How do you think chess relates to life?

That is some good stuff by roi, musical and Stephen.  You could have a chess game and a fight with cancer playing out simultaneously.

Your phrase, "cancer that loves chess" seems a little irregular though.

I can get quite philosophical about chess. Here's a gist.

Take the pawn, for example, the weakest chess piece on the board. He possesses the courage to charge forward into battle without so much as a sword against the entire army - an ant in a windstorm - backed up with only one or two of his friends. Once he proves his determination and courage, he becomes greater than all the other chess pieces (except the king, of course, but still impressive). Even if he doesn't succeed, he dies with honour having fought faithfully for his king.

Now take a look at the queen. The most powerful piece on the chessboard, every other piece cowers in fear from her might. However, she soon finds out that even the most powerful piece on the chessboard cannot sail through every storm alone, especially when they get intense. Nevertheless, her love for her husband gives her the courage to die for his life, and to even transcend death. 

Now observe the rooks. They make great fighting pairs. Their harmonious movements with each other, as well as with the other pieces and the entire board, always brings victory for them. They would also die for their king at any cost; at least one stands right by the king's side.

Likewise for the bishops, they make a harmonious pair. Both of them have their strengths which cover each other's weaknesses, just as one's skills cover another's flaws. Once seperated, they cannot last long in the storm of life.

thanks for all your somewhat philosophical answers  I will try to use as many as I can!

This is a gist...

WHAT IS THAT

It's a gist.

lol how is that relevant?

Vulpes may have given you the wrong gist

strategy and tactics and learning to think

Nice idea for a book. Sounds promising!

I think some of the best life lessons from chess actually come from off board experiences! For example...how do you handle defeats? Graciously? Disgracefully? Somewhere in between? How do you handle wins? Humbly? Pretentiously?
What about your opponents? How do they handle their wins and losses? Do they have good sportsmanship? If not, what is it that makes them that way? What lessons do you learn about dealing with those kinds of people? And how do those people-handling lessons transfer to your every day life? How do you handle the stress of a chess game, when (let's face it) your pride is on the line every time you play a game? What does your behavior or possibly even your playing style say about your ego?

Hope some of that gave you some ideas.

@ BlackBishop:

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As for what chess teaches, I would say planning, visualization, co-ordination, and patience.

Someone else here suggested "The Art of Learning" by Josh Waitzkin, which I too would highly recommend.

The think I liked most about that book is his emphasis on learning in a way that works for you personally, instead of trying to fit yourself into a mould that might work for others but may be unnatural for yourself. In his very successful teachings of bronx (a poor neighborhood) students, he said that he explained the same position in different ways to each of his students (twelve in total as I recall), as to get them to understand the position in a way that they would really get.

I think people and societies would be healthier if people sought to understand themselves and to learn about things in ways that resonated with them, instead of rejecting their emotions and trying to mimic whatever societal norms were present around them at any given time. This too would seem to be a nice aspect to a fictional account of someone learning about life through chess.

Life is full of sacrifices, so is chess. Life is full of uncertainties, so is chess. Life is full of surprises, so is chess. Life is full of mistakes, so is chess.

I agree with your post to some extent. Except people have to mimic societal norms to a large extent. How else would they fit in with others in the world?

More to the point, when you're trying to teach something to someone where there are palpably correct and incorrect answers, the person doing the learning has to learn the correct way. They have to conform. How do you teach someone that 2+3 = 5 in a way that "resonates" with them? You can maybe use different analogies or something to illustrate the point, but at the end of the day, the person learning has to inculcalte themselves with the idea that 2+3 = 5. Otherwise, they're just flat out wrong.

Granted, chess isn't as clear cut as mathematics usually is, but the larger point remains: in most chess positions, there are good/better moves one can make, and there are worse moves. Either you know how to win a Lucena rook-ending position or you don't. And there are only so many ways you can explain to someone that moving the rook to the fourth rank is necessary precursor for "building the bridge" that leads to the win.

Sometimes we don't see the good move and make worse moves and miss checkmate in 1.

• Planning for the future: Think long term - that’s the key to survival in this game. Don’t aimlessly push your pawns without a plan. Before you decide to make a move, think a few steps ahead. Ask “what if …?” and try to anticipate the possible outcomes of your actions. Work out a backup plan and decide on an exit strategy. In life, this is the foundation of all financial planning exercises.

• A great lesson in adaptation: Your opponent doesn’t follow a given sequence of moves. Hence, whatever your plans may be, you should always be ready to adapt to the changing situation caused by the monkey wrenches that your opponent will throw at you. At times, when dealing with unconventional opponents, you may require a paradigm shift in your thinking. This requires an open mind and the willingness to adapt to changes.

• The value of sacrifices: Sometimes you need to give up some of your smaller assets to achieve bigger milestones later in the game. A great many chess games have been won with brilliant sacrifices at the right time. This essentially requires some forethought.

• The dangers of temptation: Your opponent (the dark side) will occasionally tempt you with small pawns and trivial positions on the board. These small offers will act as baits to draw you into vulnerable positions and to expose your weaknesses. Do not fall for these - they have the potential to ruin the game for you. Always be focussed on your long term objectives and resist the distractions of these momentary temptations.

• The pitfalls of a passive approach: When you play the game passively, you play to just survive and stick around - to avoid a checkmate. You accept all the tricks that your opponent sends your way, and do not question anything. Your actions will be shaped by how your opponent (uncertainties, habits, etc) chooses to play the game. If you are lucky, you may somehow manage to hold your fort till the end but you will be miles away from a “victory”.

• The rewards of an active approach: In this case, you play the game with a positive frame of mind. You play to win. You play to conquer the dark side. You define the pace of the game and you will probably control the outcome. Victory will have it’s own sweet taste. By the way, don’t confuse an “active” approach with an “overconfident” approach - overconfidence is generally not guarded by caution, thought, or adaptation.

• The importance of consistency: Like chess, life is a game of mental tenacity. It doesn’t matter how intelligent you are; if you don’t hang in there with consistent positive efforts, your opponent will eventually start eating into your defenses. If you do exceedingly dumb things, you will be eaten alive.

Wow...

did you write those yourself?

Probably the best piece of advise I have come across on chess..and life.

I like it, nandha. Very good.

WOW!! nandhna, you win the Blue Ribbon if there is one for these threads. Very well put and seemingly, well thought out!! I think in life, seeking to improve rathy thanobessessing with winning and getting frustrated when you don't. Life is like that. Full of bumps, curves and sometimes bruises and scars. But, as in chess, we CAN learn rom our mistakes and can enjoy chess/life no matter what the present circumstances. Well done, my friend.

My own bit of advice from personal experiences, don't take nonsense from anyone, be assertive and strong. I think it was Caesar who said "I don't care if the people love me - As long as they fear me".