Chess Like Life

Life is truly like a game of chess. You cannot waste moves or you suffer the consequences. You must move forward. Along the way, you lose pieces but you also gain advantages when you play well.

I agree. In the end, you are left with what you need. You. And, hopefully, you find what you really need: the Master.

Brilliant Wesley

I'm happy for super GM Wesley So, a fellow Filipino, for winning the recent Millionaire Chess Cup. I hope he'll become world champion some day.

Like Wesley, we all compete in a championship and one day we'll receive a trophy and prize for how we've performed. It's called life. The prize is eternal life awarded by the King of kings Himself!

Now that will indeed be a great celebratory prize giving!

"I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14)

Turning Point

In chess, there is often a turning point. Maybe a player has made a bold, aggressive move. Maybe he has made a blunder and given away a piece cheaply. Or, he lost initiative, a precious tempo of the game.

Spiritually and mentally, to turn towards God and turn away from sin in our lives is an essential turning point. It's the beginning of the renewing of our mind that leads to eternal life. We realize our need for God and respond to His great love.

With this turning point, we're then able to live our lives with purpose. Every move we make, every plan we undertake, has clear meaning and direction. No more shame. No more tears or pain unprocessed. No more grief un-comforted. No more fear of death. It's an everlasting checkmate!

Indeed, you can play countless games of chess in your earthly life. But you live only one life. Make sure you make the right move ... the right turning point.

The Psychology Of The Chess Player

Dr. Reuben Fine was a chess grandmaster, world champion contender, and clinical psychologist. He wrote books and articles on the interconnection between chess and psychology. Here below is an excerpt of his writing on the Psychology Of The Chess Player (1958).

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Chess is a contest between two men in which there is considerable ego-involvement. In some way it certainly touches upon the conflicts surrounding aggression, homosexuality, masturbation and narcissism which become particularly prominent in the anal-phallic phases of development. From the standpoint of id psychology, Jones' observations can therefore be confirmed, even enlarged upon. Genetically, chess is more often than not taught to the boy by his father, or a father-substitute, and thus becomes a means of working out the son-father rivalry.
The symbolism of chess lends itself to this rivalry in a most unusual way. Central to it is the figure of the King. [In chess literature it is customary to capitalize the names of the pieces, and I shall adhere to this practice.] The King occupies a crucial role in the game in all respects. It is the piece which gives the game its name; for, chess is derived from the Persian shah meaning King, and is more or less the same in all languages. In fact, the three universal words in chess are chess, check, and King, all of which derive from shah. All other pieces have varying designations in different languages. Thus, Queen in Russian is Fyerz, which has nothing to do with woman; Bishop is Fou or jester in French, Laufer or runner in German.
Except for the King chess is a simple logical construction on the board. There is one piece which moves along diagonals (the Bishop), one which moves along ranks and files (the Rook), one piece which moves only forward (the Pawn), and when it can no longer move forward turns into another piece which allows it mobility (promotion), one piece which moves any number of squares in any straight-line direction (the Queen), one piece which moves one square in any direction (the King), and a piece which combines the vertical-diagonal movement L-with the power to jump over other pieces (the Knight). It would be possible to devise new pieces, or to divide their powers, and this has been done from time to time; for example, a piece combining the movement of Knight and Queen has been suggested. Or one could have two kinds of Rooks, similar to the two kinds of Bishops, one that moves along ranks, and another that moves along files. All of these alterations would be direct extensions of the rules we now have; they would not alter the basic character of the game.
Board games essentially consist of placing the pieces on a board in such a way that one can capture the enemy's men, as in checkers, or get one's men to a predetermined position, as in chinese checkers. Once this is accomplished the game is won. Here the unique feature of chess comes in: the goal is to checkmate the King. A completely new set of rules is drawn up, governing the manner in which this checkmate may or may not be effected, and these rules are the ones that give chess its distinctive cast. Of course, the capture of the enemy's men is still there, but unlike other games one can capture almost all the enemy's men and still lose.
The King is thus indispensable and all-important. It is also irreplaceable. Theoretically it is possible to have nine Queens, ten Rooks, ten Knights or ten Bishops, as a result of Pawn promotion, but only one King.
All these qualities of indispensability, all-importance and irreplaceability make one think of the supreme rulers of the Orient. Here, however, enters a vital difference: the King as a piece is weak. Its powers are greatly limited. Approximate equivalents can be set up for the other pieces; for example, three Pawns are worth a piece, two pieces are worth a Rook and a Pawn, etc. Because of the nature of the King it has no real equivalents. Roughly, however, the King is a little stronger than a Pawn, but not as strong as any of the pieces. As a result the King must hide (castling) during most of the game. He can sally forth only when many exchanges have take place, particularly when the Queens are gone. Despite the fact that he is all-important, the other pieces have to protect him not he the others.
As far as I have been able to ascertain, [endnote] no other board game has a piece which so radically alters its entire nature. In checkers, for example, the King is simply an extension of the powers of the men, and can be captured just like the others. It is the King which makes chess literally unique.
Consequently, the King becomes the central figure in the symbolism of the game. To recapitulate briefly: the King is indispensable, all-important, irreplaceable, yet weak and requiring protection. These qualities lead to the over-determination of its symbolic meaning. First of all, it stands for the boy's penis in the phallic stage, and hence re-arouses the castration anxiety characteristic of that period. Second, it describes certain essential characteristics of a self-image, and hence would appeal to those men who have a picture of themselves as indispensable, all-important and irreplaceable. In this way it affords an additional opportunity for the player to work out conflicts centering around narcissism. Third, it is the father pulled down to the boy's size. Unconsciously it gives the boy a chance to say to the father: To the outside world you maybe big and strong, but when we get right down to it you're just as weak as I am and you need protection just as much as I do.
Games inherently involve a leveling-off process; on the track, on the baseball diamond, on the chessboard all men are equal. In chess, however, there is an additional factor which differentiates it from other games: there is a piece which is different in value from all the others and around which the game revolves. The existence of the King allows an identification process which goes far beyond that permitted in other games. [Dr. Theodor Reik has pointed out that the rules surrounding the chess King are strikingly similar to many of the special taboos surrounding primitive chieftains. See section (b) The Taboo of Rulers in Part II of S. Freud, Totem and Taboo.] In this way chess allows for a strong assertion of game individuality.
Rook, Bishop, Knight and Pawn also frequently symbolize the penis. In addition they may have other meanings. To one player the Bishop was libidinized as a superego figure-the name was taken literally. The Knight may symbolize a horse, which it is also sometimes called.
The Pawns symbolize children, particularly little boys. They can grow up (promote) when they reach the eighth rank, but it is again significant that they may not become "King." Symbolically, this restriction on Pawn promotion means that the destructive aspect of the rivalry with the father is emphasized, while the constructive side, which would allow the boy to become like the father, is discouraged. We would, therefore, anticipate on the one hand a very critical attitude towards authority in the chess player, and on the other an inability or unwillingness to follow in the same direction as his father [It has been my observation that very few chess experts have sons who are also strong chess players; unconsciously the father does not permit the identification to take place.] The contrast between the mighty King and the lowly Pawn again comes to symbolize the ambivalence inherent in the chess player's self-image, an ambivalence which is also apparent in the figure of the King himself.
The Queen will, as might be expected, stand for the woman, or the mother-figure. It was not until the introduction of chess into Europe in the thirteenth century that the Queen became the powerful figure she is today. This is evidently a direct reflection of the differing attitudes towards women in east and west. Jones comments that psychoanalysts will not be surprised to learn that in the attack on the King (father), the most powerful support is provided by the Queen.
Put together, the chess board as a whole may readily symbolize the family situation. This would explain the fascination of the game. Lost in thought, the player can work out in fantasy what he has never been able to do in reality.
If we turn now to the ego of the chess player, we note to begin with that he uses primarily intellectual defenses. In chess, thought replaces action. As contrasted with other sports such as boxing, there is no physical contact whatsoever. There is not even the intermediate form of contact found in tennis or handball, in which both men hit the same object. The chess player is permitted to touch his opponent's pieces only for purposes of a capture, when, according to the rules, the piece must be removed from the board.
As the players become more expert, the taboo on touching becomes even stronger. In master chess the rule of "touchmove" is observed. If a player touches a piece he must move it. If he touches it by accident he must say "j'adoube", which means "I adjust" in French. Those who play by the rules are required to say this in French.
In one form of the game, known as correspondence chess, the distance between the two men is carried even further, in that the opponents never see one another. Tle entire game is played by mail. Here it is permissible to touch the pieces, but of course the players never meet.
In view of the profuse phallic symbolism of the game, the taboo on touching has unconsciously two meanings, or, put another way, the ego wards off two threats. One is masturbation (do not touch your penis; do not touch your pieces, and if you do, have an excuse ready). The other threat is homosexuality, or bodily contact between the two men, especially mutual masturbation.

En Passant

As human beings, we are all aware of the fragility of life. Time is limited. We are all just passing by.

In chess tournaments, players often play using a clock. The clock is set for the allotted time allowed for each player to make his moves. When it gets to the last 5 minutes of the game, the flag of the clock starts to rise until it falls to signal the end of the game.

70 years of age is equivalent to 25, 568 days or 613, 620 hours or 36, 817, 920 minutes! If you know that that's going to be the length of your time on planet earth, how then should you spend it?  Even if you live beyond 70, life is still short.

The thought challenges us to see the reality of our mortality. The challenge is to number our days, hours, or minutes well, that we may live with lasting purpose and wholeness. It also warns us of ignoring the eternal dimension of life because one day we shall die.

The Psalmist says, "The length of our days is 70 years or 80, if we have the strength; for they quickly pass and we fly away. Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."  (Psalm 90: 10-12)

Atty. Sammy Estimo On Philippine Chess

 My chess for life mission partner, Atty. Sammy Estimo, writes for the Philippine Daily Inquirer on the state of Philippine chess, GM Wesley So, and the recent 2014 World Chess Olympiad in Norway.

Here's the full article below:

Even before the Philippine team left for the Tromso Chess Olympiad in late July, it was already saddled with many problems.
Grandmaster Wesley So (World No. 12) castled into the camp of the United States Chess Federation and GM Oliver Barbosa could not get a visa as he was just a tourist in the US.

Without them, the PH team was  doomed, and only the old hand, GM Eugene Torre, was there to save face for the squad. In fact, without Torre’s heroics, we could have tumbled down to, at best, No. 70 in the final standings.

At 46th place for men and 64th spot for  women, the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) under Prospero “Butch” Pichay has hit rock bottom.

The NCFP—founded by the late Fide head Florencio Campomanes, Torre and myself in 2000—is sick, but hopefully not beyond recovery.

NCFP officials who went to Norway pursued separate agendas before the Fide general assembly. Pichay supported former world champ Garry Kasparov for Fide president while secretary general and Cavite Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino campaigned for Fide head Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. Pichay also ran for Asian chess president while Tolentino sought the Fide secretary general post. (Tolentino won; Pichay lost.)

Wesley had long been ruing the harsh treatment given him by the NCFP. When he won the Universiade chess gold medal two years ago,  the NCFP did not even give him a token recognition. The event was very prestigious, and winning it over the best student-players worldwide was a rare feat.
The NCFP also failed to give him badly needed funds when he played in the World Cup some years ago. So’s parents were so disgusted they later migrated to Canada.

The same problem bugs the few GMs left in the country. They lament the loss of tournaments where they earn a living under Pichay’s watch. GMs Barbosa, Nelson Mariano, Bong Villamayor, Joseph Sanchez, Roger Barcenilla, Rico Sevillano, et al, had all gone abroad because “there’s no more chess” here. Almost all the noted International Masters had also abandoned the politician Pichay’s NCFP.

The Philippine Sports Commission  has disowned, on record, the alibi of Pichay during his meeting with So and his coaches in Tromso  that the agency won’t support chess anymore with So gone. PSC chair Ritchie Garcia even wished  So well in his campaign for the world chess title. Garcia said chess gets a P15-million annual assistance and that the PSC also gave the team, including the two NCFP officials who joined Pichay, P1.9 million for its trip to Norway.

The PSC should rethink its stand toward chess under its present leadership. After all, chess will not be played in the Asian Games next month and in the SEA Games next year in Singapore. The NCFP should also be made to account for all the funds it received from the PSC.

The sports agency should set aside funds instead for the establishment of a chess school to nurture potential champions like the 8-year-old  Alekhine Nouri, who has also gone to a chess school in California.

But this chess school must not be left in the hands of inept politicians. Our GMs and IMs can then busy themselves teaching and earning a living or even training here, instead of going  abroad. This is what Chinese chess officials did after Campomanes revived chess in China in 1975 by sending our top players for team  matches.

Now, the Chinese are world champions, and we, their former mentors, are not even worthy to be their masseurs!

(Samuel Estimo is a practicing lawyer, National Master, many-time Olympian and former Philippine chess team captain.)

Source: http://sports.inquirer.net/161558/ph-chess-hits-rock-bottom-in-olympiad#ixzz3AbYLjSvJ

Who Is Your Favorite World Chess Champion?

 

Every one of these world champions is special. But for me, it's no. 11, Bobby Fischer! He is one of the huge reasons why psychological and spiritual health must go and penetrate into the chess world. 

Chess for Life

Chess gathers all the nations of the world under one roof. Wouldn't that be a huge opportunity for innovative life-giving Kingdom work?

My favorite world chess champion, Bobby Fischer, whose personal history and psychological/emotional/spiritual well being would had been different if there was significant Christian presence around him during his lifetime.

Filipino GM Eugene Torre was one of the few people who was extremely close to former world chess champion, Bobby Fischer. Above in the photos, he was in Iceland visiting Bobby Fischer's grave with Bobby's daughter and her mother, along with NM Sammy Estimo working with Iceland lawyers.

August 3, 2014 - Chess Mission Meeting with Atty. Sammy Estimo, national chess master, World Olympiad player and captain of the Phil Team, lawyer/friend of GM Eugene Torre, and long-time Philippine chess leader ... to reach Filipino grandmasters, masters, and chessplayers all over the Philippines for Christ. The LIGHT shining upon Philippine chess and beyond!

The Self Of Two Colors

Chess depicts our self as having two colors.

We all have a kind of internal chessboard. It constructs self and life as having two sides. Two pictures.

In the chessboard, we use two colors. The subsequent two sides of the chessboard are the white and black pieces. They symbolize the "good" and "evil" sides of our self. That's true of the world too.

Usually, in our life, we may be more easily influenced by one side, giving more power to "good" or "evil." Often, one attacks and the other defends. With this, there can be two kinds of people in the world.

Self - two narratives. As a man thinks, so is he.

"For the good that I will to do, I do not do. But the evil I will not to do, that I practice."  (Romans 7:19)

Is Life A Game Of Chess?

There are many similarities; we live on the earth with its boundaries, borders & parameters. Like a chessboard the daily news broadcasts bombard us with incidents that are often very black & white. Each day we face daily challenges, obstacles, tests & trials & often have to work through them by action & deed. 

The chess player will use his brain to work things out, using logic & strategy, & will make decisions to advance his pieces in such a way as to gain position. In the same way we have to make decisions on a daily basis, big & small ones as we journey through our lives. Sometimes we get counsel & advice from others more experienced than ourselves to help us make our minds up when we cannot decide.

Supposing there was a key issue, a key question to consider. For many people they would say the most important decision to make in their life. Ultimately it is your decision to make, no one can make it for you. Like all decisions you should weigh up the situation, look at the whole chessboard, before making your move. 

Talking to other people would be an important part of the search for the right decision, reading up on the matter, researching on line, listening to all the schools of thought on the subject & then ultimately making your personal decision. You see, to make no decision is not good, it is effectively a dangerous game to play, & it is like allowing your clock to run down in the game of life. A chess player can be winning the game but lose on the clock. If his clock flag falls he loses the game, so to not make a decision allows seconds of your clock to go. Those seconds soon accumulate to hours, days, weeks, months & even years, before long decades could go by & suddenly life’s end faces you! 

Many people make the decision before the age of 20 years, whilst some make the decision on their deathbed leaving it rather close to the end game! So the important decision, the decision of life, what is it? The bible, the world’s most influential book explains it clearly: ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ – John chapter 3 verse 16. 

God gave His Son, Jesus to be the one who would come & ultimately die on the cross for all who have sinned & done wrong before a holy God. Sometimes a chess player will sacrifice a piece to gain advantage, to open the way & ultimately win the game. God was prepared to do that too, it cost the life of His Son, Jesus. God had a plan of redemption for all those who would believe in Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. He had a plan to raise His Son from death after 3 days. Jesus overcame death, darkness, disease, & sin for you & I, a unique death that was acceptable to God the Father for all mankind. 

Any therefore accepting this sacrifice for them & believing & confessing Christ Jesus, as their Lord & Saviour would be given new life in Christ by the work of God’s Spirit within. The bible says that our sins would be forgiven & we would be filled with the Holy Spirit, a down payment & a deposit of what is to come.

The bible says that Jesus is the King of all kings, Lord of all lords & one day all will bow the knee before Him. We can get to know Him by inviting Him into our lives by His Spirit, making Him Lord, allowing Him to sit on the throne in our lives.

(This article was written by my chess mission partner, Kevin Moore, from United Kingdom)

The Problem of Paul Morphy: A Contribution to the Psychology of Chess

Paul Morphy is one of the world's greatest chess grandmasters and world champions in chess history. His life appears to be a demonstration of a strange connection between genius and psychopathology.

Before the British Psychoanalytic Society in November 1930, Dr. Ernest Jones presented "The Problem of Paul Morphy: A Contribution to the Psychology of Chess."  He put it this way, analyzing Morphy's mind and extending it to the rest of chess players:  "the unconscious motive actuating the players is not mere love of pugnacity characteristic of all competitive games, but the grimmer one of father-murder." In Freudian psychoanalytical framework, the appeal of chess then lies in its capacity to gratify hostile "Oedipal impulses." To win over an opponent and checkmate the King is to render the "king" father sterile and incapacitated, aided by the mother (the Queen).

Noting Morphy's phenomenal performances in world chess happened just a year after the shock of his father's sudden death, Dr. Jones surmised that Morphy's "brilliant effort of sublimation was, like Shakespeare's Hamlet and Freud's Traumdeutung, a reaction to this critical event." Morphy's chess genius, continued Dr. Jones, reflected his capacity for sublimation of parricidal and homosexual impulses, all of which served a defensive function for him.

When a fellow world contender, Staunton, persistently refused Morphy's challenge to fight on the chess board, his sublimation broke down. His psychological defense failed. And Morphy could no longer use his chess ability to medicate his overwhelming id impulses and inner wounds. Stripped bare and deprived, Morphy collapsed and became mentally ill.

Psychology and Chess Performance

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), one of modern psychology's most scientifically proven clinical therapies, is used to improve chess players' performance.

In a 2009 study done in the University of Almeria in Spain, a brief ACT protocol was applied to international-level adult chess players and it was proven effective.

Another study with an equivalent ACT protocol was also applied to a group of young players. Results showed that 5 out of 7 participants that underwent ACT had statistically improved chess performance.

Sports psychology is a growing trend nowadays. In the case of chess, the use of therapy approaches such as modern psychology's scientifically proven ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy) are evidence of the value of psychological preparations in sports.

"The Chess Player" Painting with J.Oswald Sanders and Paul Morphy

Christian pastor and author, J. Oswald Sanders, reports that years ago, Paul Morphy was the world’s champion chess player when he was invited by a friend to look at a valuable painting titled, “The Chess Player.” 

In the painting, Satan was represented as playing chess with a young man, the stake being the young man’s soul. The game had reached the stage where it was the young man’s move; but he was checkmated. There was no move he could make which would not mean defeat for him and so the strong feature of the picture was the look of utter despair on the young man’s face as he realized that his soul was lost.

Morphy, who knew more about chess than the artist, studied the picture for a time, then called for a chessboard and pieces. Placing them in exactly the same position as they were in the painting, he said, “I’ll take the young man’s place and make the move.” Then he made the move which would have set the young man free.

(Source unknown)

Chess and Life

This week, I played some brilliant sacrificial games with chess players from Serbia, Russia, and the U.S.A. 

It's possible to learn about life and share with others in the game of black and white, in the game of light versus darkness.

Would you like to play chess and learn about life at the same time?

I'd be glad to meet you, online and/or onsite, to play chess with you!

Feel free to drop me a note at www.drsubida.com.

Chess and Psychotherapy

Chess therapy is now used by numerous psychiatrists and psychotherapists. It has become a popular creative psychotherapy technique in the past 20 years. This therapy has been known to produce positive results with children who have ADHD, and neurobehavioral disorders.

Chess therapy is a form used to form bonds between the psychiatrist and his/her clients. It is an alternate diagnosis for neurobehavioral and mental issues that a client may suffer from. Chess therapy helps in cultivating an intentional rapport and connection between the psychotherapist and his patient to help him through any psychological or emotional problems that he may be facing. Unlike other forms of therapy, chess therapy does not require the patient to lie down on a couch and pour his heart out to his therapist. Chess therapy involves active participation from both parties―the client as well as the therapist―to engage in a game of chess.

Chess therapy was founded as early as AD 852-932 by a certain Dr. Rhazes who was chief physician at Baghdad Hospital. Dr. Rhazes uses chess strategies and tactics as metaphors in real life to help patients think clearer.

Wikepedia reported, "One of the earliest reported cases of chess therapy involves the improvement in an isolated, schizoid, 16-year old youth that took place after he became interested in chess. Chess provided an outlet for his hostile impulses in a non-retaliatory manner. Good use was made of the patient's digressions from the game and his newly acquired ability to speak about his feelings, fantasies and dreams which the particular emotional situation of the game touched off. The report demonstrates how the fact that chess is a game, and not real, enabled the patient to exert some conscious control over his feelings and thus learn to master them to a limited extent."

Findings showed that chess as psychotherapy can lead to better doctor-patient relationships, confirmatory or alternate diagnosis, and total recovery/healing.

Manny's Therapy

My fellow Filipino, Manny Pacquaio, world boxing champion, is a sportsman who uses chess as therapy. He plays well even in this game, besting some of our best players around. Appreciative of the game, he supported international and national chess tournaments in our country.

The other day, I was talking to one of his aides in Congress (he's also a congressman!) inside a television studio. He said Manny was even able to beat a grandmaster during a tournament in his Forbes home! Before crucial boxing matches, I was told he'd play chess in the dugouts behind the ring.

The best thing about chess therapy is that it's for all. No one really need to suffer from any significant mental or emotional problems to enjoy the benefits of it. A game of chess can be played even at home, to completely relax and energize yourself. It improves your concentration, but also strengthen the bond you share with people around you.