The nature of chess is in its very essence no more than a game. A contest set between two opponents, each equally matched in everything except mental skill and experience. It is a game of equals, as much as it is a game of nobles. It is a contest that anyone can win, but only a few can master. It is a test that is almost as ancient as civilization itself, and yet its simplicity is unmatched, and its brilliance unrivaled.
The game of chess is a mental sport. As such it has generally been associated with people of above average learning, and education. In the past these were perks reserved for only the richest of noble people. As such, the game of chess was hidden away, reserved for those who could afford the time and skill of a craftsman to make their set, and the aid of a teacher who could properly teach them to play.
Today chess has come down to the masses. The rules are everywhere, online, in books, and printed on the side of inexpensive plastic sets. Yet it still has an air of prestige and entitlement that has followed it throughout history. In essence, chess is an elite game, and even though the masses are invited to play, it is only the very smartest, not now the richest, that can claim dominance over this mental sport.
And yet there is a new image of the chess master. It’s not a rich scribe or a wealthy noble sitting in fine clothes. Rather it’s an image of a simple, humble man or woman, sitting in the park, playing games with passing strangers. It’s a game of the brilliant man with no money, the genius with no job; it is a sport that equalizes all people under one defining factor: how well you play the game.
This is a dichotomy. On the one hand the game is elite, and yet on the other it’s democratic. This is a symbol for a way of thinking about the world. Its almost Darwinist, in that birth and family should not determine ones greatness, rather greatness should rise from the individual quality of the person in question.
Chess has a powerful symbolic nature, which stems both from its challenging façade, its vast and storied history, and the democratic nature of the game. It is a game of conflict, yet done in a civilized manner, designed to exercise and expand ones ability to think in a strategic and logical manner.
Immobilienmakler Heidelberg Makler HeidelbergSource by Jim Slate