The following is an excerpt from Rich As A King: How the Wisdom of Chess Can Make You a Grandmaster of Investing. by Douglas Goldstein and Susan Polgar. 

Initiative: Controlling the Pace of Your Investment game

The game of chess, it would appear, is more than a simple matter of black vs. white. Statistical studies of thousands of historic tournaments have shown that whoever plays White wins a little more than half the time. Over the years, many chess experts have debated the reason for the imbalance.

It would seem that since White goes first, it gets the “one up” on Black, known as the initiative. On the other hand, no chess game ever ended before starting because the player with the black pieces announced, “Since I’ve got black, I’m just going to quit now.” Regardless of which side of the board you play, you have an almost equal chance to win.

In any event, though, the pendulum swings, and a participant in a tournament will get to play both colors. So rather than focusing on what the flip of the coin brings you at the start, direct your energies to playing the best game you can. Interestingly, Bobby Fischer noted, “The turning point in my career came with the realization that Black should play to win instead of just steering for equality.”

He didn’t seem to think that playing with the black pieces was a significant disadvantage.

Similarly, many people make the mistake of assuming that since the big institutional investors have such a huge advantage on Wall Street (their own analysts, large sums of money, and many years of experience), it doesn’t even pay for regular families to have their own portfolios. That kind of thinking, like resigning from a chess match because you have the black pieces, will stop or limit you from ever succeeding in developing a logical, long-term portfolio. Everyone has the chance to do well in the money world, so don’t give up.

Strive for the initiative