Chess also offers valuable business lessons: Don\u2019t underestimate your competitors, plan thoroughly, and focus on sustainable growth rather than shortcuts or quick wins.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\nChess is one of those games that has had a certain reputation for centuries. If you were good at chess, you were considered intelligent, analytical and strategic. You may also be considered a bit nerdy and quirky.<\/p>\n
But Netflix\u2019s The Queen\u2019s Gambit<\/i> has done an excellent job of showing that chess can indeed be a classy game.<\/p>\n
In fact, it was this show that spurred the chess boom that we\u2019re having at the moment, and now chess is played by more people than ever.<\/p>\n
As an International Chess Master, I\u2019ve always admired the game, and naturally, I took it very seriously when I played for England. But the approach to chess now is a lot more \u201cfun.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s considered a great social game, and your average Joe is playing chess on the daily.<\/p>\n
More and more people I meet networking are intrigued by chess, and they often ask me questions about the game and whether it can help them in other areas of life.<\/p>\n
I believe there\u2019s a huge crossover between chess and business, so I\u2019d like to tell you five reasons why I believe all entrepreneurs should<\/i> play chess.<\/p>\n
Now, there are the obvious reasons \u2014 such as improving strategy and analytical skills \u2014 but I am picking ones that may not be so obvious.<\/p>\n
1. Positional understanding<\/h2>\n
This is one of the biggest ones for business that is completely undervalued. Many entrepreneurs spend a great deal of their time on sales and marketing, throwing more time and money at any issues they face.<\/p>\n
What they don\u2019t realize is that there\u2019s nothing wrong with their marketing, but actually, their positioning is completely wrong. No matter how great your campaigns are, how many posts go viral and how many people hear about who you guys are, if they don\u2019t really understand who you\u2019re for and how you can help them, you\u2019re not going to make your sale.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the same in chess \u2014 positional understanding is what sets apart good players from great players.<\/p>\n
You can only get so far by knowing some cool tricks and traps. Even if some of these work, if you then don\u2019t understand how to handle the resulting position, someone who does can outmaneuver you, even if they\u2019re down on points having already fallen for your trap.<\/p>\n
2. Mindset control<\/h2>\n
Chess is a mental game, so anything that affects your mindset will affect how you play your game.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no luck in chess, in that it\u2019s a game of absolute information. You\u2019re in full control of how well you play. Therefore, if you make a mistake, it hurts \u2014 as it was all down to you. The thing is, for most of us, we\u2019re playing against fallible humans. So when we make a mistake, it\u2019s not always fatal.<\/p>\n
However, if we react badly to it and continue to play bad moves after that, then of course, there\u2019s no coming back from it.<\/p>\n
In business, we\u2019re bound to make mistakes all the time. We face a lot of rejection, and we\u2019re constantly iterating and improving. Setbacks are inevitable, but how we react to them is everything.<\/p>\n
The ability to take a moment\u2019s breather when you\u2019ve made a mistake, pause for a moment and re-evaluate your position is a huge skill to have. If you do this in business, you may suddenly realize opportunities that you may never have realized you had before.<\/p>\n
3. Patience<\/h2>\n
Already, there\u2019s a common theme: If you\u2019re rushing things and looking for quick success, not only are you likely to not find it, but you\u2019re probably going to make a few mistakes along the way as a result of these shortcuts.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve always believed that if the destination is worth getting to, then the journey is worth taking, and shortcuts very rarely work out.<\/p>\n
In chess, those with the most patience often win. They sit back, play the position slowly, ensuring their own king is safe first, and then attack when they\u2019ve got all their pieces ready. Those who charge forward quickly and try to force the issue with each move usually cause weaknesses in their own position that their opponent can exploit.<\/p>\n
In business, it\u2019s the same. You don\u2019t always have to say yes to every opportunity or take on every single client. You don\u2019t have to be launching a new product every year or a new offer each quarter.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, it\u2019s much better to just optimize what you\u2019ve already got \u2014 get your business in the best shape it can be before launching something new and challenging your competitors.<\/p>\n
4. Underestimating your competitors<\/h2>\n
Chess is one of those beautiful games where anyone of any age, race or gender can play on a level playing field.<\/p>\n
But naturally, some demographics will get underestimated. \u201cOh, they\u2019re just a kid!\u201d Or even, \u201cYes, I\u2019m playing a woman!\u201d You genuinely hear these comments at chess tournaments \u2026 by amateurs, of course, as professionals know that they should never judge a book by its cover.<\/p>\n
The kids are often so much sharper and better at tactics, as they just don\u2019t have that fear factor. They\u2019re also way quicker.<\/p>\n
Many business owners I work with have underestimated their competitors because they\u2019re \u201cnot as experienced\u201d or they\u2019re \u201cmuch smaller,\u201d so they wouldn\u2019t be able to compete with them.<\/p>\n
But because they\u2019re less well-known, they have the ability to keep experimenting and iterating until they find the perfect positioning and offer without affecting their brand. They can also be more agile due to a smaller team, and it\u2019s often cheaper for them to pivot and make progress.<\/p>\n
As a result, many new companies have overtaken their competitors due to being underestimated.<\/p>\n
5. Effectiveness of planning<\/h2>\n
We\u2019re all told that planning helps make later decisions much easier, but I don\u2019t think most people realize just how effective planning really is.<\/p>\n
In chess, those who have already learned their opening theory and have studied all the most common moves at the start of the game can guarantee themselves a healthy position going into the middlegame. Plus, when playing on a clock, they save a great deal of time because no thinking is required. This then helps put added time pressure on their opponents later.<\/p>\n
Those who skip this step end up having to calculate every move as if it\u2019s new. They use up precious thinking time that will be essential later on in the game, and even if they get into a decent position, they won\u2019t have much time to navigate it properly anyway.<\/p>\n
In business, those who make detailed plans and strategy docs know exactly when things need to be done and what results they\u2019re aiming for. At any point in time, they know if they\u2019re on track \u2014 and if they\u2019re not, they can analyze why, thereby nipping any issues in the bud early.<\/p>\n
They also massively reduce decision fatigue because most of their decisions have been determined by the strategy created before the execution stage.<\/p>\n
So, when you read through the above, it\u2019s a bit of a no-brainer that entrepreneurs should play chess. But just like in business, there are a lot of people out there giving bad advice, leading people into bad habits.<\/p>\n
Therefore, you can find yourself trying to take shortcuts, doing clever tricks and getting quick wins instead of going for sustainable growth.<\/p>\n
Just as they\u2019re bad in business, these \u201cstrategies\u201d are also bad in chess. Do things properly from the start, and you could<\/i> find yourself on the path to be a chess AND business master!<\/p>\n
Sign up for the Entrepreneur Daily newsletter to get the news and resources you need to know today to help you run your business better. <\/i>Get it in your inbox<\/i>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Entrepreneur Key Takeaways Chess has surged in popularity in recent years, and in my opinion, there is a huge crossover between chess and business. The game offers entrepreneurs powerful, non-obvious benefits \u2014 especially in positional thinking, mindset control and patience. Chess also offers valuable business lessons: Don\u2019t underestimate your competitors, plan thoroughly, and focus on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[32],"class_list":{"0":"post-48266","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-make-money","8":"tag-featured"},"yoast_head":"\n
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