If you sell your soul to become a better chess player you will probably end up like Bobby Fischer, the best chess player ever and an Anti-Semetic lunatic
If I sell my soul to the devil will I become the best Chess player in the world?
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tarikhk wrote:
eXecute wrote:
I've always wondered where the "Sold your soul to the devil" expression comes from.
When the first person that said this came out, did they not ask "Why would the devil need souls? Unless... He's raising an army to fight God...Which means that hell must be a great place because the devil needs to make his soul-army strong and fit to fight God right? But that means God isn't all-mighty if he has to fight the devil. If he is almighty, why have a devil? If the devil isn't fighting God and punishing the evildoers in hell, then why all the stories about the devil's evil?"
Interesting philosophical and religious question indeed. Perhaps because the devil and hell don't exist...
It was invented at around the same time as blues guitar. Faust was actually written in the 1938.
or.... The phrase, and idea, is an allegory of choosing to live a sinful life in the Judaeo-Christian sense. It was probably used in everyday talk to mean this, before being literalised in fiction, e.g. ;
Goethe's Faust was written in the early 1800s, and before that there was Cristopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus (1604) which has a similar idea. The concepts used are taken from Christianity of course, but they are not specifically or exclusively Christian.
Edit: To my knowledge, the idea of selling the soul to the devil does not explicitly appear in the Bible. Wiki claims that: "Faust or Faustus (Latin for "auspicious" or "lucky", but also German for "fist") is the protagonist of a classic German legend"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faust
No. It is well known that Capablanca beat the devil (at least according to a well-known short story), and if Capa could do it, Kasparov, Karpov, and others of our living greats would have a shot at it too. And don't forget Steinitz, who challenged God at odds of pawn and move. Evidently he regarded the devil as an opponent beneath challenging; he looked higher.
Apr 7, 2010
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#45
Perhaps when Topalov is past his prime, because the devil seems quite happy with him for the present.
Apr 7, 2010
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#46
Eo____, don't panic I support you. One way or another your posts are always among todays hot topics, and all these people calling you a troll: what a hell of hypocrites. I laugh a lot with these ;)
Pa________,
Apr 7, 2010
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#48
Ricardo_Morro wrote:
No. It is well known that Capablanca beat the devil (at least according to a well-known short story), and if Capa could do it, Kasparov, Karpov, and others of our living greats would have a shot at it too. And don't forget Steinitz, who challenged God at odds of pawn and move. Evidently he regarded the devil as an opponent beneath challenging; he looked higher.
Karpov plays the Caro-Kann. Perhaps he is the devil.
Apr 8, 2010
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#49
I already sold it and he's totally not keeping his end of the bargain.
Apr 8, 2010
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#50
AfafBouardi wrote:
I already sold it and he's totally not keeping his end of the bargain.
Maybe you got scammed and sold it to someone who wasn't really the devil. In which case, you got paid and you still have your soul left to sell again! 
--Cystem
You haven't told us what the Devil's rating is...or what openings he plays. I smell a swindle (and something burning.)
Back on topic...
The Devil went down to the eighth rank, looking for a pawn to promote.
Ask yourself: Are you that pawn?
Hi guys,
The simple answer to this question is 'YES'. If you sell your soul to the devil you can become the best Chess player in the world. But, ... but ... BUT, ... you will probably regret it later.
Watch your back rank.
Apr 8, 2010
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#55
Reb wrote:
The devil went down to Georgia, looking for a soul to steal.....
Goethe translated into the American idiom!
Clearly off the mark, Ziryab. Sure maybe a variation of a theme, but in the Faustian leitmotif, it was a bargain, an exchange. In the American pop-song, ther was a wager, a gamble... and even the title suggested downright thievery.
Still an interesting study in cultural cross-pollination of archetypes.
The song is interesting because it turns the proposition on its head somewhat. Rather than the typical exchange of a soul for something not possessed -- typically a skill or good fortune, the protagonist wagers his soul based on his confidence in the skill he does possess.
Plus it's catchy as hell if you'll pardon the pun.
Do you think you can sell your soul to get someone to shut up?
theoreticalboy wrote:
Do you think you can sell your soul to get someone to shut up?
No, I already tried that.
I've always wondered where the "Sold your soul to the devil" expression comes from.
When the first person that said this came out, did they not ask "Why would the devil need souls? Unless... He's raising an army to fight God...Which means that hell must be a great place because the devil needs to make his soul-army strong and fit to fight God right? But that means God isn't all-mighty if he has to fight the devil. If he is almighty, why have a devil? If the devil isn't fighting God and punishing the evildoers in hell, then why all the stories about the devil's evil?"
Interesting philosophical and religious question indeed. Perhaps because the devil and hell don't exist...
It was invented at around the same time as blues guitar. Faust was actually written in the 1938.
or.... The phrase, and idea, is an allegory of choosing to live a sinful life in the Judaeo-Christian sense. It was probably used in everyday talk to mean this, before being literalised in fiction, e.g. ;
PRIEST IN PULPIT: Josef Fritzel sold his soul to the devil when he...
or
PRIEST IN PULPIT: Josef Fritzel made a pact with the devil when he...
of course I'm guessing.