I hear these comparisons from chess competitors about how the game of chess is played like life, and in general, it really means absolutely nothing to me. These analogies go in one year and out the other. Conversely, I could listen to someone like Doyle Brunson or Phil Laak talk poker strategy until the cows come home. Hold-em and Omaha are poker games I know and understand, and when someone throws analogies comparing the nuances of these games to life I can process that information on the fly…Chess? Not so much.
Obviously, yes, I know all of the rules to chess and know how to play chess. But when it comes to thinking about the game of chess on a broad scale I just don’t have enough familiarity with the game to understand how making the conscious decision to not hook up with my boss’ wife at the company holiday party is similar to me sacrificing my rook in order to take him out with my Queen down the line.
Thankfully, International Chess Grandmaster Maurice Ashley is here to talk about chess in ways I can understand. He talks about chess the way I would talk about blogging, or you would talk about masturbation. He’s an expert in it. So he’s able to put the game in terms we can all udnerstand. The advice he gives about sizing up an opponent is something that can be used in life and business, so commit this to memory.