Chess and management

(BY: ANTHONY NAVARRO, a.k.a pinoymaster77, Chesswindows Laguna correspondent)

Many people ask me 'Are you a chess player?' or maybe they are wondering 'why are you into chess?', a 2nd childhood, a hobby? Well, it was not in my path to play chess competitively since during my younger years, I was too pre-occupied with finishing college and building up a career and improving my family's financial standing in order to support the growing needs.

But when I look back and at this relatively advanced age, it is time to retrace the roots and give something back. Through chess during my younger years when I was the 'barangay prodigy', I learned some concepts which actually if we will analyze are the exact same skills and mindset needed for supervision or management, for which I've been blessed to be in that level the past 15 years or so. In fact, it we trace back the management functions or activities as per the various seminars, we can outline the applications or parallelisms as follows :

1 . PLANNING
This includes developing opening repertoire for white and black, mapping out what tournaments to participate in, knowing the major contenders and what type of field / competition level it would be. Can also apply the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT)analysis here.

2. ORGANIZING
Includes preparing for the tournament format (how many rounds, time control, venue / how to get there), plus who will go with you for the meeting time and place. Preparing what to bring as per organizers' requirements, like if needed a copy of birth certificate, school id, pen/pencil and notebook and in some cases chess sets and clock.

3. CONTROLLING / DIRECTING
The player moves his pieces, and there are many rules as per FIDE and the player needs to be aware. Time per move also has to be controlled as per the time format. The key principle of time management also plays a critical role here, to avoid getting into time trouble and doing rash, inaccurate moves. For example, strictly speaking if late for a game, FIDE rule is to forfeit the game.

It also includes keeping your nerves and composure in control, specially during pressure situations (time trouble, spectators milling around a crucial game).

4. MONITORING
The player needs to know exactly what's going on in the chessboard, both for his pieces and his opponent's. It also needs to be extended beyond the chessboard like the venue/officials (tendencies of the arbiters), even the opponent's parent or coach kung may ibang ginagawa and the spectators.

So you see chess has many applications. It is also proven to improve math skills since it involves calculation, problem solving, analytical skills. There are many studies in the First World on this. I can attest that all my kids who play chess have high grades in Math or Algebra in the high 80's or even in the 90's.

So I hope parents get to read this and get their kids into chess. Ideal to start in competitive tournaments is 7 to 8 yrs old as per experience, so they can have time to develop their skills and reachtheir peak when they are at Grade 6 or 7.