I love playing chess. I’ve been playing it since primary school. I don’t play it that often, and I’m not particularly good at it either. But I thoroughly enjoy playing it when I do. It’s a game of strategies and tactics. There are set rules and regulations for each and every piece on the board, different rules for each piece. Yet the possibilities of play are endless. You can use the very same strategy of play and have a different game every time.
I find there to be many similarities between the chess game and the game we call life. In the same way that there are unchangeable rules and regulations in chess that you cannot change, there are natural and societal laws of life that you can never change. However, in the very same way that you can use the rules of chess to affect a different outcome everytime, you can always use the laws of life to you advantage. As you may know, chess was developed to be an illustration of the battlefield, with the two sets representing two equal armies fighting against each, with victory being decided by which king is captured first. In this piece, I will try to draw certain parallels between chess and real life, and show how you can use these parallels to develop a winning attitude towards life. I will do this by going through each of the pieces of a chess army and what they may represent in our lives. This is my personal interpretation, not a definitive work in any way. Hopefully, those who don’t play chess might also learn a thing or two. It’s a long piece so bear with me. Here goes:
The Pawns
The pawns on a chessboard represent the foot soldiers in an army. They are slow in movement, and they are very limited in terms of the amount of damage they can inflict on the enemy. They only move in one direction and that’s forwards. They can only move one square at a time, although you can move two squares at the very beginning only. And they can only kill the enemy in a diagonal one-square move. Many chess players will choose to sacrifice the pawns to protect the rest of their pieces, and the pawns are individually less powerful than the rest.
The pawns represent the little things we do in life in order to keep going. Waking up in the morning, exercising regularly, eating healthily, going to church, reading your Bible, being well dressed and presentable, saying “please” and “thank you”, cleanliness, punctuality, spending time with family and friends, obedience etc. The little things that we tend to take for granted. You might even skip them every now and then, or altogether. They’re tedious and boring, and you’re never really aware of their benefit in your day-to-day. However, this is what keeps you going. This is what kicks you off in the morning. This is your fuel when you’re empty. It’s not very exciting, but it’s essential to the sustainability of your success. Never neglect the little things in your life, the habits which lead to success. It’s the baby steps that lead to giant strides.
Speaking of which, during a game of chess, if you manage to successfully manoeuvre one of your pawns to the opposite end of the board, you are allowed to exchange it for one of your more powerful pieces which may have been captured before!! So you see, if you manage to keep doing the little things, they will eventually become very big things you can use to your advantage.
The Rook/Castle
The rook sits in the corner of the chessboard. It represents the towers which would normally be at each corner of the wall surrounding a city/castle, and the sentries (lookouts) who would be stationed at the top of each tower. Their job was to lookout for any impending attacks, and to report on the progress during battle. The rook itself can only move and kill in a vertical or horizontal direction, but it can move across any number of squares, whether forwards or backwards, to the left or right. Like most of the chess pieces, it cannot travel over another piece on the board.
For me, the rook represents your sense of diligence. How aware are you of your life? How often do you perform a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) on your life? Are you aware of any cracks which may have started appearing on your wall? Can you sit back, take a bird’s-eye view of your life and be honest with yourself about where you’re at? Can you successfully protect your territory from infiltration by the enemy, whether through your senses, pride, complacency etc? Have you perhaps allowed sin to take over your life and you don’t even realise it? Sometimes we become too comfortable in our past victories or whatever little safety nets we may have in our lives, and we take our safety for granted. Every now and then, you need to perform an honest, all-round assessment of yourself to see if you’re on the right track, and destroy any elements which may be taking out your infantry.
The Knight
The knight represents the mounted soldiers, those who fight on horseback. These are the flexible ones, they are trained in the art of war and know how to lead the foot soldiers. They are brutal and unpredictable. The knight itself is limited in the distance it can travel across the board, but it is unique in that it’s the only piece that doesn’t travel in a straight line and, importantly, it’s the only piece which is allowed to jump over other pieces which may be in it’s way!! It moves and kills in an L-shape, 3 squares at a time (either 1+2 or 2+1) and it can move in any direction desired. Because it doesn’t move in a straight line and can jump over other pieces, it is perhaps the most difficult piece to predict (well, to me anyway).
For me, the knight represents your flexibility, your ideas, your creativity, your adaptability and your ability to think out of the box. What are you doing in order to achieve your goals and vision? What’s your plan? What’s your backup plan in case the first plan doesn’t work? How do you react to failure and rejection? Are you open to learning new ideas and processes? Can you recognize the weaknesses of your competition, and use those weakness as your strength? Can you think on your feet, in the thick of battle, or do you tend to panic and freeze? These are essential questions to ask yourself, and good skills to acquire. The world is an ever-changing place and if you don’t change with it, you will be left behind.
The Bishop
The bishop represents the spiritual leader/seer during a time of war. In ancient times, before going to war a king would always consult his senior bishop/prophet/sangoma/medicine man, so that they would have good fortune during the war. At times, the bishop would accompany the army to battle to provide blessing, and to also keep the king informed of the plans of the gods during the battle, and advise accordingly. The bishop piece in chess is a powerful piece. Like the rook above, it can move and kill in any direction it desires (forward of backward), across any number of squares. However, unlike the rook, it can only move diagonally. This means that any one bishop will always be limited to one colour of squares, it cannot move across colours.
For me, the bishop represents your support structure, your mentors and advisors. People who have a deeper insight than you have concerning the path you’re walking on. It could be your pastor, and business leader, a teacher or lecturer, youth leader, a parent, a professional in the field etc. You need to surround yourself with people who can provide you with inspiration and motivation, and people who can give your proper and relevant guidance. People who have walked your current path and seen where you’re going, and they can give your pointers along the way. This can make your journey much shorter and more efficient, as you can learn from their mistakes so you don’t have to commit them yourself. Find role models, people who believe in your vision, and leverage off their knowledge and experience.
The Queen
The queen is arguably the most powerful and versatile piece on the chessboard. You can see it as a combination of the rook and the bishop above. It can move in absolutely any direction it desires (forward, backward, left, right AND diagonally) and across any number of squares as well. However, it can only move in a straight line and it can’t jump over other pieces like the knight. It is a very powerful destroyer as it has fewer rules governing it and can infiltrate the enemy faster than any other piece (it had to be a woman neh, go figure).
For me, the queen represents your mental and spiritual tools. Your faith and your knowledge. How much do you know about the enemy, and how much confidence do you have in yourself to overcome? What have you studied? What have you observed? How can you put your knowledge to good use? Do you believe in the promises that God made in the bible? Do you understand those promises and the conditions attached to them? Have you applied yourself to learning so that you can acquire those blessings quicker and more efficiently? Does your faith remain solid and firm through the storms and the persecutions? How is your mental strength? Are you easily discouraged or do you keep fighting even after one arm has been cut off? What explosive powers do you have inside of you? This is the power of the queen. Faith and knowledge/wisdom. A combination that cannot be held back by even the universe itself. Harness this power and your victory over the enemy is all but confirmed.
The King
The most important piece on the whole chessboard. The aim of the whole game is to capture the enemy’s king or render him immobile, all the while protecting your own king from capture. The king is very similar in movement to the queen above, in the sense that it can move in any direction (forward, backward, left right and diagonally). However, the main difference is that it can only move one square at a time. And because the king is the centre of the whole game, it is rarely used as an attacking piece. Indeed, all the other pieces are used to make sure the enemy doesn’t come anywhere near the king. Boring piece then, this. Sometimes you even forget it’s on the board.
However, all defences can fall eventually. There’s a play in chess called Check. This is when the enemy is in a position where they could potentially capture your king, but you can still escape somehow, whether by moving your king from that position, capturing the enemy piece that’s threatening your king or putting another one of your pieces between the king and the enemy. In this instance, you have to do something to protect your king immediately. A Checked position only lasts for one move, then you have to do something about it, otherwise you lose your king. Then there’s the final blow called Checkmate. This is the end of the game. This is when the enemy has your king in Check as above, but you have no way of escaping capture. Whatever move you make you can’t escape. This is the objective of the game, to get the other person’s king in Checkmate, as you have won the game in this way.
For me, the king represents what is most important to you: your salvation. This is the objective of life. Preserving your life beyond the 80 years you will live on this planet. And, whether you realise it or not, EVERYTHING in life is centred around your “king”. Whether you’re protecting your king or exposing it to the enemy, this is what matters, this is the essence of life. Everything else you do with your life leads up to this. You should use all that you have to protect your king. Even if everything else in your life has to be sacrificed, if you sacrifice to protect your king, and you do so successfully, you have won!! Like the king, salvation can be boring to think about. Indeed, most people only remember salvation at funerals. It’s limited in terms of its applications to your life here on earth. It’s a far-off vision, something only old people should worry about. But that’s exactly what the enemy wants you to think. He wants you to neglect your king, and you only wake up when he says “Checkmate!”. Don’t do that. Don’t neglect your king. Protect your king at all times. Nothing is worth compromising the safety of your king, no matter how exciting it might look at the time. Your king is important. Your salvation is the objective of the whole game of life. Make sure you win.
There are times when the enemy will have you in Check. You will fall into temptation and sin. You will betray Jesus. You will be unfaithful. You will fall on your journey. And the devil will accuse you and tell you that you’ve lost your salvation because you’re now in his hands through your sin. Most people tend to think Check is the end. Once they’ve fallen into that trap, it’s over, the king is lost. But it’s not lost. You can ALWAYS get out of a checked position. Even if you’re surrounded all over, it’s not over. Sometimes the enemy will try and fool you into thinking he’s got you in Checkmate but he hasn’t. It’s only check, but he doesn’t want you to see the way out. If you have an opportunity to get out, get out!! The only time it’s over is when the enemy says “Checkmate” and it really is Checkmate. And Checkmate is death. It’s only over when one of you is dead. If you’re still breathing, you’re not out of the game. Never forget that.
Castling
In closing, there’s a move in Chess called Castling. This move can only be made once in the game. You “castle” by moving your king two squares towards the rook, and moving the rook to the other side of the king. It’s a rarely used move, and only experienced players will “castle” during an average game, usually to protect the king from a potential checkmate and not as an offensive move. But it’s a game-changer. It’s the only time when you’re allowed to move more than one piece at once, and in one move you can get yourself into a position that would normally have taken you five moves. However, there are strict conditions attached to castling:
- Both the king and the rook cannot have moved prior to castling. In other words, the castling move must be the first move for both the rook and king. For this reason, you can only castle one during a game
- There cannot be any pieces between the rook and king at the time of castling
- You cannot use the castling move to capture one of the enemy’s pieces, it’s not an offensive move
For me, the castling move represents the curveballs that life tends to throw at your from time to time. That moment when you’re placed in a corner and you have to make a huge, life-changing decision. And such a decision will transform everything. It will move you away from family, it will make you more than a few enemies, it will bankrupt you, it will damn-near kill you. But you have to make the move. And in the process of making that move, you have to keep your king alive, protect your king at all times. Sometimes you have to take that risk. You have to leave everything behind and chase your dreams. Sometimes you’ll be forced to leave everything behind. Life will rip everything away from you and leave you naked. Through it all, don’t forget your king. You’re still alive, it’s not over yet.
Your move, mate.
