Chess and Business

Sixty-four alternately colored squares, eight from top to bottom and eight from side to side. Two opposing armies, each consisting of sixteen men, standing face to face, ready for the strategic war ahead. When my father first introduced me to the wonderfully intricate game of chess, its complexity intimidated but also intrigued me. Because there were so many chessmen, each of whom could move in several ways, I was unsure whether I would ever master the game.

After learning the basic pieces and their moves from my father, I began to wonder how to strategize. How did my father know which moves to make? How did he always know what move I would make next? Eventually I discovered that he did not really predict my next move but rather forced me into making one that was beneficial to him. As my skills progressed, I became more interested in chess and how the strategies players use are mimicked in everyday life.

The parallels with the business world were especially striking. During my four years of high school, my interest in business intensified. I studied many areas of this field, including finance, marketing and accounting. Along with these classes, my father and I would often converse about current events in the business world. It was during one of these conversations that I realized the extent to which my two passions were related. In the game of chess, players must be aware of all of their options and anticipate future actions in order to succeed. Along with these abilities, they must be willing to take advantage of their opponent’s weaknesses. All of these strategies, which are indispensable to winning a chess match, are also essential in the business world.

After I recognized the connection between chess and business, real-life examples vindicated my discovery. One day my father explained to me how Microsoft, and Bill Gates in particular, conduct business. Gates built a successful company by first strengthening one section of the business and then using that section to support the next. While the competition had to begin at ground zero, Microsoft could expand on its current products.

The analogy to chess was striking. In this game, one concentrates as many pieces as possible on one crucial square. If your opponent attacks one of your pieces, you can then back up the attacked piece with your supporting men and organize them for a larger counter-attack. Microsoft created a similarly strong supporting structure so that it could continue to expand.

Like most seventeen-year-olds, I am not certain what I want to do with my life. However, I do know what fascinates me now. Late at night, when I am lost in thought, I am often trying to work out chess games or predict what the next big business will be. Although I can not ensure that my interests will remain unchanged, I know that I will approach my future endeavors with the same curiosity and fervor as I do chess and business.

點(diǎn)評(píng)：

作者巧妙地運(yùn)用了自己對(duì)象棋的認(rèn)識(shí)，聯(lián)系到當(dāng)今的商業(yè)， 把兩者的共通點(diǎn)串聯(lián)在一起，使這篇文章變得生動(dòng)有趣并有連貫性。

通過(guò)這篇文章，作者表現(xiàn)出了自己三方面的特點(diǎn)：

首先是通過(guò)下象棋這個(gè)愛(ài)好表現(xiàn)出自己對(duì)感興趣的事情的專(zhuān)注和研究精神。當(dāng)父親把這么高難度的一個(gè)游戲介紹給他時(shí)， 他并沒(méi)有因?yàn)橄笃宓摹y’而產(chǎn)生抗拒。 反而被象棋的復(fù)雜性深深吸引了。 從父親那里學(xué)會(huì)了下象棋的基本玩法后，并沒(méi)有安于現(xiàn)狀，而是不斷的思考和研究下棋的策略，學(xué)會(huì)揣摸對(duì)手的心理，使自己上升到一個(gè)更高的階段。

其次，通過(guò)下象棋，作者把其中學(xué)會(huì)的策略與當(dāng)今社會(huì)的商業(yè)世界巧妙的集合在一起，并舉出微軟公司的成功例子去論證自己的觀點(diǎn)。不僅僅表現(xiàn)出自己的思維能力，更體現(xiàn)出了自己對(duì)商業(yè)這一領(lǐng)域的興趣不是泛泛而談的，而是經(jīng)過(guò)自己不斷的學(xué)習(xí)和思考形成的。展現(xiàn)給對(duì)方學(xué)校一個(gè)非常有思考能力并且對(duì)商業(yè)有著非常大的熱情的學(xué)生。

最后，作者重申自己僅是17歲，未來(lái)的路該怎么走還是未知之?dāng)?shù)。不單只給自己留下了可改變的空間，也讓對(duì)方明白17歲的孩子要現(xiàn)在就決定將來(lái)的事也是不現(xiàn)實(shí)的。 但是現(xiàn)階段自己最想追求的是什么作者卻是非常的清楚，因此能朝著自己定的目標(biāo)努力。展現(xiàn)對(duì)方學(xué)校一個(gè)非常積極向上，好學(xué)的形象。

譯文：

象棋與商業(yè)

64個(gè)顏色一深一淺交錯(cuò)排列的小方格, 橫縱各８格。兩方對(duì)陣，各持有十六個(gè)棋子，面對(duì)面地站著，為即將發(fā)生的一場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)做好戰(zhàn)略的準(zhǔn)備。當(dāng)我父親第一次把這種極其復(fù)雜象棋游戲介紹給我時(shí)，我不禁的被其復(fù)雜性給嚇倒，也同時(shí)感到迷惑不解。因?yàn)橛羞@么多的棋子，每一個(gè)都可以用不同的方法移動(dòng)，我不知道我是否能掌握這個(gè)游戲。

從我父親那里學(xué)會(huì)了一些基本游戲規(guī)則和移動(dòng)方法后，我就開(kāi)始琢磨應(yīng)該如何去策劃每一步棋。我父親是怎么知道下一步該怎么走？他又是怎么知道我的下一步會(huì)怎么走呢？最后，我發(fā)現(xiàn)他其實(shí)并不能估計(jì)到我的下一步棋，只是他可以迫使我走一步對(duì)他有利的棋。隨著我的棋藝的進(jìn)步，我開(kāi)始對(duì)象棋越來(lái)越感興趣，并把這些下棋的策略在日常生活中模擬。

與下象棋非常類(lèi)似的商業(yè)世界同樣的引起我的矚目。在我高中的四年里, 我對(duì)商業(yè)這個(gè)領(lǐng)域越來(lái)越感興趣。 因此我學(xué)習(xí)了這個(gè)領(lǐng)域的許多方面, 其中包括了財(cái)務(wù)、會(huì)計(jì)、和市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷(xiāo)。與此同時(shí)，我父親和我也經(jīng)常談?wù)摰疆?dāng)今的商業(yè)時(shí)事。在某一次的對(duì)話中，我突然發(fā)現(xiàn)原來(lái)我的兩個(gè)最大的興趣居然有許多的共通點(diǎn)。在象棋游戲中，選手們必須知道自己的行動(dòng)方案，并且能夠預(yù)計(jì)下一步的行動(dòng)，這樣才能成功。同時(shí)，他們也要愿意去利用對(duì)手的弱點(diǎn)。所有這些策略，都是與贏棋分不開(kāi)的，同樣也是商業(yè)世界基本要素。

當(dāng)我意識(shí)到象棋和商業(yè)緊密聯(lián)系后，活生生的例子便證明了我的發(fā)現(xiàn)。有一天我的父親跟我在解釋微軟，比爾.蓋茨是如何進(jìn)行業(yè)務(wù)的。蓋茨創(chuàng)建了一家成功的公司，原因是其首先是加強(qiáng)了商業(yè)領(lǐng)域的一個(gè)部分，然后再用這個(gè)部分區(qū)支持下一個(gè)部分。雖然在競(jìng)爭(zhēng)中是從零開(kāi)始，微軟可以不斷的擴(kuò)展其現(xiàn)有的產(chǎn)品。

這跟下象棋有著驚人的相似度。在這場(chǎng)游戲，一方要在一個(gè)重要的方格里盡可能的專(zhuān)注幾個(gè)棋子。如果對(duì)手攻擊了你的一個(gè)棋子，你可以把其它的棋子組織起來(lái)，進(jìn)行一個(gè)更大規(guī)模的大反擊。微軟正是創(chuàng)造了同樣強(qiáng)勁支撐結(jié)構(gòu)，因此可以使其不斷的擴(kuò)大。

跟大多數(shù)17歲的同齡人一樣，我不敢確定我將來(lái)想做些什么。不過(guò)，我知道現(xiàn)在什么最讓我著迷。每當(dāng)夜深人靜，當(dāng)我陷入沉思時(shí)，我常常會(huì)試圖找出贏棋的方法或者預(yù)測(cè)下一個(gè)大商業(yè)會(huì)是什么。雖然我不能確保我的興趣會(huì)不會(huì)改變，但我知道我會(huì)抱著跟對(duì)象棋的同樣的好奇和激情的態(tài)度去為我的未來(lái)而奮斗的。