What I realised playing chess with Sir Richard Branson last week

A few weeks ago, I received an opportunity to visit Necker island, Sir Richard Branson’s home. I’d dreamt of doing this for over a decade, after hearing about some of the expansive discussions from big minds driven to make a contribution in the world. I was there for four days and it was everything I dreamed it would be and more.?

?But. . . back to the chess game . . .

The truth is I don’t play chess. My grandfather tried to teach me when I was about 6 years old. I learnt how the pieces moved but I didn’t have a strategic bone in my body.

I never thought about the game again. Until last week, when I saw a chess board all set up in the Beach House.?As Sir Richard came off the tennis court, I heard myself say to him, ‘Another game of tennis??Or how about chess?’

‘Chess it is’, he said. I had heard he enjoyed chess, but I didn’t know at the time how often he played it, how much he loved it – and how phenomenal a player he was.

I had all but forgotten how most of the pieces even moved.? I apologised, saying that I had last played chess about half a century ago – and even then, not well.

‘Let’s play again then’, he graciously suggested. I was surprised by his kindness. After all, what pro wants to play a newbie with no idea what they’re doing?

Each time I moved a piece the wrong way or made a clumsy move (which unfortunately was every time), Sir Richard would say something like, ‘That piece can move backwards, you know’ or ’You can take my bishop if you move this one', or ‘Hmmm, I probably wouldn’t do that.?Here . . . ’ ?and he’d put my piece back and move a different one.

?I was incredibly struck by his patience and kindness – and it was then that a memory came to me.

Suddenly I said, ‘It’s just struck me that the game of chess probably saved my family’s life and that if it wasn’t for chess, I possibly wouldn’t even exist.’

He asked me to explain.

‘During World War 2, my grandfather Henek, had taken my Nana and my then 5 year old mother away from their home in Poland where he had started seeing Jewish people mass murdered in the town square on a weekly basis. They fled to a tiny village in the north. My grandfather felt suspicion and danger swirling around them with the constant threat of being denounced to the Nazis.? He invited the village priest Father Soszynski over for a glass of tea. Towards the end of the evening, the priest, who welcomed the intellect and wisdom of my grandfather told him to visit him for a game of chess. This became a weekly highlight for them both, despite the priest being always out-manoeuvered by my grandfather. The townspeople could see the weekly game being played on Father Soszynski’s verandah and were hesitant to denounce a friend of the priest.?And that’s one of the reasons they survived the Holocaust'.

Sir Richard paused, absorbing what I’d said and thanked me for sharing the story. We continued playing with me bumbling along, which I can only imagine must have been excruciating for him, but he continued to kindly correct my moves and encouraged me for the less bad ones. At the end of the game, which I am certain he extended due to his own kindness, I thanked him for his generosity and he said as we stood up, ‘That's a really wonderful story about your grandfather’.

?Here’s what I realised as a result of this chess game:

1. Being one of the world’s wealthiest business magnates, toughest negotiators, most highly awarded, knighted and influential people in the world, has not stopped Sir Richard Branson from being kind-hearted, patient, present and humble.? I watched him throughout the four days we were there. He listened a lot more than he spoke. He asked genuine questions and was fully present with each person he interacted with.
2. Chess is a game of strategy, as business can be. It could help me to learn to play chess and develop the strategic part of my brain. A few days ago, I downloaded a chess app on my phone and started learning how to play. One of my current dreams is returning to Necker Island and playing Sir Richard again – and even if I don’t beat him, I’d love to give him a run for his money, so at least he can enjoy it more!
3. When you look at a chess board and its pieces for the first time, you have no idea what the pieces represent, how they move or even how to win the game. It makes no sense. But, as I’m learning, there are ways to understand and use the board itself and there are orders and stages of the game. For example, I learned yesterday there is a centre square and the first goal is to get some pieces into those squares. Knowing that gives me a place to start – and I can keep learning from there. Playing game after game without knowing some of these elements will result in staying at a certain level. But knowing there is an established approach is helpful, liberating and can help us grow. I believe this applies to just about everything.
4. When people come to me, debilitated by their fear of public speaking or a lack of enjoyment of it, they are probably feeling the way I did when I first saw a chess board – that it makes no sense and there is no way to reach the end goal.? Although I am not even close to being good at chess, what I have become good at is helping people use a process I created, so they can move quickly and easily through their fear and nerves around public speaking and presenting, enjoy it and make the impact they were born to make. As a result, I’m likely to be using chess as an analogy from now on.
5. I've been supporting Australian business leaders and innovators who are successful yet sometimes introverted perfectionists, with high levels of expertise and integrity, but restricted by their fear and nerves around public speaking so they can be deeply confident, make a powerful impact when they speak - and enjoy it.?I believe we can all benefit from hearing more people who walk their talk, have something worth listening to and learning from, rather than from those who are confident but merely talk a good talk. Perhaps I can think bigger and go global.
6. Finally, it has encouraged me to see that if the approach to one simple board game has helped my family not only to survive but thrive, then what I can achieve – and help others achieve - ?in other areas must only be limited by the size of the box I’m thinking within.

?

I cannot adequately express my gratitude to Sir Richard Branson for opening up his island home for us to enjoy and benefit from. For sharing his passions for conservation, social justice and more. For allowing us to contribute to his foundations that are making such huge social, environmental and political impacts in the world.

I am forever grateful to Chris Dutton Anna Dutton Melanie Martin and The CEO Magazine Global ?for providing this extraordinary opportunity.

I’m grateful to Lisa Kurdziel , the Virgin Unite team and all the wonderful Necker staff for making our stay magical, meaningful and so much fun.

And I’m beyond grateful to the extraordinary souls I got to journey with last week, who I learnt so much from and with whom had so much fun – Lotus Harkness Anna Gowdridge Chartered FCIPD Bhanuka Harischandra Zarifa Ghafari Ilana Golan Amanda Schloss Sir Mahesh Patel ,OBE Athena Manley William Hindle Dr. Coco Wong Ellie Holcomb Frank Greeff Jack Henderson Vanessa Katsanevakis George Katsanevakis Thian Chew Horacio Marquinez Jason Mills Marc Brackett Yasser Zaki Peta Pellach Philip Sykes Martin Cayzer Ronelle King Sandradee Makejev Sethrine Goh Kate Darling Rich Sheridan Stephen Moss Toyin Crandell Peter Wallace Volodymyr Panchenko Christian Stevens ? Jerome Debreu (Edwin) Paul Cayzer

?My hope is that meeting each other on Necker was just the beginning and that it opens a door for our conversations and connections to grow and flourish, that we might be able to support each others’ personal and global visions. ??