Life Is Not A Chessboard

Amanda Yuk
2 min readNov 30, 2020

Upon recently finishing the entire series of “A Queen’s Gambit” in one night, many people might be wondering what the fuss is all about. In it, an orphan, whose parents were killed in a car accident before her birth, channels her grief and energy into a predominantly-masculine world of chess. For those who are interested, have played it or who are avid fans of the game, would know that the gameboard is primarily composed of 64 square pieces.

Each opponent takes on either the black or white side, and individual pieces have their unique moves. Think of each piece on the board as a person. He or she has his or her own special defining characteristics. The analogy here is that in a game of chess, it ends when either player calls checkmate. A checkmate situation occurs when the king piece has no room to escape and ultimately results in an endgame or ultimate loss, not to be confused with stalemate, where one player cannot further engage because there is no more moves to make.

Photo by Javier Grixo on Unsplash

Similarly, numerous experiences dictate how we respond to life situations, so you understand the analogy here. From time memoriam, philosophers from as far and wide as Nietzsche, Kant or Freud have sought answers to the question of our existence. Well, the thing is, nobody really knows for sure until the day we cease to exist. Yet, one thing remains true. The Christian belief wherein the premeditated cycle…

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