Why Chess matters for CEOs and CxOs ? - Unlocking Enterprise Potential !

A few weeks ago at Baku, Azerbaijan, as Indian GM Praggnanandhaa put up a formidable fight against the world Champion Magnus Carlen, billions of Indian hearts were pounding and amassing power of prayers. In the tournament earlier, he defeated the formidable trio Hikaru, Caruana and my favorite Arjun. Prags had a resolve on his face to that reflected his determination to win the championship. Interestingly, Prags just turned 18 during tournament. He will be back again next year, and again till the job is done.

Just a few days apart across countries at the iconic venue of National library in Kolkata, India, a 17-year-old lesser-known player WGM Divya Deshmukh, delivered miracle by winning Tata Steel Rapid by beating Koneru Humpy and the women’s world champion Ju Wenjun. Coincidentally, Divya was a wild card entry seeded last in the 10-player tournament, after playing solid games she even received praise from Vishy.

Indian Chess has come a long way and as a chess fan I am super proud of Da Gang - Gukesh, Arjun, Prags, Nihal, Vidit and many more. To lay down the impressive statistics, India has 83 Grandmasters (GM) including 2 female players holding the title, 125 International Masters (IM) including 6 female players holding the title, 18 Woman Grandmasters (WGM). This progress is unprecedented. While growing up my generation pinned our hopes on Vishy, who delivered fantastically. Vishy at the tender age of 53, remains unbelievably good.

Chess has a lot to teach us individually and to the corporate world. In his book ‘’How life imitates Chess”, my all-time favorite Gary Kasparov has provided amazing insights about the beautiful game of chess and its linkages to living better life. He does a great job of differentiating strategy v/s tactics, defines strategy as something you do when you have nothing to do, and Tactic as means to the end which is strategy. He also calls out “Worst enemy of strategist is the clock (time)”. He also speaks about crucial dimension of ‘calculations’ and how to make realistic, focused and disciplined with a motto ‘Trust but verify’. The biggest blunders in history are related to so called assumptions in calculations, planning process also leverages imagination and ‘thinking out-of-the-box’ for creating numerous possibilities.

Chess has given a lot to me personally; I not only admire the game, but I am on a never-ending expedition to understand its intricacies. During college days my learning was based on limited books. While I didn’t go through any formal training, yet with merely by self-learning, I could reach state level and missed national selection by just half a point. Now I see a lot of chess training institutions around and I really envy those children. The environment in India bodes well Indian chess, clear indication that the country is going to dominate world chess over next few decades.

It was almost 20 years since I last played, majorly because of an inherent belief that chess has evolved a lot and at the same time my capabilities would have diminished. Every competitive chess player has this need to win and I couldn’t accept losing to novice players. Then on one of those dull days in pandemic, my son registered me on Chess.com and started a game, when it got tough, he conveniently handed over the iPad to me. For first few games I could even experience my heavily pulsating heartbeat. Since that day I have played regularly on chess.com and Lichess. The first shock was about new versions of chess that were played in shorter time, a classic game generally doesn’t have time as a huge constraint, Rapid, Blitz and Bullet formats need much shorter times 10-15, 3-5 and 1 minute respectively. Molding mind to make decisions in significantly time shorter times is a strategist’s nightmare as mentioned by Gary. Starting with rapid, I then settled with a form of blitz for 5 minutes. I learnt an important lesson as the chess legend Bobby Fischer said, “There is nothing quite like the exhilaration of a good victory on the chessboard. I don’t believe in win or lose. I believe in win or learn.”

After investing valuable hours on 8X8 board, I experienced learning that may be useful for CXOs and leaders across the globe.

1.?????? Chess follows the law of Karma, and you are rewarded in the same game. Interestingly, one cannot choose to ‘Do Nothing’. Similar principles apply in the case of corporate strategy, CxOs may experience a slowdown of market, may build defensive strategies, yet corporations need to build internal capabilities for the expansion keeping in mind the recovery. John (Jackie) Fisher, the British admiral is recognized as one of the greatest admirals for building Royal Navy during the peacetime after first World War, that was immensely beneficial in World War II.

2.?????? It is about being present in the moment and not getting affected by the past – including achievements and mistakes. Blitz and Rapid games need immense concentration due to the scarcity of time. I learnt a lot about being in that moment because the situation on the board needs thorough introspection. As Vishy said in one of his interviews, however deeply you have prepared for the game (by memorizing the combination), the reality is very different when you are making any decision during tournament.

3.?????? Clarity of Purpose - Playing to win: You cannot win the match unless you want to. The drive to win and create immense impact is crucial for any start up and corporation to win. The conviction in mind that you can win has a direct correlation with the possibility of winning. Organizations that believe they can win make a huge difference in ability to execute their strategy. ‘Why’ is an extremely important question that needs affirmation in every move. As aptly said by #Sadhguru, Yogi and Founder of the Isha Foundation USA , “Businesses and business leaders must mature from personal ambitions to a vision of building a sustainable society. The purpose of every business, whether we are conscious about it or not, is to serve the world.”

4.?????? Prioritization and decision-making: At any point in time there are 5-6 options to be considered and 3-4 variations of each one of those. This branching can lead to trillions of combinations and hence makes the game very interesting. After a certain point one cannot remember moves but must play by principles, values and embed own style. We know that in the corporate world a stable, ethical (and explainable) decision-making process is crucial for an organization’s long-term sustenance. Building a roadmap yet being flexible and taking pains while in transient stage works similar way.

5.?????? Balancing emotions and forming good habits of responding to patterns: Chess involves a lot of internalization of thoughts and helps you see the thoughts clearly. It also leaves little room for emotional response; in addition, your mind can form new pathways to respond to patterns positively especially in a quick game. In corporate world organization as pointed out by Rich Lesser, Global Chair of 波士顿谘询公司 and Martin Reeves , MD and Senior Partner BCG, ‘learning rate’ of the organization can decide ability to conquer the future and deal with unfavorable situations.

My personal experiences can go on, yet once you start admiring the beauty of the game, you may experience your own benefits. Chess also fulfills a very important deficit most schools and colleges miss out on – teaching how to think and think logically. It is never too late to start.

I would like next chess world champion from India, again. As ‘jokingly’ mentioned by the Russian GM Alexander Grischuk after winning blitz at #TataSteel Chess Championship, 'They (Gukesh, Prag and others) will need to beat this ‘weird guy’ (who I hugely admire) called Magnus.

#digially #transformation #change #innovation #chess #india #leadership

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