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"You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else." -- Albert Einstein Ever feel that you're being moved as a pawn in the covert games others are playing around you? Ever get the sense that you're not winning-- maybe not even aware of --the subtle games of business and life going on around you... let alone the tricky games of career success and office politics?As one federal executive put it, "You've got to be aware of the games that are being played. You don't have to play the games yourself, but you do need to recognize when they are being played against you."The fact is that games, probes, and subtle competitions--and not to forget office politics!--are facts of life in most organizations. These are the kind of covert career games that the opposing players don't tell us are in play, nor what the rules are, nor even what "winning" consists of. KNOWLEDGE IS POWERBut if the other players don't tell us what the rules of success are in these career games, nor even put a name to them, then how do we survive and win these games? How do we develop key career development skills? How? By making a habit of asking the right savvy, smart questions.What are those "smart questions"? What are the savvy questions that will boost your career and provide the help you keep your focus when you encounter games, probes, ploys and manipulations?PLAYING CAREER CHESS! Tools for winning: Cases Checklists Cheatsheets is a checklist of the kind of smart, savvy questions that guide you to career success fleshed out with mini-case studies, lots of examples, and additional questions and template "cheatsheets"useful in getting perspective and drilling in for more detail:*What are the "real rules" that operate here in this organization or even this meeting, beneath the coded language and disinformation? What real rules govern communication here?*Do I really need to be involved in this, or am I being drawn into someone else's problem?*What is "winning"