Chess and Logic: Bringing Order to Chaos

“Chess is the art of analysis” Said Mikhail Botvinik. I don’t think I’ll sum it up better than Mr Botvinik. But I feel I can still add something. So here it is: I’d like to talk about my journey into learning chess.

Nah, you’re just trying to cash in on the popularity of the Queen’s Gambit show.

Okay, that might be true. But I actually have things to say about it. Chess was one of the subjects in my plan about writing articles sharing the benefits of art for the mind.

*Sarcastic laugh* You have a plan?

YES I DO! I PLAN THINGS! I REALLY DO!

Okay “mister planner”. Tell me in 500 words why what this article is about.

Yes, you’re right. So let me start at the beginning. I was just getting out of university. It was Business Engineering at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Get to it!

No wait, I’m giving an example of the before part. I chose those studies because, and this was my literal thinking, I’m good with sciences but economics seems like the easier choice with the better career prospects. This wasn’t a thought out process where I went to different universities to evaluate different campuses or subjects. I just went for the closest university. I was still hesitating between, philosophy, medicine, civil engineering, IT, law and I just decided on the spot right in front of registration computer. It had about 50 choices.

That… seems impulsive… You still were hesitating up until that point?

Yes. My “strategy” was that if I failed the first year, I would just take another choice (understand: an easier one). My way of approaching life at that point was never further than the next move. What is the next smartest action I can take. There was no long term thinking or even middle term thinking for that matter. Like most guys in that period, I was probably more interested in the ladies I was going to meet.

Amen to th- Wait no, stop objectivizing women.

Dude, it’s a joke for emphasize my lack of wisdom at the time.

Well you should know better than to-

ANYWAY, fast forward to my first job after getting my master, I just took the first job offered to me. Others were finding jobs, so it must have been the right thing to do. No thought on which company, salary, position or anything else. I wanted to build up experience, without any thought about where I wanted my career to go.

The chess please…

Yes, yes, I’m getting to it. I met this dude at my first job and we talked about video games. I was still addicted at that point. We talked about our favorite games until I asked the one question… Are you ready for it?

It’s cute to see you try to build up anticipation for a question.

Fair enough, I just asked him what games he was currently playing. And that’s where he answered… Are you ready?

Chess, I know.

Yeah, I guess that one was easy to figure out. From the conversation, he explained how it became the only game he played. He said it was the ultimate game. It can be played fast or slow. A war of minds, going at each other with everything they have. A battle of philosophies. A battle of nerves so intense where nothing seems to happen but everything is on the line. A game where logic, creativity, courage, decision making, visualization, calculation, pruning, planning, pattern recognition, strategy all come together to determine which of the minds is the better one.

He really said all that?

Okay I might be improving reality a little. But the fact remains that: He convinced me. I started to play. That was about five or six years ago. Since that conversation,  I started playing online. I lost a lot. I started to study. I improved. I started winning. I kept studying. I still lose some and win some today. The cool thing about chess for me was that-

You’re not going to talk about technical stuff I hope?

No, no don’t worry. No need for the point I’m trying to make. My mind before starting chess was a chaotic mess. I would have about twenty ideas in my head at once, all fighting for attention, all fighting for dominance. It was so much that I couldn’t even express simple things. I had difficulty expressing all those things coming and going in my head at once. Hence the indecision about my studies. I would try to think about becoming a philosopher and all other options would come rushing in with arguments about why they were better. It made it impossible to have simple thoughts or conversations.

You sound crazy…

I call it creative J

Fair enough, what happened with the chess then?

After one year, I started noticing something. My thinking became more disciplined. I started thinking more concretely. One weakness I had in chess was that I would love my ideas too much. I loved them so much, that I wouldn’t check if they actually worked on the board. I would do crazy sacrifices and crazy moves just for the sake of having a fun game even though most of the time, it didn’t work. More advanced players would show me how I could’ve won by playing easier, simpler more and concrete winning moves. And yes, this chess decision making analysis actually crossed over to my real life.

What do you mean?

I started becoming more disciplined in my thinking in general. I would throw out ideas that didn’t work and they wouldn’t come back. I would limit them and they would listen. I started thinking in linear steps instead of the usual “chaotic all ideas mixed together” kind of thinking. Over the years it became even more pronounced. My communication started becoming more logical, linear and clearer too. The cool thing is, I still have access to the chaotic way of thinking. It’s just that chess taught me another way of thinking. A ruthless kind of concrete decision making.

Cool for you, but what about others? Not everybody is a crazy like you…

Creative J. But here’s exactly my point: The way one plays chess is a mirror to the way they think. Some might act impulsively, others too prudently. Some play loose (me), others want to control everything, others fear the loss, others are enthralled by victory, some play one move at a time, others calculate everything. Some see all the options but can’t execute, others execute well the limited options they see. Some play too fast, others play too slow. And any combination of all of these parameters are possible. Just like every human being is different, every mind has its own decision making process.

Yes, yes, very beautiful inspiring stuff. But show me the money, how can chess help me?

Even though any decision making process might exist and every decision making process has both flaws and merits according to a situation at hand. I believe that what chess teaches is a few decision making principles that will improve any person’s thinking process dramatically. Even though my thinking might have become more critical, I still have my creative mind. Someone else let’s say with no creativity will need to learn to think outside their own box if they hope to win games, because every game is different even if you use the same opening so-

No technical talk please.

I’m sorry, you’re right. I’m just saying: Fast thinking might be good for tactical things and slow might be good for positional/strategical things. No one thinking process is better than the others, but it is important to know which one to use at which time. And yes, emotions do play a role and can help, the unconscious can sometimes give great advice in games. Just check Mikhail Tal Hippopotamus story. But knowing when and how to consider options, when and how to be creative, when and how to calculate possibilities, learning to recognize patterns, learning to focus, how to plan, problemsolve, etc. Keep in mind all other benefits of chess on things like memory.I didn’t talk about this but my memory got better since starting chess. My confidence in my analyses improved, my planning, my long term decision making, I learned how to take both losses and wins, my focus improved and probably a lot of other skills I’m not noticing yet. I believe those are mental skills that can benefit anyone. We humans think a lot and constantly, I believe it would help us if this human thinking process functions efficiently. If you don’t believe me, ask uncle Google “Benefits Chess”.

So how does one start?

• Play some games, see if you like it. Either online or with friends.
• Learn basic chess concepts.
• Watch commentaries on classic games on youtube.
• Watch Queen’s Gambit (I haven’t myself :p) or Searching for Bobby Fischer or any chess movie or series.
• When I launched my business, I offered workshops designed to improve decision making using chess as a tool. Contact me for ideas if you’d like to develop this. I like my current job J.
• Play slow, it’s better to stretch your chess mind.
• Share, like, comment this article.
• Connect with and talk with me or even play a game with me?

Chess and Logic: Bringing Order to Chaos

“Chess is the art of analysis” said Mikhail Botvinik. I don’t think I’ll sum it up better than Mr Botvinik. But I feel I can still add something. So here it is: I’d like to talk about my journey into learning chess.

Nah, you’re just trying to cash in on the popularity of the Queen’s Gambit show.

Okay, that might be true. But I actually have things to say about it. Chess was one of the subjects in my plan about writing articles sharing the benefits of art for the mind.

*Sarcastic laugh* You have a plan?

YES I DO! I PLAN THINGS! I REALLY DO!

Okay “mister planner”. Tell me in 500 words what this article is about.

Yes, you’re right. So let me start at the beginning. I was just getting out of university. It was Business Engineering at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Get to it!

No wait, I’m giving an example of the before part. I chose those studies because, and this was my literal thinking, I’m good with sciences but economics seems like the easier choice with the better career prospects. This wasn’t a thought out process where I went to different universities to evaluate different campuses or subjects. I just went for the closest university. I was still hesitating between, philosophy, medicine, civil engineering, IT, law and I just decided on the spot right in front of registration computer. It had about 50 choices.

That… seems impulsive… You still were hesitating up until that point?

Yes. My “strategy” was that if I failed the first year, I would just take another choice (understand: an easier one). My way of approaching life at that point was never further than the next move. What is the next smartest action I can take. There was no long term thinking or even middle term thinking for that matter. Like most guys of that age, I was probably more interested in the ladies I was going to meet.

Amen to th- Wait no, stop objectivizing women.

Dude, it’s a joke for emphasize my lack of wisdom at the time.

Well you should know better than to-

ANYWAY, fast forward to my first job after getting my master, I just took the first job offered to me. Others were finding jobs, so it must have been the right thing to do. No thought on which company, salary, position or anything else. I wanted to build up experience, without any thought about where I wanted my career to go.

The chess please…

Yes, yes, I’m getting to it. I met this dude at my first job and we talked about video games. I was still addicted at that point. We talked about our favorite games until I asked the one question… Are you ready for it?

It’s cute to see you try to build up anticipation for a question.

Fair enough, I just asked him what games he was currently playing. And that’s where he answered… Are you ready?

Chess, I know.

Yeah, I guess that one was easy to figure out. From the conversation, he explained how it became the only game he played. He said it was the ultimate game. It can be played fast or slow. A war of minds, going at each other with everything they have. A battle of philosophies. A battle of nerves so intense where nothing seems to happen but everything is on the line. A game where logic, creativity, courage, decision making, visualization, calculation, pruning, planning, pattern recognition, strategy all come together to determine which of the minds is the better one.

He really said all that?

Okay I might be improving reality a little. But the fact remains that: He convinced me. I started to play. That was about five or six years ago. Since that conversation,  I started playing online. I lost a lot. I started to study. I improved. I started winning. I kept studying. I still lose some and win some today. The cool thing about chess for me was that-

You’re not going to talk about technical stuff I hope?

No, no don’t worry. No need for the point I’m trying to make. My mind before starting chess was a chaotic mess. I would have about twenty ideas in my head at once, all fighting for attention, all fighting for dominance. It was so much that I couldn’t even express simple things. I had difficulty expressing all those things coming and going in my head at once. Hence the indecision about my studies. I would try to think about becoming a philosopher and all other options would come rushing in with arguments about why they were better. It made it impossible to have simple thoughts or conversations.

You sound crazy…

I call it creative J

Fair enough, what happened with the chess then?

After one year, I started noticing something. My thinking became more disciplined. I started thinking more concretely. One weakness I had in chess was that I would love my ideas too much. I loved them so much, that I wouldn’t check if they actually worked on the board. I would do crazy sacrifices and crazy moves just for the sake of having a fun game even though most of the time, it didn’t work. More advanced players would show me how I could’ve won by playing easier, simpler more and concrete winning moves. And yes, this chess decision making analysis actually crossed over to my real life.

What do you mean?

I started becoming more disciplined in my thinking in general. I would throw out ideas that didn’t work and they wouldn’t come back. I would limit them and they would listen. I started thinking in linear steps instead of the usual “chaotic all ideas mixed together” kind of thinking. Over the years it became even more pronounced. My communication started becoming more logical, linear and clearer too. The cool thing is, I still have access to the chaotic way of thinking. It’s just that chess taught me another way of thinking. A ruthless kind of concrete decision making.

Cool for you, but what about others? Not everybody is a crazy like you…

Creative J. But here’s exactly my point: The way one plays chess is a mirror to the way they think. Some might act impulsively, others too prudently. Some play loose (me), others want to control everything, others fear the loss, others are enthralled by victory, some play one move at a time, others calculate everything. Some see all the options but can’t execute, others execute well the limited options they see. Some play too fast, others play too slow. And any combination of all of these parameters are possible. Just like every human being is different, every mind has its own decision making process.

Yes, yes, very beautiful inspiring stuff. But show me the money, how can chess help me?

Even though any decision making process might exist and every decision making process has both flaws and merits according to a situation at hand. I believe that what chess teaches is a few decision making principles that will improve any person’s thinking process dramatically. Even though my thinking might have become more critical, I still have my creative mind. Someone else let’s say with no creativity will need to learn to think outside their own box if they hope to win games, because every game is different even if you use the same opening so-

No technical talk please.

I’m sorry, you’re right. I’m just saying: Fast thinking might be good for tactical things and slow might be good for positional/strategical things. No one thinking process is better than the others, but it is important to know which one to use at which time. And yes, emotions do play a role and can help, the unconscious can sometimes give great advice in games. Just check Mikhail Tal Hippopotamus story. But knowing when and how to consider options, when and how to be creative, when and how to calculate possibilities, learning to recognize patterns, learning to focus, how to plan, problemsolve, etc. Keep in mind all other benefits of chess on things like memory.I didn’t talk about this but my memory got better since starting chess. My confidence in my analyses improved, my planning, my long term decision making, I learned how to take both losses and wins, my focus improved and probably a lot of other skills I’m not noticing yet. I believe those are mental skills that can benefit anyone. We humans think a lot and constantly, I believe it would help us if this human thinking process functions efficiently. If you don’t believe me, ask uncle Google “Benefits Chess”.

So how does one start?

·         Play some games, see if you like it. Either online or with friends.

·         Learn basic chess concepts.

·         Watch commentaries on classic games on youtube.

·         Watch Queen’s Gambit (I haven’t myself :p) or Searching for Bobby Fischer or any chess movie or series.

·         When I launched my business, I offered workshops designed to improve decision making using chess as a tool. Contact me for ideas if you’d like to develop this. I like my current job J.

·         Play slow, it’s better to stretch your chess mind.

·         Share, like, comment this article.

·         Connect and talk with me or even play a game with me?