chess

blessed to grow up without technology

Derek once told me, one decision he did right as a kid was to learn how to play tennis.

Being good at tennis was one of the reasons he didn't have problem settling in when he first came to Sydney as people always count him in for quality games. He was never left out on weekend tennis. And that's where friendships were made quickly.

I thought to myself, do any of my childhood hobbies actually enhance my life as an adult? I don't think so, no.

As kids, our 3 main 'toys' were Lego, barbie dolls, and chess.
Lego has probably sparked the 'engineering' side of me.
Barbie. I don't think it brings any benefit really. Her life objective is to dress up for dates with Ken. Such shallow mentality. Girls have better things to achieve in life. Lol.
As for Chess, after the topic was randomly brought up by my sis, now I believe it does play a huge part in shaping my personalities and way of thinking.

We used to represent our schools in chess competitions.
Not that I'm extremely good at it, there just weren't enough people to make up the team.

In a chess competition, there is one timer for each player.
When it's your turn, your timer runs. Once you completed your move, you stop your timer which then automatically activates your opponent's timer.
The game may end at any time if any of players' time runs out.
It's not just about trying to checkmate your opponent, it's also a race against time.

There's also the touch-move rule in chess. If a player touches a piece on the board during his turn, he must then move that piece during his turn. If he touches the opponent's piece, he must then make moves to capture that piece during his turn.

What is a chess game like?

- Plan and think ahead of not just your own moves but your opponent's moves too. 

- Observe your opponent's each and every move to find out his intentions and forecast his next move/game plan.

- Think before you act. Do not touch anything on the board until you're sure.

- You don't have all the time in the world to think or make decision as the clock ticks down.

- Every move should be strategised with purpose - to threaten, to trap, to lure, to kill, to defend, to distract, to slow, to run for life or to force the opponent into taking a certain move.

- Sometimes you have to sacrifice the less important (or least favourite) pieces to keep the 'useful' ones.

- Sometimes you kill for the sake of being killed. The less pieces there are on the board, the easier it is to have an overview of the game. 

- No talking, pure thinking, full concentration.

- Every time a move is taken by yourself or the opponent, you quickly repeat the what-if, if-not, if, and say-if in your head because the dynamic of the board changes with every move.

- You sit face to face with your opponent for about an hour but the only words spoken are Check, Touch-move, Castling, Checkmate, and Good-game. 

So what has chess instilled in me?

- 'One step at a time' is a good way to not over-stress on things but sometimes we gotta think and plan a few steps ahead to have a more 'structured' life.

- Observation is a good way to get to know someone better inside out - why they do/act/say/react in certain ways. We don't always need to ask or judge, just observe and learn.

- Never do/act/say/react on things before thinking through the consequences or alternatives. Touch-move serves as a good reminder.

- Think and make decision there and then unless the decision is dependent on other factors which are not within your control. The habit of not wanting to commit until the last minute is a form of running away from things. Time waits for no man.

- Always be reminded that each step taken in life leads to another. We might as well take the steps purposefully, making full use of the chance we have.

- You can't have best of both worlds. If it means sacrificing something to keep another, so be it. Know what's best for you, make choices, let go.

- Less is more. Trying to hold on to too many things will in turn blind us from the things that truly matter. The lesser we have, the clearer it is to identify and easier it is to grasp on what matters most.

- When I'm quiet, I'm thinking. And often, my thoughts are confined in my head and I'm used to not speaking out.

- Nothing is definite as things are meant to change as we go.

- Silence is not awkward. Some may find it uneasy.

Chess has definitely influenced me in many ways.

My analytical and critical thinking skills, my calmness in facing and solving problems, my observant nature, my habit of not lengthening any decision-making process (not liking to spend so much time thinking of the same things over and over again), my introvert traits, my habit of doing all the thinkings in my head and not voicing out, my ability to quickly let go of thoughts/things/people which/who aren't worth or not meant to be, and my love for quiet space. Also, people think chess is: Boring. Slow. Complicated to some. Brain-killing. Not fun. Perhaps that's why I'm a boring person at times. Lol.

Thanks to the aunty (I don't know which aunty) who gave us her spare chess set.