Virtues of Chess - #1: Patience

What do you feel when you are playing somebody, you are a Queen up, or a Rook and two Bishops up, and he or she has a lone King, and s/he is playing as if the game has just started? (You want to ask them, ever heard of “resign”? but you don’t say it!)

What do you feel when your opponent is taking forever to play and you have things to do or you just want to “get on with the game”?

What do you feel when your game is over, but other games are still going on for the next hour, two hours, or more?

What do you feel when you spend more hours that you can admit, studying Chess, but you have no fruits to show for your labor?

What do you feel when you spend a lot of time looking at position, looking at all options, and you make your move, and your opponent takes just a second to take advantage of your newly created blunder?

What do you feel when…?

Thing is, I do not know what you feel, but I know that after experiencing all those things over and over again, you become more patient with yourself, and hopefully with other people. That’s one virtue of the game of Chess.

Waiting for somebody to make their move, when they feel right to do so, teaches us the patience required in life. Well, I don’t always wait for people to finish speaking before I chip in, but I know that I am better in waiting for my turn now, than I would otherwise be if I was not a Chess player.

So, thanks to Chess, I am a more patient person.

Do you have examples of times when you have been patient with people or at Chess? Please feel free to share them with the community.

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