Lessons for career growth from the game of chess

From striking a balance between risk and reward at work, to planning your next move carefully, there's much to learn from the chessboard

- Mayank Kumar

It was 1997. I was in school and personal computers were just making inroads into our lives. That May, Deep Blue, an IBM computer, beat the world chess champion after a six-game match. As students who had just started exploring the capabilities of a PC, we were in awe. Deep Blue had the capacity to explore up to 200 million possible chess positions per second!

Scientists have often used chess as a way to test the calculating abilities of computers. Reason: The game of chess is a collection of challenging problems with simple rules, making it ideal for testing the computing capabilities of the machine.

Historically, India has long realized that chess is more than just a game. Chaturanga, considered to be the early precursor of the modern game of chess, finds reference in Kautilya's Arthashastra, a treatise on statecraft, economic policies and military strategy.

As I moved ahead in my career, I realised that life, and the challenges you face along the way, can also be likened to a game of chess. But it is not necessary to be a chess player to take advantage of the lessons derived from the chessboard. Insights from chess can bolster your professional life and help you overcome hurdles at work. These are some of the career and life lessons you can learn from the game of chess.

THE FIRST MOVE

Like the first move in a chess game, the initial decisions made in one's career can significantly shape its trajectory.

In chess, the first move sets the strategy for the rest of the game and lays down the groundwork for future moves. In your career too, you must opt for the right launchpad and try to choose an education that offers experiential learning. What's more, domain expertise can be a winning move, providing a robust foundation for future success.

THINK AHEAD