Confidential Chess Files: King
Your non-typical chess blogger is back. It's time to share the final confessions and close the case files on individual chess pieces and their outlooks.
While my busy schedule prevented me from writing this blog earlier, with the queen being the last piece covered, there was also an additional reason that conveniently allowed me to prolong the storytelling.
Before starting the Confidential Chess Files, I knew the king would be the hardest piece for me to write about. Why, you might ask in awe? The reason is very simple. I am biased toward kings, presidents, and power structures of any kind. Our worldviews differ significantly, though public speeches may point to the same shared passions and ideals.
Alas, I am nothing if not open-minded, so let's give everyone 527 chances to explain their perspective, because maybe attempt number 527 is where the magic happens.
Confidential Chess Files explore the strange ways chess and life mirror each other. Read them critically and borrow whatever proves useful.
What happens when the highest authority finally steps onto the same ground as everyone else? It’s time to find out and give the king a personality and a “case file.” Let’s jump on a reading ride.
Table of Contents
Prologue
I know I’m not where I should be. I go missing every now and then. You may say that it is my nature and a sign of imperfect design. But don’t be fooled. Nothing is so one-sided.
I find myself trembling when the overwhelming sounds corner me with the truth. You and I are not the same. Human craftsmanship isn't exactly flawless. Try deepening the story by asking why, and you will find nothing but questions and doubts. They judge us differently because we carry different consequences. Have you ever thought about that?
Everyone hates my crown. The fear that comes from its significance is mutual. Dread is highest when you are at the top. It is a looping paradox, though not the only one.
I carry the highest importance on the board, yet spend most of the game watching others move in my name. The crown creates significance that exceeds the individual wearing it. Strange, isn't it? The piece everything depends on is the one doing the least.
I did fight hard to climb high, but I can’t say it is so good to be above everyone. The view is amazing in the beginning, but when I look left and right, I see no one. Height creates perspective and distance alike.
It’s okay to criticize authority. Fine, I'll give in to another repetitive story. We seem to enjoy naming problems more than solving them. Now put the crown on. Let’s switch from judging to carrying it.
Soon enough, you will realize it is heavy once it becomes your responsibility. You may also discover that hypocrisy is not reserved for kings. Many are quick to complain about leadership while exercising smaller versions of it themselves.
I am not really planning to lay defensive cards here. Sorry, but I don't think the crown needs a lawyer. Still, every story deserves a second voice before we pass the final judgment.
Ideas and big words have carried this conversation far enough.
It‘s time to gather my army and return to the white side of the board. Let it speak instead of us.
Exposure
Today is the day. The air is about right, and I am ready for a challenge. How much I will participate in today’s match depends on our army’s strategy. We were discussing different opening choices, but I felt a true sense of discomfort once I realized they were all talking about protecting me early on. Sure, I’d love to live one day longer, who doesn't? But I am done watching from a protected distance.
Enough separation. Today, let’s share the same risk as everyone else.
The King's Gambit is on the board. Sometimes we are full of surprises, and my early exposure signals that I can no longer pretend this conflict is abstract. Our army sacrifices the f-pawn on move two to gain rapid mobilization and a long-term initiative.
Now it is my opponent's turn to accept or reject such an enticing offer and step into a game with no rules.
Here I come! If you say you are not surprised to see me step forward on move seven, you are lying. Though I can't blame you. It is an unusual turn of events. Our knights are powerful in the center, but Black is just about to develop their pieces and increase the activity.
With both kings in the center, speed gains in importance, and the question becomes who will be the first to pose concrete threats.
If we were to take the poisonous pawn on f3, my army would suffer a serious material loss. On the other hand, it feels unreal to reach the third rank so early in the game. I would usually focus on safety in the opening and middlegame, which is why I can already sense danger approaching.
Don't hate me for being honest, but fear is something I usually push aside, as there are always enough forces around me to carry the burden until my time comes.
There is also invisible tension in Black's camp. Their army sprang forward with pawns and an early queen check, which left the pawn on c7 unguarded. Should Black protect it and then go chasing after me, or continue the attack?
It's a decision that can affect the rest of the game, and we know such moments can weigh even more heavily than a crown.
March
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When conflict starts, your movement begins to define you. Watcher, coward, delegator, fighter, hero, and the rest. How you see yourself is what creates momentum. You start marching in that direction.
If that direction is hiding, you burrow deep into the ground. Not much light there, but still a choice we all make when we feel smaller than the square we stand on. March and fear go hand in hand. Whichever way you choose, it is still movement, and in that very moment, it creates your identity.
Is it possible to redirect or live in a role other than the one you hopelessly tied yourself to? Of course it is. The coward becomes the hero and vice versa, given enough time, challenges, and responsibilities. Our roles constantly switch from pawn to king and back again depending on the circumstances. Or fresh air. You know the drill.
So what does all this clever little reasoning make of me now? I can’t wait to find out.
And after this check, the Black king will also have to step forward. While the tides have turned and my army has gained momentum by quickly mobilizing the remaining forces, I have to admit that my march now feels less special. The Black king is also going for an early walk, and the attention is on both sides.
Yes, I know the world doesn't revolve around me, but this air acts like a truth serum, so I finally need to speak my mind.
On a positive note, our first rank looks more promising than Black's eighth rank, which is still full of undeveloped pieces. Our bishop and knight stand in contrast to the advanced Black pawns and signal that we are ahead in time.
Please don’t stop me now. I realize I may sound cheesy and out of touch, as I am not usually exposed to what the front line faces in every match. Still, equal contribution makes me feel really good. Look, it’s not like my role is just to delegate the conflict. I am always an active participant, but my duties usually revolve less around direct combat and more around game strategy.
I can even run back all the way to the b2-square if need be, but I hope I can stay in the center. Our army is fully in tune and ready to fight and defend, while the Black pieces are somewhat out of the game, detached on the h-file.
The checks are no longer scary, as my army fully blocks every danger from the other side. With our pieces centralized and Black’s disorganized and slow to maneuver, even simplifications work in our favour. The king’s activity decides the endgame.
When time and space collapse into a single point, everything happens at once, confessions and results alike.
Catharsis
What happens when all the movement finally folds in on itself and compresses? The answer is catharsis. Release after pressure. The board forces the truth into the open.
We witnessed shared ground, where all the pieces carried risk and consequence. I don’t think we were ever in an anti-king climate. It was more of an anti-insulated-power gist. Or at least that is what I hear when my army talks in bits and codes.
They are right. You cannot unload choices onto others when they were never allowed to make them. Especially not the choices you are avoiding yourself. That is how we settle for temporary peace while the burden remains uneven.
Neat arrangement, provided that you are not the one holding it together. At some point, you realize that even protected squares stop protecting you. The crown runs out of cover.
Now we are transforming one advantage into another through a series of forced trades until we are left with only a few pieces on the board. If I am to be completely honest, this game didn’t really lead to the destruction of the other side. Rather, it was direct confrontation on shared ground that caught everyone off guard. Well, that’s a different kind of power.
Black’s king didn’t reach far, as their strategy revolved around excessive protection amid unsafe tides.
We are trying to force a queen trade to transition into a winning pawn endgame with two extra pawns. Black will not be able to resist much longer, as there are not many checks left to fight back.
And here my march ends with a winning fanfare. I came a long way from the e1-square, but every step forward was a move in the right direction.
The King’s Gambit carries a name that I am only now realizing is deeply fitting. If you want to change the course of things, you have to take risks and step into the structure while you can still influence it.
To understand the new paths we may yet embark on, we must first return and study the road that led us here.
Conclusion
Confidential Chess Files come to an end with the king telling his story and a pretty nice King’s Gambit march. Now I also feel cathartic enough to release all the pieces. Travel well. I will leave you in peace now.
Across these files, black and white were never only board colors. They kept pointing toward inequality and the strange ways the world functions in whatever field we choose to play.
As usual, we will share conclusions and connect chess back to life. As I gave each piece a voice, I was also rediscovering and shaping my own outlook, while noticing common biases and prejudices I carry, too. The biggest gap I had, as mentioned, was with the king. Though I painted him as brave and charming, I think I’ll still pass and wait for attempt 528 to change my mind. Meh.
This series shows that, in essence, no piece is more significant than another. They function as a structure, which is why imposed hierarchies break the code of life’s natural state. As the cover image suggests, the person remains, while the imposed status slips away. Or at least that’s how it should be.
We need to learn to separate human worth from imposed elevation. The problem isn’t that someone wears the crown. The problem starts when the crown separates them from the consequences of their decisions. Bears need protection, crowns need supervision.
I am also more of a person who thinks that if you have an issue with someone, you should go and talk directly to them. Don’t send an army to negotiate in your name. King vs. king alone could solve all the problems of this world.
And like my dearest friend of absurdity, Franz Kafka, once wrote in his diary on August 2, 1914: “Germany has declared war on Russia. Went swimming in the afternoon.” Truly absurd, but here we are in the summer season, booking our flights and making sure to avoid dangerous zones so we can at least have some fun.
On the other hand, Miss Universe contestants always knew the truth, but got trashed when they gave those epic endings about what they wished to see in the world. The right answer was always peace. Cheers to Miss Universe wisdom.
The problem is that not everyone gets the same opening position. We all like to believe we would never do certain things because we are so lovely and precious. But place us in another life, in harsher conditions, with fewer choices on the table, and suddenly our noble statements start shaking. Environments shape us early on, so let’s keep the halo a little lower when we claim we are naturally better than others. Some people were simply never given the same board.
Since we like to rate everything to prove “human accuracy,” I will give my perceived value to each piece and compare it with the traditional relative piece value. The king carries a priceless tag, but I will write 10, just so we have it standardized in our chess files. Traditional piece value was based on perceived importance, but that was Middle Ages nostalgia. Now we are galaxies in the future and have to do better.
My view is, no wonder, quite different. 10/10 goes to the pawn, because without pawns, none of us would get anywhere, and we know that. The queen keeps her 9-point class, as she is truly one of a kind, while you may wonder why I put the knight above the rook and bishop. It is because I came to appreciate inventiveness and unconventional thinking, which I believe are necessary for every kind of growth, so the knight’s unparalleled movements and forks deserve more praise than usual. I love bishops and rooks as well, and in a kinder scoring system, I would give everyone the same number of virtual points. But this is Confidential Chess Files, so the king deserves to rest on 1 point.
As chess in its current form keeps being dragged toward engine certainty, there is no need for unnecessary hierarchy. I suggest that we don’t separate pieces by imposed importance, but bring in new rules, like the game ending when one side eats all the opposing pieces or when all of them end up on the last rank. There are so many cool options, also more environmentally friendly.
And come on, black and white? Can we finally move away from this narrow binary scope? To start the revolution properly, let’s give Black some time to play the first move for a while. They deserve it. I’ll cheer from a distance.
I think that is all I wanted to share before I go swimming while the world is on fire. That sums it up.
One last important question remains: which piece are you in the grander game of life?
Before I officially end this diary of mine, I would like to thank the amazing Andrew, who devoted an entire article to interviewing me. I cannot confirm whether that was fun for him, but he definitely made it special. Thank you for introducing me as a rockstar master, a title I will now place on my imaginary business card. Cheers to Andrew, as well!
