Chess Competition and Their Significance

Posted by IchessU on November 7th, 2016

You can read a lot of books about chess or look up information about it online, but you can never truly understand the game or improve yourself until you actually play it. One of the ways chess masters improve is by joining competitions that are organized by relevant organizations and schools and mostly opened to players of all ages. The significance of a chess competition has something to do with the benefits it provides to the players. Much like learning and playing chess online or traditionally, joining a competition helps you play dramatically while improving your rational thinking, thoughtfulness, patience, cognitive skills, communication skills, and ability to recognize patterns. Apart from these, a chess competition is considered important due to the following reasons:

• It lets you see how far you have grown as a chess player – If you have been playing and learning chess for a while, joining a competition may help you measure yourself in terms of performance and what you have learned so far. Competitions can be venues for further learning, too.

• It lets you meet new people – Some chess competitions may require you to travel overseas or to other cities. Doing so lets you improve your communication and social skills as you meet new like-minded people and professional players. There simply is something validating about playing chess with people who love it and are passionate about it.

• You lose, you learn, too – Seasoned chess players and coaches often emphasize that you can learn more from a loss, too, especially you if are playing against someone who is seemingly better and more strategic than you are. When you do lose, observe your opponent’s strategies and moves, take note of them, and try them out for yourself outside the competition with your coach or a friend. That way, you can continuously learn and improve for the next competition. Chess lets you learn and realize that you are responsible for your own actions and that you should accept the consequences of those actions.

• You earn credentials – A chess competition can offer official credentials that you can be proud of and use to get into special training programs and scholarships. Likewise, you can have a sense of accomplishment. Remember that every opportunity to join a chess competition qualifies as experience.

About the Author:

Albert Fishman has been involved in teaching chess since 1996 and is part of the IchessU coaching staff. IchessU is the best online chess school and their coaches are titled masters and grandmasters. Their students enjoy private or group chess lessons in our online chess club.