Concentrate And Focus Better With Chess

by Milica Knezevic on April 21, 2022
Concentrate with chess

"A strong memory, concentration, imagination, and a strong will is required to become a great chess player."

Bobby Fischer

Chess = Concentration ?

  • We are all aware of how distracting and fast paced our world is. The reality of trying to focus and concentrate on our tasks becomes harder and more challenging as each day passes. We will therefore discuss how chess can help you with this.
  • Chess is the perfect game for centering yourself and finding the right recipe to follow for your concentration. When we play we have to be mindful of the game and our moves and the moves of our opponents and this requires high levels of focus. However, this is not something that comes naturally to chess players, this is something that comes with practice and repeated play. Moreover, if we were to envision a chess game as a perfectly calm and sterile environment, we would definitely be wrong. The reality of the matter is that there are many visual and auditory distractions that we need to learn how to isolate and ignore in a way, in order to solely focus on the game at hand.
  • Chess centers you, and makes you focus on the game at hand, this type of exercises trains your brain. You can play chess for many years and not realize what type of amazing changes it has brought up in your mind. 
  • Chess Universe will share with you some interesting steps you can take during a game of chess that will definitely improve your focus and concentration.

Chess Game Setup

  • The first step we are going to take in this process is setting up your board and really getting into the chess playing mood. This process will help you visualize only the board and focus solely on thoughts regarding the game. 
  • Observe the chess squares and connect your thoughts to them, you can manage this by naming each square or reminding yourself of how the pieces move in a chess game. This will help you focus on the board and the pieces. This is your first step towards a type of chess mindfulness and definitely a way of focusing on the task at hand. 
  • You can deal with distraction while playing chess through these steps, try your best to focus on the board and it's setup in the way that works best for you. 
  • Moreover, this will help you stay on top of your game, because you constantly bring your thoughts back to the squares and pieces.
  • As this process moves on your levels of concentration will also experience an increase.  

 

Focus Like A Grandmaster

  • Like in every sport or activity, those who are professionals develop their own methods to perfect their game. 
  • When you do a competitive activity you are in constant search for an edge over your competition.. We will present a few tips and trick of those who have established themselves as the best in the world of chess. 
  • The tips for concentrating better and beating your opponents go like this: 
  1.  Switch all of your mental effort on the board.
  2.  Accept all the characteristic of your opponent and make them obsolete and irrelevant for the game.
  3.  Get rid of all your typical distractions: This means knowing yourself well enough to be able to get rid of things that make you distracted, we advise that you take into account your everyday life and learn more about what makes you lose focus.

Be Fully Present

  • We have this clear cut goal in life, to be always present in our lives. To fully feel and experience everything that happens to us. This desire can sometimes cause more harm than primarily thought. 
  • In this case, chess comes in handy. While you play it, you and your pieces should become one and the main ideas in your mind become connected with the opening ,middle game and endgame moves. 
  • While you move your pieces that is all you should be thinking about, the present moment that will determine the fate of the game. There is no better "brain training", a beautiful chess set and a partner to play a game with everyday will truly transform your concentration and focus in no time. 
  • Do not judge yourself in the beginning, this is a process that will inevitably lead you to improvement and growth, but it will take time for you to reach results that will make you happy and with a higher level of concentration and focus. 
  • Be brave and truly challenge yourself with chess. You will most definitely love the game and benefit greatly from it. 

Final Thoughts On Concentration With Chess

We can imagine what playing a strategic game will do to our capabilities over time. However, you can also limit this to thinking strictly about chess as your game of choice. Decide to play during a time of day where you know your distraction will be at a minimum. When you play, keep in mind that you presence must be in the game.

Do not forget to trust the process and invest time and effort into yourself. Understanding the benefits of chess for your life will create a fun activity that will bring so many benefits you will be left in awe over how much you have improved.

Whatever you do in everyday life, try to clearly imagine the end result and move towards it, without letting your mind gets distracted by other stuff. Do things up to the end. Remember that chess is a difficult game and you should give yourself time and patience. 

2 comments
by Jerald on May 24, 2022

Thank you realigning my focus improving my chess.

by Shelbert Rabotan on May 24, 2022

Wow, the article is actually helpful. I thought it would be the same as others.

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