♔ JPMorgan Chase just played the ultimate grandmaster endgame: turning a rival’s collapse into a checkmate that rewrote the leaderboard of American banking.

When First Republic Bank faltered in May 2023, JPMorgan stepped in with precision and speed. In a single weekend, the bank acquired $173 billion in loans and $92 billion in deposits, fortifying its position as the largest U.S. financial institution. Even as the industry reeled from three major bank failures in two months, Jamie Dimon’s team transformed market chaos into a growth opportunity, expanding their wealth management footprint and taking the initiative while regulators covered part of the risk.

This strategic coup is the chess equivalent of capitalizing on an opponent’s blunder to deliver a swift and unstoppable checkmate. In chess, experienced players recognize when the opposing king has been left exposed through a critical misstep. With calm calculation, they coordinate their forces to bring the match to a decisive close. JPMorgan’s leadership exhibited exactly this endgame mastery by seeing the pattern, reading the board, and executing when the stakes were highest.

For C-level leaders, the lesson is clear: true strategic advantage comes from pattern recognition, crisis management, and the courage to act when opportunity appears, especially in moments of uncertainty. Champions in chess and business both understand that winning the endgame requires not just patience, but readiness to convert a fleeting opening into lasting dominance.

If your leadership team wants to harness grandmaster-level foresight and seize opportunity in crisis, chess-based strategy workshops can help you cultivate that winning mindset.

Master the game of business through chess, one move at a time.