Three Moves Ahead: What Chess Can Teach You about Business

In today’s fast-moving Information Age, traditional business-planning tools are rapidly becoming obsolete. Yet the competitive, ever-changing marketplace demands that executives move quickly or risk becoming relics.

In Three Moves Ahead, business leader and chess expert Bob Rice offers an entertaining, practical response to this modern dilemma. He shows how the world’s top executives use chess tactics to thrive in the face of incalculable complexities and unexpected change. Written for nonplayers, this witty, smart guide is filled with real-world examples of how to win the game of business by applying chess strategies honed from over 1,000 years of competition.

With incisive prose, Rice clearly shows how to use these principles to attack competitors, defend turf, and crack new markets. He demonstrates how a “Strong Square” strategy drove Adobe’s rise from niche player to industry powerhouse, how Kodak is reviving its fortunes with an “Exchange Sacrifice,” and how Google is creating holes in Microsoft’s position with a “Minority Attack.” Most importantly, Three Moves Ahead also shows how to “Stay Ahead On the Clock” and avoid the fate of companies like Polaroid, Gateway, and our dearly departed Ma Bell.
About the Author
Bob Rice was a longtime partner at Wall Street’s prestigious Milbank, Tweed, Hadley, and McCloy. He left to start a software venture that was purchased by Viewpoint, a NASDAQ company of which he later became CEO. He is currently a managing partner of Tangent Capital, which structures financial products for hedge funds, and a member of the New York Angels venture finance group. Rice served as Commissioner of the Professional Chess Association, founded the Wall Street Chess Club, ran numerous international chess events, and produced a successful “Speedchess” series for ESPN.