Butterfly Effect

Chess is a simple game. The rules are straightforward, and each piece can only move in a specific way. It is easy to learn but pretty hard to master.

It isn’t enough to move pieces on the board to checkmate your opponent’s king; you also have to consider how you protect your pieces, your opponent’s potential moves, what is open, what is strategic, and what mistakes your opponent can capitalize on.

I started playing this game again to help keep my brain active by helping me solve problems and think ahead. What else I got from it is surprising me.

First, why did I start playing this game again?

I found an article about how Magnus Carlsen challenged the world to a chess match on Chess.com. 143,000 people against one man. The logistics of that were interesting to me, as each move the world made had to be voted upon. The game lasted 6 1/2 weeks and ended in a draw.

143,000 people couldn’t beat one man, which shows Magnus’s mastery of the game.

I impulsively made an account on Chess.com and started playing against their AI bots, solving chess puzzles, and taking the site’s AI lessons. At first, I was pretty awful and didn’t look ahead enough or play with patience, but as the games progressed, I started to slow down and take my time with each move.

I started to win a few against the beginner bots and played more challenging opponents to test myself. I won some, lost some, and took advantage of the site’s game review to review my moves and see where I could improve.

It seems like a lot for such a simple game, but it is teaching me how to slow down and think more and it is working in other ways.

Learning patience from a game doesn’t exist in a bubble. You don’t just learn patience in a game, and not have it transfer into other parts of your life.

Eating better doesn’t just help you lose weight; it will also give you more energy, make you feel better, and improve your health markers. Training won’t just help you build muscle and get stronger; it also protects your joints, prevents osteoporosis, improves your mobility as you age, and enables you to stay healthy.

You can see patterns if you think about the butterfly effect of your activities.

Drinking too much? Inflammation, weight gain, regret, and health problems if you don’t stop.

Eating highly processed food too often? Nutrient deficiencies, excess calorie consumption due to hyperpalatability, and weight gain.

You can do this for all areas of your life if you wish.

Chess is teaching me to slow down my thinking and react less.

That makes me a better person, partner, and coach, and it’s filtering into other areas of my life.

For me, my mind is my worst enemy.

I am not saying you need to go out and play chess, but sometimes, something else can help you find solutions to your life struggles.

It isn’t always as simple for many people as “just eat less and move more. “ It’s finding that initial stone to throw into the water to start the ripple effect.

Maybe you are tired of being tired.

Maybe your bloodwork came back, and it has you concerned.

Maybe your parents died young, and you don’t want to be like them.

There is always something that can trigger change, even if you don’t see it right in front of you.

Chess has been one of those things for me and my struggles.

It’s wild how a simple game is much more than that.