I play chess regularly with a friend of mine. I don't recall exactly when we began, but we've been playing for a few years. We're about evenly matched, which I like, because it's just about impossible for either of us to get bored. Every victory is hard-fought. And even for the person who lost the game, it still feels like a victory, 1.) because the losing player still made the victor work hard for his victory, and 2.) we both share in the victory. How is that possible? I will explain:
My particular friend and I have both gone through intense personal growth experiences at different times in our lives, and have found that playing chess where we match wits sharpens both of us. Our goal for this game is that the skills we hone while in strategic combat against one another will translate to the victories we hope for and go after in our day-to-day lives, as well as life goals. Both of us are musicians, and for a while, both of us have been self-employed, building our own careers from the ground up. But it's often daunting just to be the one man running the show, trying to make it work for each client, in the hopes of making enough to earn a living. In life, we have two options: 1.) lay down our arms, hoping that life will give us something; or 2.) get back up and do it again. That means the marketing: the website, the flyers, the phone calls; that means the meeting and assessing; that means the actual job itself; that then means the price negotiation and price description; that then means doing it all over again. This is not to mention the occasion delegation of tasks to another.
Just like in our careers and in life, every move matters in the game of chess. Sure, some moves matter more than others, and certain individual moves during the course of the game can make or break the strategy. But the best chess players are thinking 5 moves ahead, 10 moves ahead, 15 moves ahead. The best chess players not only think through every move between the current move and 15 moves ahead, but also anticipate as many possible different responses the opponent might deliver, and they adjust their strategy accordingly, based on all sorts of probabilities that they run through their heads. And then, each new move, the best chess players update their 15-moves-ahead strategy, either staying the course, or updating their strategy in case their opponent makes a move or employs a strategy that they might not have previously considered.
I'm aware everything I'm saying is coming across rather academically, so I'll cut to the heart of the matter: I'm grateful for my chess games with my friend. I'm grateful for my friend. And we know each other's game so well that, lately, the most adventurous part of the game is a race to see who can stay mentally awake longer than the other (we often play our games in the late evenings). Not only so, but even as we fade, it's a wonderful challenge to see if we can still make intelligent moves while we're fading.
In our experiences together, chess has been teaching both of us not only about strategy, but also about sportsmanship, translating the metaphors within the game into our lives, and encouraging one another during the game, just as we would in life. In Proverbs 27:17 (NIV) it is written, "Just as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." Whether it's in music, in our personal growth, in our faiths, in accomplishing our goals, or in chess, we choose to walk this verse out.