by Coy Ross

Created on: January 09, 2009

Chess, the classic game of strategic medieval battle. It is a game in which two intellects use logical reasoning to overcome the other person with strict rules of motion. While attempting to trap the other person's king in a death trap, you must also keep an eye on your own pieces, which requires a very broad range of focus. As the game progresses, you are also required to adapt your strategy, or even completely rethink your strategy based on the opponents moves.

It is not a game in which you may simply take the obvious move, you must see beyond that. What if the person is expecting, or even hoping for you to make that move? In either case, making such a move may prove to be a fatal mistake for your entire battle plan. To not only move both offensively as well as defensively, you must also predict the strategy of the other person in order to efficiently counter them.

The state of whether chess is a waste of time or not is heavily dependent on the circumstances of the game being played. If played properly, chess can be an exceptional logic exercise. If it is done in the place of one of your responsibilities, then it is indeed a waste of time. If a chess game is played when there is nothing else to do, then it simply becomes a boredom-suppressant.

As I said before, to become a good chess player, you must practice. Practicing includes checking the possible moves that were opened by one move, and adapting to those. It also requires you to create a suitable defense for the pieces you do not wish to lose. At times, it may be required for you to sacrifice one of your pieces to obtain satisfactory results. Practicing techniques like these-especially during a game of speed chess- will improve your logical thinking processes as well as your ability to calculate the effect of certain actions in the real world.

If you feel that your skills as a chess player and a logical thinker are adequate, chess simply becomes a past-time, or even a routine. Of course still playing chess keeps your thought processes from rusting, but there is a certain point in which a chess game becomes an addiction, and thus a hindrance to your life; It becomes an overall bad thing when you play excessive chess games.

Like with all things, it is important to keep a balance. While playing chess is fun, you must realize that it is, while an excellent brain exercise, simply a game. If you feel your playing chess too much, you probably are. Take a break, or finish that essay or math assignment that you have been holding off for a couple of days. Play some sports if that is another activity that you like. Hang out with some friends, and even just go out and walk. Chess is fun, but it's not everything.

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