Public Spark

1. Attempt and accept challenges

   I have always avoided chess up to now because I thought it was too challenging and I didn’t want to put much effort into playing a game. After I watched people play, I realized that I should take up the challenge. I knew that it was difficult, but at the same time you can miss great experiences by making excuses.

2. Strategies

   Chess is a game with a multitude of strategies. Basically certain pieces can go in certain directions. The decisions you make in terms of which pieces, in what order and what direction all affect the way the game will be played. The best chess players will also think ahead. They can visualize the board and different possibilities of moves. In life, those that have a vision and take steps toward the vision are winners.

3. Find ways to creatively learn

   Some people learn from actually playing and practicing, writing things down, reading or a combination thereof. This was the same for me in learning chess. First, I wrote and drew out the role of each chess piece. Then I sat down and played a game with my boyfriend, thinking about and talking through each move.

4. Focus too much on one thing and you’ll lose sight of another

   Below is a great video that tests your attention span.

   In chess, when you focus too much on a certain common move, you might miss out on an excellent move that can lead to defeating your opponent.

5. Be open and receptive to learning

   There are always lessons to be learned anytime and anywhere. You’re also never too old to learn something. If I hadn’t tried chess, I would have missed out on learning a fun game and now instead of being an observer I can be a participant and play with my friends.

Link love:

• Steve Pavlina also began learning chess and wrote about it in his blog.

• Chessopolis is a site with free online tutorials and instruction.

• Soyouwanna.com has easy step by step instruction on learning to play chess.

• Wikipedia has a variety of information from history of the game to rules and strategies.