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It was only fitting that I would play chess with my daughters. Long before I became a father in 1999, chess was a big part of my life. My brother and father taught me when I was 5. Since then, I’ve played with friends, family members, even strangers (in a park in Boston, where I lost, badly).

Now I play chess with my daughters. I taught my oldest, Mikayla, when she was 6. She has already beaten me once. Liz, now 5, started learning when she was 3. When the baby, Erica, is older, she and I will also play. The reasons are simple: I did it as a boy, it’s cheap, and it stimulates the imagination. It’s an elegant hedge against TV on a cold winter night.

When the temptation might be to hunker down and watch a movie, my push for chess is my way of resisting the urge of the tube. Last year, I was given Dr. Meg Meeker’s book Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters. This book cautions fathers on the rancidity of the culture that awaits girls, and instructs on how fathers are uniquely positioned to help.

Our oldest girl is 8. So far, so good — but we have a lot ahead of us. Even now, she faces questions that I don’t recall being discussed when I was 8. A dad tries to find strategies to help her blossom, without hitting her over the head with it.

The book, which doesn’t mention chess per se, makes two important points. First point: A girl needs Dad time. She needs to bond with Dad, to know he is there for her, and to be assured of his love for her. When life gets hard — not if but when — she can go to him and she knows he will listen. Today’s bond helps weather tomorrow’s problems.

The second point: Protect her from herself. Wise decision making — maturity — is the final thing that develops in the mind. Teens can rationalize anything for fun. They have the ability to wreak adult havoc but lack the logic to consider consequences.

With this book read and these two points understood, I revisited my stalwart friend and ally, chess. In fact, chess, it turns out, is the perfect companion for raising daughters. It rewards long-term strategy, stimulates the executive decision part of the mind (precisely what Dr. Meeker says develops last), and it helps build a bond. So it brings the question: Could chess be a helpful aid in raising kids?

I’m not the only one to have this thought. Leopold Lacrimosa is a Scottsdale, Arizona chess coach who also runs the American Chess Coaching website. He observes, on the ChessCentral site, that a child who takes up chess “begins to develop logical thinking, critical thinking, decision making, [and] problem solving.”

In July of 2000, Dr. Peter Dauvergne, a professor at the University of British Columbia, Canada, and a visiting lecturer at the University of Sydney, wrote an article for the University of Sydney entitled “The Case for Chess as a Tool to Develop Our Children’s Minds.”

Indeed, a casual internet search of “chess children development” yields well more than a million hits. And how interesting it is, amid the unrest in Russia, that Vladimir Putin sees as his most serious threat, chess champion Garry Kasparov.

Closer to home, chess serves as a means of bonding with my daughter, and a way to show my daughter how to think long-term. Moreover, it provides a vital contrast to the culture at large. Consider the culture. Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, for instance, are young women whose current life situations scream “didn’t think ahead.” And yet, it’s hard to blame the fallen divas. When Lindsay Lohan was younger than even Liz, a beer commercial explicitly told us not to think. “Why ask why?” Yeah, why think? Just do it.

Engaging in any sporting activity is an essential part of a person’s life. There are many activities that a person engages himself during his life, especially in the early part or in the young age. The primary intention of any sporting activity is to provide both physical and mental strength to a person.

If there is one game or sport that not only provides you with the required strength, stamina, energy and relaxation, but also some invaluable lessons for leading a qualitative life, then it must be Chess, the board game that is rightly referred to as the King of Games.

Probably, this is the one reason why this ancient Game of the Kings, or Chess, as it is commonly known, is considered to be one of the most popular games played across the world, even after more than 1500 years.

What does this board game teach to a person?

In simple terms, chess is a turn-based board game in which two players play across each other over a square board having 64 squares. Each player is provided with 16 pieces each, albeit in different colors for the purpose of differentiation. One of the 16 pieces is the primary or lead piece, called as the King. The other 15 pieces are meant to safeguard the primary piece. The objective of the game for a player is not only to safeguard his primary piece but also deploying his pieces effectively to corner the primary piece of the other player and say “Checkmate”. One has to master the rules governing the game, including the merits, demerits, and capabilities and movement of the individual pieces across the board.

The salient feature of this board game is that there is no external influence for the game, and it is the players who make the moves, take decisions, and should abide by their decisions. One cannot corner the opponent’s King in one single move and claim victory.

The game is such that one player cannot win over the opponent using his skill over the board. He can win only when the other player makes a mistake or makes a wrong move. Though you play the game, you have to rely on the other player’s mistake to claim victory. Ideally, the game of chess results in only one outcome – a draw between the two players because both the players enter into the game with equal capability on the board. It is immaterial whether one of the players is aged 6 years and the opponent is aged 60 years. Not it is immaterial whether one player is weighing 100 kg and the other player is underweight with only 15 kg weight.

Across the board, as a player, you determine the fate of the game by your own moves. As such, you, as a player, need to think and think deeply more than once before deciding on making a move. In other words, you should plan your strategy of moves well in advance, react to the response of the moves of the opponent, and take independent decisions. You should be able to analyze the merits as well as consequences of each move. If you think that sacrificing a minor piece, say Knight, for the sake of capturing a pawn, might lead to better control over the board, then you should be prepared to sacrifice the knight for the sake of a pawn. Above all, you should wait for the response of the opponent after every move of yours. You need to exercise patience and should not act in haste. Only when you do these things for each and every move, then you can aim for claiming victory over the opponent, indirectly forcing him to make a mistake, and capitalizing on the same. If both the players apply the same technique, the game can only be a fascinating tussle between the two minds that can take up hours to complete and might end as a fair draw.

The things you do for each and every move will invariably inculcate the following traits in you:

- thinking before acting, – planning and devising strategies, – being patient, and – Sacrificing for larger benefit.

These four things are invaluable traits in dealing with our life as well. Thus, it is safe to conclude that the game of chess will definitely make you a better organized person with these traits.

Ex-GI rebuilds life after taking war spoils – Navy News, news from Iraq – Navy Times
Less than two years ago, Earl Coffey stood on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, a broken man, holding his Army uniform, photos and military medals in his hands.

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Many times, parents try to find any type of product that will help develop their child’s life skills, teaching them to increase these skills for use in later life. Chess is one of the games that parents will use today to teach their children life skills and help with their interaction skills.

One of the skills that a child can learn is competition; they learn to compete with their peers in a friendly environment. They are able to pick up the required skills through practice teaching them that they can accomplish anything. They learn to be gracious winners and good sportsmanship through these competitive games of chess. This teaches them to be confident and gives them a sense of independent accomplishment, helping them take on life’s challenges in their later years.

While in competition, another skill learned by children is the sense of community, by giving a helping hand to other children who are learning to play the game. They help create ways to win the game; they help represent the games at their schools. They take part in the two player teams where they help each other develop their skills through practice and cooperation.

Playing the game of chess also helps children learn fair play, this is very important in the child’s later years making them more likely to grow up and treat other fairly, and to be respectful of others feelings. In addition, to being fair they learn how to treat others equally. They play against children of all races, genders and many different ages. They will discover that everyone who plays chess has an equal opportunity to be winners of the game. They also learn to play the game by the rules and they know that everyone will have the exact same rules. In this process they know that they are not any different from anyone else and the game of chess does not have any favorites, in order to win you must be like everyone else who plays the game, and learn the game through practice and game play.

In the game of chess, children learn the value of working hard; they must study the game, from beginning tactics to more advanced strategies. They will learn that through intense study and long hours of practice that they will be able to succeed at winning in competition. These skills come in handy for your child when they are in school, and through out their lives, they learn that through hard work and persistence they will succeed.

The last but certainly not the least, Chess teaches your children responsibility, they learn to be fair and to take the time to do what needs to be done when training. It means that they must live with the actions they use, and accept the consequences that are associated with those actions. They learn self control and they are more likely to think before they make any decisions. The game of chess gives you the opportunity to introduce your child to very important skills that they will need to succeed in their lives.

“The chessboard is the world, the pieces are the phenomena of the Universe, the rules of the game are what we call the laws of Nature and the player on the other side is hidden from us.”

Thomas Huxley

Life can be likened to a game of chess. In chess you have to read the board, look out for obvious signs of danger and even try to predict your opponent’s next move. However, human beings can be unpredictable and your opponent can often make a move that takes you completely by surprise. One thing is certain. Whatever happens, you have to respond to your opponent’s move and you keep doing so until – checkmate.

For some people decision-making is an agonisingly slow process. Yet, whatever decision you make, you will set in motion a series of changes or responses in your environment. Some will be predictable; others not. Some will be favourable; others not. Nonetheless, to make progress you will have to respond to those changes in your environment.

While you can influence the outcome of the game unless you are playing against yourself you cannot control how the game unfolds. This is what makes the game of chess and the game of life so fascinating. However, there is no forward motion until you make your move, until you make a decision and take ACTION.

One of the reasons why you are likely to hesitate in making a decision is because you want to make the ‘right’ decision. Lighten up, it’s a game – remember.

“You sit at the board and suddenly your heart leaps. Your hand trembles to pick up the piece and move it. But what chess teaches you is that you must sit there calmly and think about whether it’s really a good idea and whether there are other better ideas.”

Stanley Kubrick

In life, you often immediately have the answer to what you should do. Your intuitive self is able to analyse situations far more quickly and accurately than you can do consciously. So by all means review your options but keep in mind the game grinds to a halt while you stall. Meanwhile, other games are also being enacted and, while you procrastinate, opportunities that these games create evaporate. Timing is everything so you need to hone your decision-making skills.

As you develop awareness you will be able to predict with greater accuracy how your opponent will respond. You will be able to evaluate possible moves and their outcomes more quickly and you will be able to develop effective strategies for dealing with each scenario. However, you will only develop this awareness by raising your game.

“Suddenly it was obvious to me in my analysis I had missed what Fischer had found with the greatest of ease at the board.”

Mikhail Botvinnik

You will need to study the strategies and tactics used by chess masters and you will need to play against more and more advanced opponents. In life, at times you will win; other times you will lose. Win or lose, you can always learn from the experience and so you can always make progress.

“I had a toothache during the first game. In the second game I had a headache. In the third game it was an attack of rheumatism. In the fourth game, I wasn’t feeling well. And in the fifth game? Well, must one have to win every game?”

Siegbert Tarrasch

At times you will struggle. You will want to throw your hands up and strike the pieces from the board. Stop! It is at these times when you must be calm and focused for they mark the advent to some of your greatest lessons and greatest triumphs. So welcome your challenges.

“I love all positions. Give me a difficult positional game, I will play it. But totally won positions, I cannot stand them.”

Hein Donner

In life, you will have mentors – those who have achieved what you are striving to achieve; and coaches – those who will help to elevate your level of thinking so that you not only develop your own success strategies but also your style of doing things. Modelling success has its place but you are also one of a kind with a unique contribution to make. Dare to be brazen. Play the game of life like no one else has. Dare to win.

You don’t get a second chance at life. This is it. You don’t get to reinstate the chess pieces back on the board and start over. The good news is that you can start today, right now to create your ideal life. No matter what your circumstances you were born free. You have the freedom to choose your life. Somehow, we forget this and we act as though we are in chains.

“Pawns are born free, yet they are everywhere in chains.”

Rick Kennedy

It’s a game remember – a grand illusion. You can break free of any self-imposed chains and live your best life now. All it takes is a decision. Play the game of life to win!

Product Description
I am a Java developer and a chess enthusiast. I have moved as an IT Professional to USA from my beloved home country Bangladesh in 2005 leaving many of my family members, relatives, friends and good memories. This is my journal where I talk about how well or worse are my days passing in this migrated place with my wife, son & friends – what I get here and what I miss here.Kindle blogs are fully downloaded onto your Kindle so you can read them even when you’re not w… More >>

An Immigrant’s Life In USA