user14104: I want to start with this Buddha quote from the Dhammapada

As rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, passion will break
  through an unreflecting mind.

Ch. 1: The Twin Verses, verse 13
Last night I was playing chess with a close friend and he beat me 4 times consecutively .The first time I almost beat him but my performance worsened linearly .The last time my performance was the worst.
Aside from realizing that each time I lost the more I wanted to beat him ,I realized that while playing I was constantly thinking about the possible moves and wasn't mindful or aware during the game.Its almost like I was constantly surprised by unanticipated moves  
Its during the game that the feeling of defeat struck me and during this I was thinking about the plan .
How can watching and strategic thinking occur,if when I watch there is no thinking?. 
A fellow here stated that thinking and watching are antagonistic .I think this has some truth as when I watch the thread of thoughts subsides.
I think this leads to a more general question and that in any sport or activity that requires a certain skill .How can mindfulness be incorporated during that activity?.
I know there are already related questions but,there doesn't seem to be a clear cut answer. 

user700: The vast majority of the ordinary human thoughts are repetitive. Most of the humans don't even have their own thoughts(even that would be don't beneficial) but they have the thoughts that come from the collective culture's conditioning. So a person that belongs to a culture, society(and now with internet it can mix up more with others) is just chewing the same thoughts that the society that s/he belongs to. That's why real creativity is very limited or completely absent in most of the humans.
Mindfulness makes it possible to have more creative thoughts and can make the actions(like sports) more effective. "The legend of Bagger Vance" movie is about this subject. So potentially games like chess can be played more effectively with mindfulness. But to do that the art of playing chess must be mastered and then mindfulness can increase the effectiveness of playing the chess. Being "in the now" has great benefits.
That being said, a Buddhist meditator must question his/her desire to engage in activites that has intention to defeat others. Watching or playing football or other sports and even wonderful games like chess includes the desire to defeat others. And it is feeding the self/ego and the "harmfulness" of the humans. I remember that Thich Nhat Hanh said in one of his dhamma talks that sports/activities that have the desire to defeat others are not good. For many people this is totally unacceptable or meaningless but because they are completely stucked in the illusion of self. But Thich Nhat Hanh is an enlightened master and is a very pure being and has great wisdom. He said the truth. 
This is what the Buddhist meditators must never forget:

All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.

https://inspirational.ly/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/0H6tPbQ-1.png

user16242: In contrast to the other answers, it is my perception that mindfulness and deep intellectual thinking complement each other.  
Sports are not about defeating the other team but rather raising your own performance to a higher level.  The higher level of physical or mental (chess) performance is a result of this alignment between the mind, body and spirit.  
As a skilled chess player, my best games come not from furious concentration but rather from an openness to the possibilities and patterns of the board. Indeed many chess players compare their state of mind to Zen or Taoist mindfulness.  As with a koan answer, the right move often comes as lightning.  
The mind can be trained to be present and creative at the same time. Both take a lot of practice however.  A novice chess player will be looking for the next move and confused by all the possibilities.  Just so, the novice meditation practitioner will be confused by all the stray thoughts.  
I'd encourage you to quiet your mind and emotions during a competitive chess game (not easy) perhaps the deeper possibilities on the board will be revealed. 

14104: <p>I want to start with this Buddha quote from the Dhammapada</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>As rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, passion will break
  through an unreflecting mind.</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="https://books.google.com.eg/books?id=v8oKAAAAYAAJ&amp;q=%22As%20rain%20breaks%20through%20an%20ill-thatched%20house%20passion%20will%20break%20through%20an%20unreflecting%20mind%22&amp;pg=PA6&amp;redir_esc=y#v=onepage&amp;q=%22As%20rain%20breaks%20through%20an%20ill-thatched%20house%20passion%20will%20break%20through%20an%20unreflecting%20mind%22&amp;f=false" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ch. 1: The Twin Verses, verse 13</a></p>

<p>Last night I was playing chess with a close friend and he beat me 4 times consecutively .The first time I almost beat him but my performance worsened linearly .The last time my performance was the worst.</p>

<p>Aside from realizing that each time I lost the more I wanted to beat him ,I realized that while playing I was constantly <strong>thinking</strong> about the possible moves and wasn't mindful or aware during the game.Its almost like I was constantly surprised by unanticipated moves  </p>

<p>Its <strong>during</strong> the game that the feeling of defeat struck me and during this I was thinking about the plan .</p>

<p>How can watching and strategic thinking occur,if when I watch there is no thinking?. </p>

<p>A fellow here stated that thinking and watching are antagonistic .I think this has some truth as when I watch the thread of thoughts subsides.</p>

<p>I think this leads to a more general question and that in any sport or activity that requires a certain skill .How can mindfulness be incorporated during that activity?.</p>

<p>I know there are already related questions but,there doesn't seem to be a clear cut answer. </p>
 700: <p>The vast majority of the ordinary human thoughts are repetitive. Most of the humans don't even have their own thoughts(even that would be don't beneficial) but they have the thoughts that come from the collective culture's conditioning. So a person that belongs to a culture, society(and now with internet it can mix up more with others) is just chewing the same thoughts that the society that s/he belongs to. That's why real creativity is very limited or completely absent in most of the humans.</p>

<p>Mindfulness makes it possible to have more creative thoughts and can make the actions(like sports) more effective. "The legend of Bagger Vance" movie is about this subject. So potentially games like chess can be played more effectively with mindfulness. But to do that the art of playing chess must be mastered and then mindfulness can increase the effectiveness of playing the chess. Being "in the now" has great benefits.</p>

<p>That being said, a Buddhist meditator must question his/her desire to engage in activites that has intention to defeat others. Watching or playing football or other sports and even wonderful games like chess includes the desire to defeat others. And it is feeding the self/ego and the "harmfulness" of the humans. I remember that Thich Nhat Hanh said in one of his dhamma talks that sports/activities that have the desire to defeat others are not good. For many people this is totally unacceptable or meaningless but because they are completely stucked in the illusion of self. But Thich Nhat Hanh is an enlightened master and is a very pure being and has great wisdom. He said the truth. </p>

<p>This is what the Buddhist meditators must never forget:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="https://inspirational.ly/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/0H6tPbQ-1.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://inspirational.ly/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/0H6tPbQ-1.png</a></p>
 16242: <p>In contrast to the other answers, it is my perception that mindfulness and deep intellectual thinking complement each other.  </p>

<p>Sports are not about defeating the other team but rather raising your own performance to a higher level.  The higher level of physical or mental (chess) performance is a result of this alignment between the mind, body and spirit.  </p>

<p>As a skilled chess player, my best games come not from furious concentration but rather from an openness to the possibilities and patterns of the board. Indeed many chess players compare their state of mind to Zen or Taoist mindfulness.  As with a koan answer, the right move often comes as lightning.  </p>

<p>The mind can be trained to be present and creative at the same time. Both take a lot of practice however.  A novice chess player will be looking for the next move and confused by all the possibilities.  Just so, the novice meditation practitioner will be confused by all the stray thoughts.  </p>

<p>I'd encourage you to quiet your mind and emotions during a competitive chess game (not easy) perhaps the deeper possibilities on the board will be revealed. </p>
