I have never been particularly good at playing chess. It definitely requires concentration and strategy, after all it requires to win the game by check mating the king. That leads me to my first quote of this post by Garry Kasparou who says, “Chess helps you concentrate, improve your logic. It teaches you to play by the rules and take responsibility for your actions, how to problem solve in an uncertain environment.” So in other words, chess can help us in so many ways in real life. It teaches you survival and problem solving for example.

I am going to do something interesting here by comparing life to a game of chess. That leads me to another quote, this one by Allan Rufus. He said, “Life is like a game of chess. To win you have to make a move.
Knowing which move to make comes with IN-SIGHT and knowledge, and by learning the lessons that are acculated along the way. We become each and every piece within the game called life!” He sums it up perfectly for why life is like a game of chess.

Like I said before, in order to win the game you have to capture the king and be able to say checkmate which is when the other player is all out of moves. This is another way in which life is like a game of chess. A lot of the time you have to make moves in silence. That leads me to my next quote which is pretty straightforward. “Move in silence, only speak when its time to say checkmate.” So in other words, do not announce your moves to anyone. You do not want anyone, especially your enemies to know any of your moves ahead of time. You just want to keep them guessing.

Some people might think an important piece is a pawn or maybe the king because that is who a chess player wants to protect, but I personally think that one of the important and powerful pieces is the queen. That leads me to these next quotes, the first by Karim R. Ellis who says, “A king may be the most important piece on the chess board however the queen is the most powerful as she performs more moves than any other token. Men take notes.” The other quote is by Tiffany Reisz who says, “The king was the strong piece, of course. The most important chess piece and the most vulnerable to attack. But the queen… the queen was the most powerful chess piece. More powerful than the king. And the queen could move any way she wanted…” Those quotes sum it up perfectly of why the queen is the most important and powerful pieces. She can go in any direction she chooses and is not limited in how many squares she can move in. Horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. It does not matter.

Let’s move onto the king and the whole meaning behind chess. Like I said before… the whole point of chess is to capture the king. This next and final quote sums up what chess is all about. “In chess, the king is the most important piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent’s king so that its escape is not possible (checkmate). If a player’s king is threatened with capture, it is said to be in check, and the player must remove the threat of capture on the next move. If it cannot be done, the king is said to be in checkmate. Although the king is the most important piece, it is usually the weakest piece in the game until a later phase, the endgame.” So in other words, the king can be an important piece as well as being the weakest piece too. I know there is a lot to absorb and remember here, but the main thing is that although chess is just a game it can teach us a thing or two about the real world. I am including a poem here. It won me runner up for a competition I participated in on DUP. I hope that my readers really enjoy this one. Cheers!!

Game of Chess

Make your moves in silence as one does
In a game of chess. Watch out as pawns
Become castles, knights, bishops, queens
And kings. Do not second guess because
In those moments of weakness the swans
Take advantage. Mirrors or smoke screens

Will advert you from the truth as you keep
Your guard up with your knifes sharpened
And ready. Calculate your moves so your
Enemies do not see you slipping or asleep.
To them you are like a decaying carcass,
But little do they know you won the war

And the game they came to play. My dear,
It is already check and checkmate. They
Should just give up the game as you are
The true queen. They should not only fear
You, but also underestimate. You will stay
Useless in their eyes, but you are the star.