Chess for Work

The board is set. Two players sit across from each other, identical pieces arranged in perfect symmetry. One will win, one will lose. But here’s the twist that separates chess from almost every other competition: winning isn’t about having better pieces. Both sides start with exactly the same army. Victory belongs to whoever understands that […]

The conference room fell silent. Across the table, the CEO of a Fortune 500 company leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. He had just made what seemed like a generous offer. Too generous, actually. The young entrepreneur sitting opposite him knew something was wrong. He had seen this pattern before, just not in a

The queen hangs undefended on the board. Three moves ago, she was perfectly positioned. Two moves ago, things started looking suspicious. One move ago, alarm bells rang. But the player stares at the board, calculating elaborate escape routes, sacrificing pawns to create a corridor, twisting the position into increasingly complex knots. All to save a

The desk holds the usual suspects: a laptop, a coffee mug, framed photos of the family. But next to the chaos of quarterly reports sits something unexpected. A chessboard. Not as decoration. Not gathering dust. The pieces are slightly asymmetrical, mid-game, as if someone just stepped away for a phone call. Most visitors assume it’s

The boardroom and the chessboard share more than just a name. Both demand vision, patience, and the ability to see what others miss. Yet when hiring time comes, most companies reach for the MBA while overlooking the chess player sitting quietly in the corner, three moves ahead of everyone else. Consider the hiring manager who

The conference room falls silent. Sarah glances at her phone under the table, sneaking in one more move before the quarterly review begins. A coworker catches her eye and smirks, ready to rat her out. But when the screen lights up, it’s not Candy Crush. It’s chess. The smirk vanishes. Sarah’s boss walks in, notices

The boardroom fell silent. A Fortune 500 CEO stared at the quarterly reports, then closed the folder. The numbers looked good on paper, but something felt wrong. He couldn’t articulate why, but every fiber of his experience screamed that the proposed merger was a mistake. Three months later, when the deal partner’s accounting fraud came

The executive coaching industry rakes in billions each year. A single leadership workshop can cost thousands of dollars. Meanwhile, a chess set sits gathering dust in a closet, purchased for eighty dollars, offering lessons that most corporate consultants would charge five figures to teach. This isn’t an accident. Chess has been training leaders for fifteen

The boardroom goes quiet. Seven executives stare at the quarterly projections, each waiting for someone else to speak first. The CEO finally breaks the silence with a question nobody wants to answer: “Why are we always reacting instead of leading?” This scene plays out in companies everywhere, from startups to Fortune 500 giants. Teams get

The boardroom falls silent. An entrepreneur stares at quarterly projections that don’t add up. Three departments want the same budget allocation. A competitor just launched something unexpected. The clock is ticking. Across town, someone sits at a chess table, facing their own crisis. The position looks terrible. Pieces scattered, plans in ruins, time running low.