Written by SLAN, edited by Otaku Apologist
Lichess game published by programmer Thibault Duplessis. June 20, 2010 for Windows.
On February 11, 2015, an official Lichess mobile app was released for Android devices. An app for mobile devices running iOS was released on March 4, 2015.
I’d like to think I’m good at chess. But I’m not. And I am not good at flirting either. And that is why chess is important. Chess is like most things in life: sex, love, hate, fighting, and all other social interactions are like chess. In chess, the pieces remain visible to all. There are not secret pieces. I think a better description of chess is needed before continuing.
There are 64 squares on a chessboard, distributed over a perfect square making it eight squares by eight squares. Every square is bordered by squares which are its opposite in color. Diagonal lines are the same color. These colors are either black or white.
There are two players placed on opposite sides of the board (the board is positioned so that a white square is at the far right of either player). Each player begins with sixteen pieces occupying the two rows of squares in front of him. There are eight pawns closest to the opponent. These pieces can move one space forward, take a piece in diagonal attack (or en passant), and may make a two space jump as their initial move. Behind these pawns, at either end of the row, are two rooks. These rooks may move up to eight spaces in either vertical or horizontal lines. They may take an opponent’s piece in this method. They may not move past an opponent’s piece or one’s one piece.
Next to the rook is the knight. This knight make L-shape movents – one or two squares in the horizontal or vertical and then two or one squares in the vertical or horizontal. These pieces may jump over other pieces – the only piece that can do this. There are two bishops next to the knights. One bishop is on a white square and the other is on a black square. The bishops will remain on the colors on which they start as they move only diagonally. Otherwise, they are as limited as rooks: moving up to the borders of the board and cannot move past another piece (though they can take an opponent’s piece). Next to the bishop on the opposite color of the player’s pieces is the Queen. The queen may move in any direction, horizontal, vertical, or diagonal, and may take pieces in her path which belong to the opponent. She is considered the most powerful piece of the board. Between her and the bishop of the same color as the pieces is the King. The King never leaves the board. The king may move one space in either direction. If the King is threatened, it is called “Check” and the King must move or be protected from the threat (by moving a piece in the way). If the King is in Check and cannot move nor be protected from the threat, it is called Checkmate. A player cannot put himself in check. The Checkmate the opponent is to win the game!
How is this a game mirroring flirting, sex, fighting and competition?
In chess, there are no secrets. No pieces are hidden from an opponent. Everything that can be made obvious is obvious by default. What is not known is intention, strategies, calculations. In chess, like poker, and like life, one does not play the game. One plays the opponent. The pieces and their positions are evident, but the intention of their placement, the desires and machinations of the opponent are not so obvious.
When you speak to a pretty girl, she is there. You can see her eyes and where they look, you can see her hands, you can see what she does with her phone. Her posture, her body language, et cetera, is all readily obvious. But her actual opinion of you, unless she is absolutely enthralled or downright repulsed, is not so clear. Pay close attention to how she handles her phone, as you would to the exact formation of pawns, and you’ll know a lot more than her words can tell you.
The same is true of any social setting. Your boss may approach you with a task, like moving his knight from one position to the next. However, in the tone of his voice, the way he assigns it, and the particulars of the task tell you more than the task itself. That knight may have been moved to that position, but should it be taken or ignored?
Chess is a game where one sees everything yet must predict something. It is the study of patterns and learning another’s mental state. The same is true of flirting and fighting. Free Online Chess!
