to change between emotional and rational thinking. this ability helps you to makes wize clever decisions even in moments where you want to freak out.

To example you have got an bad grade. Now your feeling might tells you:"I never can get a better grade and I hate that school". So thats the reason why people leave a highschool and why they regret it later, or they even cancel their jobs caused of emotions.

But your rational decision would be that you have just a lack of knowledge in this topic. Then you will understand automatical that the best decision is to get that knoweldge and that it is also important to be self critical. Then your emotions will not longer control your decisions. If you have achieved that deeply understanding, your career stands wide open. Thats actually what chess means, by losing a lot of games to win.

Of course there are quite a lot more of examples in our daily routine. But with the right strategy we can solve all that in an relaxed rational way. Chess will always teach and helps us to thinks more logical instead of emotional.

lets say ABC is the problem ! Why ?

We have three unknown numbers which stands for 3 possible ways. But we can only makes the decision for A,B, or C

Problem ABC means that I have 3 possible solutions, but which is the better solution A, B, or C to solve the conflict ?

And what to do when 2 possible results might be good and one negativ ? Thats another conflict because 2 ways are unpossible to go and one is my choice. Thats why I cant make an wize logical decision now.

Maybe I can assume the future optimum of both of them and compare A and B,
C is out.

It might solves the Problem D of another problem row ABCD ( that is another conflict with 4 unknown numbers).

So the best decision is A.

Now I have solved D of the problem ABCD, and D is the only choice because A,B,C will end in an failur decision.

So it means to solve 2 problems and B would solve just the problem of the row ABC.

But what does that have to do with chess ?

We Assume that you have just one move but you have 3 possiblities which are in your mind.

you remember A,B,C are the 3 variations.

The move A and B is a good one,

but A is the better one because it will solve automatical the problem position of ABCD (the follow variation in the game) of the next movement, so you have one movement less to reach your target.

That could be a chess possition which means, you can makes an attack and defend move with the Chess figure at the same time, while the other move would just be an attack or defense move.


You can see that as a life formular which also can be transfered to daily decisions, because ABC or ABCD or ABC (2) or even ABCDE and so on, are just unknown conflict letters which stands for an unknown problem. Every problem can fill the certain letters. Thats why life is filled with matematical decisions, even when we never have immagined that before. And thats also why Chess can be seen as mathematical game.

As you can see now, chess is more than just playing a game, it is more like brain sport and keeps your mind fit all the time. Thats one of the reasons why especially older people plays the game to stay fit.

And it is not a lie if some people say a health body is based on a health mind.

But the most reasons and not a secret why you should start to play chess or not, is that you have fun and that you like the sport no matter how far you Elo is.

I have quite an average Elo, but can see the benefits of playing chess in my life and so I think pro players might be excellent thinkers.

If you play a few rounds chess against friends or against the computer, make sure to enjoy the game in a good atmosphere with an relaxing music like classic or jazz, what you defenetly will find in this chess game. Jazz and classical music is very enjoyable by a cup of coffee.

To becomes better, it makes also sense to analyse the games, after you have finished them. Especially the games where you havent won the game, then you can learn a lot of situations.
Actually the flashback is the most learn effect of all.