Chess is a game that can be learnt easily in less than a couple of hours by any person like you, but to become a good chess player, either you should have innate qualities of a commander-in-chief of an army or develop such traits in you.
What is the relation between a commander-in-chief of an army and a chess player? The chess player knows a lot of chess strategies.
Well. Both do the same kind of thing – only the area of operation is what makes the difference. A commander-in-chief of an army that wages a battle or war with another country shows his deft-handling and capability in the war-front or battlefield.
On the other hand, the chess player needs to display the same tactics and courage on the chessboard – a square board comprising of 64 squares in alternate colors of black and white.
Let me explain the concept with more clarity. In an ancient book that describes the art of war, the requirement of a commander-in-chief of the army has been described as follows:
The commander of an army must possess not less a profound acquaintance with the general principles which regulate the conduct of a long and tedious campaign, than with those that are called into requisition in actual conflict. He must be able equally to arrange the plan of preliminary operations – to act at once and with decision in cases of the most pressing emergency, and on the occurrence of the most unforeseen events – to judge of the importance of a position and of the strength of an entrenchment – to discover from the slightest indications the design of the enemy, while his own are impenetrable – and at the same time to preside with unshaken self-possession over the tumult of the battle-field, and the raging fury of an assault.
Now, try to imbibe these qualities, at least in part, into those of a chess player and see for yourself how the two are entwined or related.
If you want to be a good chess player, you should be very conversant with the basic rules of the game, the real, relative and positional merits of each and every piece in the board and the unique nature or movement of the pieces and their utility in the control over the board. As a chess player, you should lay down the ground for preparing an attack in the form of occupying strategic positions and important squares. You should be alert enough to find mistakes or loopholes in opponent’s positions and be prepared to launch an attack on such a mistake. You should also ensure that there are no loopholes or mistakes in your game or arrangement of your pieces and they stand impenetrable.
This comparison of war with the game of chess makes you realize the fascination of this noble game and I, for one, believe that this challenge and fascination might be the one reason that is responsible for the game to survive the travails of time and technology. Chess is being played for more than 1400 years now in this world and is spread across the world.
With technology, the game of chess has been made more exciting and fascinating with a lot of study material, collection of old games and lot more, through the means of computer and the Internet. That is not enough. Now, you can play the game of chess with the computer or with any player who is not physically in front of you across the board but in the virtual room in an online chess site at the time and place you decide. Online chess is the new kid in the block that is taking the game to the masses and enriching the quality of life of the passionate chess player in you.