The Symbolism of Chess

Chess is a great deal more brutal than we may think. Players can sacrifice any of their pieces, including the Queen, in order to win. Even those pieces we may think are the most useful, can be removed, if it serves the purpose of defeating the opposition. Only the king cannot be removed, and it is his defeat the players aim for. Chess originated in India, and the ancient Indian strategic model is still evident. In India, it was known as Chaturanga. It was passed on to the medieval West through the Middle East, particularly Persia where it was known as chatrang (shatranj). Many terms come from Persia. The expression "check-mate”, for example, is derived from the Persian shah: "king" and the Arabic mat: "he is dead". The original name for a castle was Rukh [not rook], Ruka or Hathi. The warlike symbolism in the Indian game relates it to the Kshatriyas - the caste of princes and nobles. The Hindus consider the game of chess as a "school of government and defence"- an allegory similar to that explained in our video on the Symbolism of the Theatre. Life is simply a repeating game of spiritual chess in which all are pieces. The two forces are not ‘good’ or ‘bad’. The Great Work [the objective] can be achieved in more than one way, and the battle pits one strategy against another. Occasionally a player may need to sacrifice a great number of their pieces. From the piece’s point of view their ‘death’ in this game would be classified as ‘bad’……but then it is not their game.
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CREDITS
Chinese Canton ivory George III chess set “antique-Keats-class-1”
Chess board - G Gull
Arjuna Fights Bhishma in the Battle of Kurukshetra
Bayasanghori Shahnameh 5
Photo - Max Ernst plays chess with Dorothea Tanning
Photo - Frithjof Schuon & Titus Burckhardt
Friedrich Moritz August Retzsch - Check-mate
The Chess Game - artist unknown [Arabic art]
Photo - ‘Worlds Most Expensive Chess Set’
VIDEO EFFECTS AND FOOTAGE
Chess Board During a Game | Free Stock Video | Royalty Free Video | No Copyright | Stock Free Video
• Chess Board During a G...
Motion Of Chess Pieces On The Table Stock Footage | Free No Copyright 4K Stock Footage
• Motion Of Chess Pieces...
Chessboard rotation on chess pieces with shadows moving (No Copyright Stock Footage)
• Chessboard rotation on...
Track shot of chessboard and chess pieces (No Copyright Royalty Free Footage)
• Track shot of chessboa...
CHESS PIECES - VIDEO GRAPHICS [FREE STOCK] [FREE DOWNLOAD]
• CHESS PIECES - VIDEO G...
Free stock footage/Chess board strategy play
• Free stock footage/Che...
Chess Bishop Animation
• Video
RARE FOOTAGE OF CHESS GREATS
• RARE FOOTAGE OF CHESS ...
Free-to-Use Stock Footage of Chess Move
• Free-to-Use Stock Foot...
You Won't Believe How Calmly This 6 Year Old Plays Chess!
• You Won't Believe How ...
MUSIC
00:00 Alone - Emmit Fenn
02:02 Touchpoint by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommon...
Artist: audionautix.com/
06:12 Wander - Emmit Fenn
08:39 Yoga Style - Chris Haugen
11:09 That Kid in Fourth Grade Who Really Liked the Denver Broncos by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommon...
Source: chriszabriskie....
Artist: chriszabriskie....
15:12 Alone - Emmit Fenn
#chess #chaturanga #shatranj

[@anttam117]

Thank you. I have been interesting in the esoteric dimension of Chess after reading about it, briefly mentioned, in a short story by Mark Valentine, “The Fig Garden”, where the non-linear movement of the Knight is mentioned as a key element, in regards of how one should conduct life in the way the knight conducts its movement: always forward, but but ready for the unexpected turn that may affect one’s life.

[@hannakatherine4658]

Vladimir Nabokov was asked “Why are you including the chess problems with your published poems?”
Nabokov
“Because problems are the poetry of chess. They demand from the composer the same virtues that characterize all worthwhile art: originality, invention, harmony, conciseness, complexity, and splendid insincerity. “

[@mysticsymbolismexplained4761]

Thank you for thoughtful reaction.

[@noahrudlowski9872]

king and queen are bigger because all the royal monarchs descend from giants

[@fionabuchet6006]

A significant video to understand for our times! And all time, of course 😊

[@ricktalks7420]

Excellent.