If you have been a reader of this blog for a while then you know that I’m a chess lover. In fact, I named my company Chess Media Group after my passion and interest for chess. I have always applied chess concepts and principles to various aspects of business and personal life. The ability to think ahead and to develop creative strategies is something (among many things) that is synonymous in both chess and in business. If you don’t play chess then I highly recommend that you learn how; once you start playing you will quickly see how you can take lessons and concepts learned from chess and apply them to the business (and even personal) world.
Consider a few interesting and impressive facts about chess:
- Chess is called the “game of kings” because for a long time it was only played by nobility
- The are more possible chess moves that can be made during a game then there are atoms in the universe or seconds that have elapses since the big bang (just to give you an idea there are 10 ^79 atoms in the universe and 10 ^120 possible chess moves.
- There are 400 different positions after each player makes one move apiece. There are 72,084 positions after two moves apiece. There are 9+ million positions after three moves apiece. There are 288+ billion different possible positions after four moves apiece.
I happened to come across this quote from the world’s greatest chess player Gary Kasparov, and wanted to share it with you, the quote speaks volumes:
“Ultimately, what separates a winner from a loser at the grandmaster level is the willingness to do the unthinkable. A brilliant strategy is, certainly, a matter of intelligence, but intelligence without audaciousness is not enough. Given the opportunity, I must have the guts to explode the game, to upend my opponent’s thinking and, in so doing, unnerve him. So it is in business: One does not succeed by sticking to convention. When your opponent can easily anticipate every move you make, your strategy deteriorates and becomes commoditized. ”
– Garry Kasparov, FastCompany.com, September 2004.
