As Simple As a Late Night Game of Chess

It’s wonderful how the little things in our lives have the greatest impact on the people that we become. Recently, I was looking through old family pictures and I came across a photograph of me and my elder sister sitting on the living room floor, clearly invested in our chess game given the concentrated looks on our faces, and it got me thinking about how I was shaped by such late-night amateur games of chess.

We got our first chess set in 2010 and I remember being ruthlessly beaten by my sister in the game.

She is five years older than me, so you would think she’d go easy on me! Surely I didn’t like losing, but at the same time it helped me improve; no matter how hard I was beaten, I was always confident that I’d get better in the next game.

We’d stay up for hours head to head, never willing to forfeit and I would play to win.

I always had a plan; even when it started falling apart, I would find all possible ways to get back on track. When I lost, I was given perspective upon which to plan my come-back game; by using her technique as my new weapon and change the colors of the game. Even when she won, I’d have learned how to defend against it or make her use a new plan to not give away so easily. Either way, this gave me a psychological edge.

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Chess transformed me on a personal level; for as far as I can remember I have always felt that success is my responsibility. Perhaps it was the competition at a young age, but I always feel that I have to find ways to better myself. All these things have pushed me towards academic excellence. They taught me to be focused and patient in everything I do, to think fast and be solution-oriented and to learn from my mistakes and others’ strengths. These games were truly a refinement tool for me.

As I stared down at that picture, I realized that it’s not always about who influenced you the most, but what. In these games, I was challenged to explore new strengths and grow as a person. The small moments are indeed the ones that make up our lives. That is why I appreciate every experience, even if it is one as small as a late-night game of chess, and yearn for new ones each day. As a result, I have the confidence that I can tackle global challenges with equal effectiveness.