Why We Play: What Sets Chess Apart

Hello readers, beginners and masters, patzers and amateurs alike, and welcome back!

The other day, I had a heated discussion with one of my friends over chess.

He was wondering, as many do, why chess? Why would you play chess if you can play such a more 'in-depth' game, like Monopoly, Risk, or almost any video game? Chess is the oldest and closest game to immortality that exists. There are many reasons it has never died out, but in the age of Nintendo Switches, PlayStation 5s, Xbox Series S and X, and powerful computer systems, it doesn't really seem to need as much attention as it's given.

At the time, I was at a loss for words. As he said, despite the vast number of positions in chess, there were even more in almost any video game (He referenced Rocket League). So why chess?

Chess has been around for almost one and a half thousand years. Through those years, many different people have played chess, and it has evolved accordingly. We can't really understand chess until we understand its history.

So let's look at the history: Chess, from beginning to end.

The origin of chess is highly disputed, but most reports say that it originated in India, as Chaturanga. Many stories have been created about its origin, and no one really knows, but many of them are amusing or interesting. One such story involves a tyrant king and a wise philosopher.

The king was too powerful, and he abused his power. He didn't seem to care about his subjects or his nation, so one day the king's advisors went to a very old, very wise philosopher with the dilemma: "What should we do about the Tyrant on the throne?" 

Well, the philosopher thought it over and said, "Why don't each one of you go home and rest for the night, and tomorrow morning I will teach the king a lesson."

When the advisors objected, not wanting to believe that this old man could change the king, the philosopher only smiled and asked them to leave, saying that he needed time to work alone. All through the night, he worked. He found two different colors of wood and turned them into a board of 64 squares. Then he carved figures of war: Each color was given a King, a Vizier, which was later changed to the queen), two Elephants (bishops), two Horses (Knights), and two Chariots (Interestingly enough, these were called Rukhs, which is very similar to the modern Rooks), and finally, he carved for each side eight Pawns.

The following morning, the advisors sat next to the king in his throne room. Each one appeared nervous because the Philosopher wasn't there. Then, late in the morning, the old man walked in and showed the king his game. The king looked over it with interest, and the philosopher taught him the rules. 

After the king played, he said, "Thank you for showing this amusing diversion. I have learned much from it. What would you have as a reward?"
The philosopher replies: "I don't want much, only one grain of wheat for the first square, two for the next, four for the next, and so on."

The king is confused at such a small request, until he realizes that the power of geometric progression says that the philosopher has asked for approximately 18 quintillion (An 18 with 18 zeroes) grains of wheat.

From that day onward, the king changed his attitude, for he knew that even the smallest in society can tilt the balance.

The origins of chess are most often preserved through stories, each carrying a lesson of its own. Those lessons may be worthwhile, but for our purposes, the message isn't as important as the simple fact that chess came into existence.

From its birth, chess's popularity was meteoric, played by knights, soldiers, peasants, and nobles alike. After being picked up by the Islamic Empire, it spread across the entire world with the conquests that said empire successfully carried out.

It was a big character in Europe during the Middle Ages, and spread to the New World almost as soon as it was discovered. In addition, while the Islamic Empire spread to Europe, the Silk Roads also led it to China and other East Asian countries.

As it spread, it also changed. Each culture changed the names of the pieces, but mostly they kept the rules the same. There were some exceptions, though, as in Spain in the late 1500s, the bishops and queen were changed to the power we know them today, to make the game go faster. The powerful queen was likely inspired by powerful queens, especially Queen Isabella I of Spain.

As chess continued to evolve, it became the sport of choice (Similar to Football, both American and otherwise today) for most people. Chess clubs flourished, and people started to write books about chess.

And that brings us to modern chess: A game that has been played, edited, and enjoyed since ancient times, but is still loved by many today. The game is full of vast possibilities, but even these are limited.

So that brings us back to the original question: Despite chess's incredible age and rich history, why is it still played today?

Chess is a difficult mental exercise. Many consider it a self-contained form of art, while others view it only as a game, a fun pastime. But it's not really that different from any other board game at a glance. So what my friend asked is reasonable, yes.

But what he missed was that one of chess's most endearing qualities is that it has so many different possibilities for a reason. He asked, "If the fact that Rocket League has even more tiny little joystick variations than chess does positions, how is it that you consider chess to be more advanced?" 

I had no response at the time, but I found myself thinking about it over the next several days. What really is it that makes chess so special? What drives so many people to devote their lives to studying it? What makes it so that some of the greatest players are capable of winning thousands of dollars just from winning it?

Good writing is often set apart by a very important factor: Attention to detail. Detail makes every scene in a book more believable, more vivid, and therefore, easier to understand.

That is what makes such a huge difference in chess. In many video games, such as the recent Legend of Zelda games, Super Mario, Minecraft, many Roblox games, or any other game, having your character (or whatever the focus of the game is) off by a few pixels, or timing the buttons slightly differently, won't actually have that much impact on your situation. Often, in Minecraft, it doesn't really matter where the protagonist is within a full meter of the area. You don't need to be in a pinpoint place to kill a zombie. 

Now, that's not to say that video games are any less fun or intricate than chess; in fact, they often are more fun. But chess has something unique to offer that many other games don't.

That's the difference: The fact that if any piece on the board is slid over by even one square, the position is completely different, and a checkmate attack that would work in one position might not work in one even slightly different one. That's the key to the combination. One change in a chess position can lead to a completely different outcome; one can be a win for White, while another similar one may result in a loss (as shown above). A good video game would be just as good if it lost a few pixels of freedom, but any less ability in chess would ruin the game.

And that's why chess is so special.

Not only because it has nearly infinite possibilities.

Not because each possibility is perfectly distinct.

But because it has Nearly Infinite Perfectly Distinct Positions and Ideas.

And that is why chess is truly timeless, why it will continue to be played in years to come as it has been in years past. Unlike other games that might fall out of favor in ten years or so, Chess is truly immortal, because, to quote Marcel Duchamp, 

With chess, one creates beautiful problems.

And...that's it for today-I hope you enjoyed this post.

Let me know in the comments why you play chess (and whether you consider it as special as I do) .

May your tactics stay sharp.