As a certified Chess Expert, Rochelle Ballantyne is well versed in tackling competition. She shares some of her strategies to help you read your opponents and stay ahead of the game.
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00:00 When you miss something and your opponent outsmarts you,
00:05 well then you have to have a plan B and a plan C.
00:08 And there's always something you can do.
00:10 My name is Rochelle Ballantyne and I am a chess expert.
00:21 Being one of the highest rated players as a girl in a sport where there aren't that many girls,
00:28 really cool. Beating boys who thought they were better than me, the best.
00:32 During my years of playing chess, one of the things that I really appreciated is all the skills
00:38 and ways of thinking that I've been able to glean from chess.
00:42 So based on that, I'm going to teach you some of the skills that I've learned
00:45 that can be applied to the business field.
00:47 One thing that you have to be mindful when you're playing chess is you are under pressure.
00:55 You have to be better than your opponent in order to defeat your opponent.
00:58 But you can't take forever. So you have to be on your feet, but you also have to think ahead.
01:04 So it's not, "I'm going to make this move and see what my opponent does."
01:07 It's, "I'm going to make this move. If I make this move, what's my opponent going to do?
01:11 What am I going to do after that? What is he going to do in response?" And so on and so forth.
01:15 The really good players, they're thinking 10 moves ahead in this slim time structure.
01:24 The second skill that I learned from chess that applies to the business realm is personality.
01:29 So not only knowing yourself, but knowing the others in the room.
01:32 Either you're an attacker and you're going to come out guns blazing,
01:37 or you're going to build a solid position. Everything is going to be protected and defended.
01:44 And then you're going to wait and see what your opponent does.
01:46 Maybe your opponent is the aggressive one, and maybe they're over-aggressive, that they mess up.
01:50 It's not just about you. It's about the people around you
01:53 and getting to know the people around you is really helpful.
01:56 And so it's like, "Okay, I know the kind of person you are,
01:59 so I know what things I need to do in order to make sure that you're willing to come to my side,
02:05 to go along with my plan."
02:07 The third skill that I'm going to discuss is logical thinking.
02:15 And so for this skill, I think it really comes out when you are sitting at the board,
02:22 trying to figure out what to do.
02:24 There are all these questions that are in my mind about what's the best course of action.
02:29 Here are the top three things that I want to play.
02:32 Can I play them?
02:34 And if I say yes, can my opponent do something better?
02:38 Is my opponent threatening anything?
02:40 Am I the one in danger?
02:42 Do I need to protect myself before I make this move?
02:46 There are times when I've been sitting there and I actually don't know,
02:49 when my opponent has out-meed me.
02:53 And so there are moments when businesses are in downfall and you have to figure out,
02:58 "Well, how do I get myself out of this situation?"
03:01 And chess, I think, has taught me a lot about how to win unwinnable positions.
03:06 [Music]
03:12 (upbeat music)