Cross-legged under an enormous pine tree, my chess pieces and I tamed chaos | Ana Schnabl

The summer of 1995 was the summer when my cousins taught me chess in Slovenia .

They taught me critical openings the King’s Gambit , the Queen's Gambit and the Ruy Lopez.

Using all that newly acquired knowledge in actual games brought me immense joy and pride.

It was in these places that I began to understand a simple truth: life is both a winning and a losing game and a whole spectrum in between, and the real skill lies in learning to embrace it all. I am not claiming that I manage, but I know that that would be best for me and my team. - Ana Schnabl is a Slovenian novelist, editor and critic.