Chess in hockey (and the other way around)

[Dabnad 132]

Chess and hockey are two sports that you’d never think would even be remotely connected for the average person. Hockey is a game of sheer power and movement along with speed while chess requires nothing related from the neck down, rather chess is only played from above the neck and with the hands. However, what if I told you that chess and hockey when in their most basic form, can be the same thing. You might think I’m crazy but as you may know from my other posts, I don’t go with anything easy to write so let’s start with how chess and hockey are, in theory, related.

 

(Side note before I start: all of these may end up being debunked by someone and this is just taken as a way to connect these two separate sports. Please don’t pull this up in front of your friends as they’ll probably think you’re weird if you say this) 

 

Point One

My first point on this absurd connection is about positioning. Both of these wildly different sports have one thing in common: the positioning for every piece in the game is one of the (if not The) most important things in the game. For example, two great hockey players behind their own net at the same time are equal to no good players (unless you’re JT Miller) while a decent hockey player in the perfect position at the perfect time can easily get a goal if the puck comes right at them. This shows why positioning is so important in hockey but what about chess? Chess is a sport where the position of a piece can make or break your game. The position of the queen can change the outcome of the game in literal minutes if the other person doesn’t counter the piece. I think nearly all chess players (including me) have experienced a time when you’re about to win the game but then they get the rook on your side (when it was in a perfect position) and end up mating you.
 

Point Two

My second point about this situation of how these two sports are somehow and somewhat connected is the fact that both of these sports are one of few where the game is about reading the other players mind. In hockey, especially as a net minder, you have to know what the skater will do, how they’ll do it, and what you can do to counter whatever they do. In chess, you have to see what the other player will do and you have to know what the other player knows of what you know (gets more complicated the more you read it) to figure out what the best thing you can do without putting yourself in a position which will damage your game in the somewhat future. This part of the game also has people most confused as they don’t have to think just one or two moves ahead, however, they have to look the entire game ahead. This is why I’m chess there’s a saying that a decent chess player looks 3 moves ahead, a good player looks 5 ahead, and the best player looks for the whole game. In hockey they say that reading your opponents mind is as important as the skill needed to execute the play.

 

Point Three

My third, and last, point of why these two sports are identical is that both of these sports have something close to Escher other which most team sports don’t have. This thing is unique to these two sports, and the thing is the important of a single piece or player. You’ll see that in hockey the goalie is thought to be one of the most important pieces of the game. Most successful teams, such as the Tampa Bay Lightning, have a good to great goaltender which helps them stay in the game when the rest of the team is out. For Tampa this is Vasy, for Carolina this is Anderson. Not having a good goaltender destroys teams no matter how good the rest of the team is, we can see this in Edmonton. In chess the most important piece is the king. This is one sport that has one player (or piece) depended upon itself. You see in basketball that not having a single player will definitely hurt you, but if the other 4 players are strong enough, they can face the 5. The same goes for soccer where if the 10 other players can keep the ball far enough, they can win the game. In hockey this is basically impossible to do which is also why the goalie in a game of hockey is also like the king inside of a game of chess. This shows that the king and the goaltender are the same, the goaltender can also be considered the king for a team and sometimes they’re also the king in the team of kings (cough @comrade catcough).

 

This comparison may seem weird and unnecessary, and it is considering the fact that many people, including my very sister, believe that chess itself isn’t a sport. To counter that I say that chess requires mental stress which can (and often will) result into physical stress. It’s also my article so you can’t do anything about that. I also think that hockey is a big thing in the physical department comparative to chess in the mental department making it nice and even. Other than that I think that these 2 sports can be known as polar opposites sometimes and sometimes, I’d agree. Chess is a game of sheer mind and logic while hockey is a game of power, agility, and skill. I’ve also heard that some people don’t like chess  due to its high lack of any physical activity but they have to realise that chess can help you in sports when thinking about positions (point one) and logic in a sport which you play. The last thing I’d like to say before I sign off and meet you again in a week or two is that both of these sports can help you in opposite departments such as intelligence, reflexes, strength, and positioning. Other than all that big ending paragraph (I didn’t mean for it to be so big)  I think that’s it from me this week so it’s Dabnad Shaw signing off until, next time, see you soon!

 

1068 words

Week ending  Feb 20,27

[animal74 1,612]

On 2/16/2022 at 3:58 PM, Dabnad said:

(unless you’re JT Miller)

YESSSSS!