Indeed … the two seem to go together, in many respects. Very much so.
Not so much, I’m afraid. My interests are far more early-to-mid 20th Century rather than mid-to-late/late, like your own.
My knowledge of Schönberg, in particular, apart from having heard rumours of something to do with a “12-tone scale”, are limited to a wonderful story about him in Harpo Marx’s autobiography (honestly) about the violin-case he carried with him everywhere in Hollywood that he was asked out for dinner, after his emigration to America. (It contained a little net, and table-tennis bats and a ball, because “people here have such big dining tables, and you never know when you’ll manage to get in a quick game, after dinner, so it pays to be prepared”. True story, apparently!!).
Forex and chess are a good combination, I’m not sure how they can relate but I definitely like to pass time playing lightning chess on the Free Internet Chess Server whilst trading.
Chess generally has long been used an excellent mental exercise that trains thinking ahead and pattern recognition. As such it can be quite helpful to a trader, I think.
I was just reading a book about poker and three thing stuck out that relate to trading. In poker you should 1. Bet Max on a winning hand 2. Fold early if you have nothing. and 3. You won’t win every hand, even a number of them in a row. In trading I hear 1. Let winning trends run. 2. Exit a losing trend early, use a well define stop loss and 3. Everyone has losses, even a number of them in a row. So knowing poker strategies can help with dealing with trading.
I don’t think that there is any similarity in chess and trading, I think trading is pretty tough task than chess and getting success in chess does not mean that we can get the success in trading, there are different scenario in the both chess and trading.
I play quite a bit of chess and poker online - not very good at either but I’ll say this: If chess does help you in any way just “knowing” how to play chess would be nowhere near enough to be of any benefit.
I reckon, you would need to be pretty much a top-level player i.e a player with an OTB rating of 1800+ to identify or derive any benefit (if any). Why? At this level you would be expected to have a deeper understanding of the game and within the context of the game you’d likely possess superior tactical awareness, processing/calculation speed and such-like plus your pattern recognition skills should be reasonably well developed. Without which, I’d say. you wouldn’t quite be in a position to make any meaningful value judgement.
On the other hand, the similarities between poker and trading are numerous and almost immediately apparent.
For example, bankroll (money) and risk management are crucial to your success, so is knowing when to “hold 'em” (let your winners run?) and knowing when to fold 'em (cut your losses short?). You need to be able to read your opponents (the market) and to some degree anticipate their (the market’s) next move. “Tilting”* in poker (akin to “revenge trading”) points to lack of emotional control which is similarly a recipe for disaster.
But again knowledge of the rules and the ability to play the games in question do not necessarily translate to the skill required to perform at a high level. And it’s these particular skills (winning skills) that are of value and are potentially transferable.
Hedge Funds are apparently tapping into this potential: [B][U]Why are Hedge Funds Hiring Poker Pros[/U]
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So, in my opinion, while you’re a mediocre to average chess or poker player, the benefits or added value these games might offer - when it comes to trading - remains almost purely of ‘academic interest’.
Just realized that I somehow missed the word “[B]well[/B]” in the OP’s question: “[I]Does knowing how to play [B]chess well[/B][/I][B] [I]help[/I][/B]…” I read, “…[I]Does[/I] [I]knowing how to play [B]chess help[/B]…” [/I]Big difference. My mistake, so if by “well” you implied an OTB rating of +1800, I apologise profusely.
Also I’ve just read this rather interesting study: Does Chess Need Intelligence? – A Study with Young Chess Players and discovered that there is no correlation between visuo-spatial ability and chess skill.
[I]
Subsequent research confirmed that intelligence and visuo-spatial abilities are rarely, if ever, correlated with chess skill among adult chess experts. Djakow, Petrowski and Rudik (1927) tested eight grandmasters—including several world champions and some of the best players at their time—with a number of measures of general intelligence and visuo-spatial memory. They found no differences between this highly talented group and a control group of adult non-chess players. Lane (an unpublished study, D. Lane, mentioned in Cranberg & Albert, 1988, p. 161) found no association between chess ability and performance on a visuo-spatial task (the Guilford-Zimmerman Spatial Visualization Subtest, Form B; Guilford & Zimmerman, 1953).[/I]
By the way chess is developing well the logical thinking and it is learning you to predict the behavior of the opponent for several moves ahead. I think for Forex it would be very helpful especially versatile thinking which is used in chess, so I think it may be able to help you in trading.
That is my opinion as well. Still, actually learning about Forex trading would probably be more beneficial to a trader. Playing chess is a side exercise, if a good one.
In chess and trading we have to be skilful and always show the sincerity and positive approach, both are mind using as in chess you have take the decision after proper planning and same in forex you have to do lot of mind work for success.
Well playing chess helped me to figure out some advanced analytics approach a kind of chain thinking where you can take several fundamental events (in chess it is a game position) analyze where are weak of strong spots what combinations are available, what are the intentions of the opponent (a market) etc. Chess is a very deep game same as the fundamental events can have long-lasting effects on the prices which you should see through to have a trading edge.
Its definitely a plus playing chess and trying to apply these pricinples in trading.
Playing chess helps people develop their analytical thinking skills. When you play chess you need to be able to think several moves ahead, consider all the possible outcomes. Forex trading requires similar skills, if applied to a different board.
I had less knowledge about chess , can say that forex trading and chess is different. In forex all the time market is changing. In chess you have to play conceptually. I will trade in forex because it seems easy to me to understand and face market.
I have noticed that as my trading improved my chess improved as well. I’m currently playing some of the best chess in my life and that’s after a long hiatus since my high school years.
This however could be based on a large number of possibilities and may have nothing to do with trading.
The method which I use to trade is largely the same as the method I use when I play chess to find and assess good moves.
I fear I may only be able to articulate this in a relatable way in a few years. For now I am using it but cannot fully describe it in a way that doesn’t make me sound like a lunatic.
All in all, playing chess is an excellent mental exercise if you take it seriously, which can help you develop critical thinking skills that can be helpful in all sorts of situations, not just Forex. Beyond that I don’t think it’s directly tied to Forex in any way.
