How Chess Teaches You to Fight for the Initiative

This essay is dedicated to Daniel Naroditsky (November 9, 1995 – October 19, 2025). We grieve over the loss of him, and may he watch us from the skies.

“Never play for the win, never play for the draw, just play chess!” 

Alexander Khalifman

What do chess and life have in common? Some might say it’s the inevitable sacrifices or the permanent feeling of a ticking clock, but for me, it’s about initiative. Once, in a game with a powerful opponent, he demanded: “Do you even understand how to fight for the initiative?” 

This phrase still echoes in my mind. What does initiative even mean? It's not just the quality of an aggressive player, but the very dynamic of the game. Without it, the game—and life—slips from your grasp; with it, each advantage builds like a snowball, growing momentum as it rolls down the slope while the other players get pelted with (metaphorical) snow.

In a recent game against Anderson Fok, one of the youngest FIDE-rated players in Hong Kong, I engaged in a closed and positional battle. Recognising the need to seize the initiative, I manoeuvred my pieces toward the queenside, placing my knight on an unassailable square. This positional advantage was a deliberate attempt to harness the flow of the game, creating insurmountable control on the queenside. By applying pressure slowly and methodically, my control grew larger and more dynamic, allowing me to play with increasing vigour. Each move was designed to constrain his options and force him into a reactive position. Finally, he collapsed under the pressure. This is a great example of how the initiative, gained through calculated choices, mounted pressure on every move, just like that very snowball.

After the game, my body was tired, but my mind was clear, and I learned this from that game: When you take the lead with initiative, it forces your opponent to react, limiting their active play until they are forced to succumb and collapse.

One may believe that to have initiative is to strive for a win. While that is partially true, it is also about staying balanced and making constant progress. In life, initiative is essential for continuous development, just like how in chess, it can result in a win. 

Without initiative, life becomes nothing but a sequence of events free from any plan; it’s the initiative that drives our actions and plans. I reflected on this during a challenging phase in my life, when I felt lonely, isolated, and academically unengaged. However, I refused to remain stagnant. I seized the opportunity to engage with academically successful peers and learn from them. I then channelled all my energy into my studies. Gradually, I worked on improving my personality and bounced back stronger and more resilient. Initiative in life—just as in chess—means creating a small edge from any available resources, capitalising on any small advantages you have and building from there. 

In chess, initiative gives our moves dynamism and power. In life, initiative drives our actions and decisions.  The power of initiative, in both chess and life, lies between meaningless actions and deliberate progress, and is the key to acting decisively to shape our future.