THE CHESSBOARD OF LIFE

By Jorge D. Lomboy
February 24, 2016



Chess is a game for two players, each of whom moves pieces across a chessboard according to fixed rules and tries to checkmate the opponent’s king.  Each player has sixteen pieces consisting of two rooks, two knights, two bishops, a queen, a king and eight pawns all in one color.  And the same number of pieces is set on the opponent’s side in a different color. 

A rook has the power to move along the ranks or files across any number of unoccupied squares.  A knight has the power to move in an L-shaped movement of two squares in one row and one square in a perpendicular row over squares that may be occupied.  A bishop has the power to move diagonally across any number of adjoining unoccupied squares. The queen has the power to move in any direction across any number of unoccupied squares.  The king, the principal piece of each color, has the power to move ordinarily one square at a time in any direction.  A pawn of least value has the power to move only forward one square at a time or to capture only diagonally forward and be promoted to any piece except a king upon reaching the eighth rank.

A chessboard is used in the game of chess.  There are sixty-four alternating dark and light colored squares in every chessboard.  The rooks, knights, bishops, queen and king are placed along the first row of eight squares on each side.  All the eight pawns are placed along the second row of the eight squares of each side.  The player who has the white pieces usually starts the first move and is said to be on the offensive.  The player who has the black pieces plays the game defensively.  The player who has the white pieces usually makes the first move by moving the pawn in front of the king or queen.  And the same holds true with the opponent’s opening move.

A good chess player knows the importance of positional advantage.  What piece to move, when to move it and where to move it are usually done to back up or coordinate positional advantage.  As always, the player who has the positional advantage wins the game despite material advantage on the part of the other player.  More often than not, positional advantage is gained by sacrificing a rook, a knight, a bishop or even a queen as a stratagem or gambit to weaken the defense of the opponent’s king and make the king vulnerable to attack.  The player who captures the opponent’s king or forces the opponent to resign wins the game.  My friend, Rudy Tan Cardozo, an international chess master, once told me that President Marcos had invited him to Malacanang Palace to play chess.  During the course of the game Rudy had gained positional advantage and the president then asked him what he should do to regain positional advantage in politics. Jokingly he replied, “Mr. President, sacrifice the queen."

There is no school, college or university bigger than life.  All schools of learning, put together, are no greater than the university of life.  Life is virtually a big chessboard where the game of chess is best played by those seeking power, control and authority.  There is a chessboard in every school, in every workplace, in every religion and in politics.  There is a chessboard in business, in government and in the military.  There is a chessboard in conflict, controversy and contradiction.  There is a chessboard in disagreement, dispute and division.  There is a chessboard in sports, competitions and rivalries.  There is  chessboard in courtships.  There is a chessboard in relationships.  How we play chess on the chessboard of life will determine if one is a born winner or a born loser.

I am naïve enough to believe that many who make a living in the rank and file are pawns on a chessboard used to further the selfish purposes of a master in a master-servant relationship.  I am stupid enough to believe that the chess of politics is the dirtiest game ever played as it is a power struggle where cheating, fraud, deception, character assassination and mudslinging appear to be the practice of the trade.  I am foolish enough to believe that chess in the courtroom is where many lawyers present fiction as fact and turn truth into lie.  I am ill-informed enough to believe that chess in business is as dirty as politics for truth and honesty are discarded in the business of making money by all means.  In all the chessboards used in the university of life, I can say without fear or favor that politicians are the players in the dirty game of politics.

We are all used as pawns in the power struggles of politicians and love of power is what makes a politician a tyrant. Love of power leads to secular humanism which is a doctrine, an attitude, a way of life or a philosophy that rejects the supernatural and stresses an individual’s dignity, worth and capacity for self-realization through reason.  On the chessboard of life, anticipation, planning and strategy justify the crab mentality.  There is no institution in society bigger than government.  There is no organization in any country more powerful than government.  There is no entity in any nation that exercises supreme authority other than government.  Government is power.  It is sovereign and it is supreme authority.  It is the biggest chessboard for all government authorities emanate from the people.  We are all involved in the politics of make-believe for we are called to choose our elective leaders from the lowest to the highest levels of public office.

On the chessboard of religion, preachers are the players struggling to indoctrinate believers with false doctrines.  A false doctrine appeals to the ears, appeals to the eyes and appeals to our feelings as well as our hearts.  It is too seductive to belie biblical truth.  Preaching is a very heavy responsibility for one who preaches false doctrines will send many souls to hell.  They will answer to the Almighty for their false doctrines causing believers to live by doctrines that are contrary to the gospel.  Millions of souls will go to hell because of false preaching and false doctrines.  It is on the chessboard of religion that every soul is at risk and at stake.  It is the chessboard of religion that will determine whether a believer will go to heaven or to hell.  It is the chessboard of religion that will show whether we are externally religious or internally godly.

On the chessboard of the courtroom, scurrilous lawyers, parties and witnesses are the players working as a team struggling to win justice by hook or by crook, fair or foul.  On the chessboard of litigation, arguments and counterarguments, and claims and counterclaims are freely traded as leverage.  On the chessboard of judicial action, testimony and documentary evidence from both sides are fabricated to win justice by expending truth.  There is a reason for everything we do and there is an argument for every side we are on.  There is an explanation for everything we do and there is an explanation for everything we fail to do.  On the chessboard of the tribunal, each side presents case laws or decided cases to support their contention.  This courtroom scenario comes to full circle with the argument and reasoning we hear everywhere.  Everything in life is a chessboard for as long as we have a right to be heard publicly or privately.

For as long as we live we are going to encounter troubles, adversities, problems, obstacles and obstructions.  For as long as we have duties, obligations and responsibilities we are going to face burdens, handicaps and shortcomings.  We don’t plan to fail, we only fail to plan.  Doing good is never enough when we have the niche and the ability to do better.  It is better to win and succeed than to lose or fail or settle for a draw.  After all, a winner is not necessarily he who gets what he wants but he who in spite of reverses marches on.  It is better to conquer than be conquered, to be a victor than be a victim.  I prefer to lose the battle but win the war rather than win the battle but lose the war.  Chess is basically a mind game of win or loss and all the above are the tantalizing situations in our environment reflecting a panoramic view of the chessboard of life.