In the film The Young Victoria, Victoria asks the question:
“Do you ever feel like a chess piece yourself? In a game being played against your will?”
Do you feel like that, like you are a pawn in some larger game played out despite your efforts to do something different?
And on a lighter note, if you had to be a chess piece which would you be and why?
.
I haven’t seen the film yet – so obviously I’d better go and see it ..that’s a nice snippet .. & yes I do feel like I’m pulled around .. pillar to post – it’s a terrible feeling .. I’ve learnt to get off – I have to & we all need to learn to for our own healthy state of mind .. we can’t be ruled by others .. we need to do things for ourselves .. as Albert said .. ‘get someone to play it with you’. I’d have to be the Queen .. with the most moves and be able to keep ahead of the others …
Great snippet!!! Even though it may seem like I could easily feel like a chess piece, I don’t. When I react to situations, I do. However, when I respond to situations, I feel like I call the shots. Subtle difference, but important. It is a matter of what life brings to you and how you handle it. However, I could use a little less of situations being before me this year.
CC
And what chess piece would you be CC ?
I really don’t like chess, but I’ve always liked the Rook.
Not so powerful and sought after, but can be the silent winner!!! It can take you by surprise.
Straight talking seems to me! Don’t wobble on your road to recovery .. & make sure you don’t slip on the next splash of rain!
Queen v Rook & pawns .. ?? I think you’d win …
Well let’s see, I’ll be the pawn. Pawn to B3.
Your move Hilary.
( CC you’re on my team as the Rook.)
Thanks…glad to be on board…pun not intended, but funny. Well, I thought so.
Very good – on form today I see!
Hi Mike .. I can hardly play .. enough for a child!! .. & much as I’d like to .. I need to write some letters for my mother .. as I’m her Emanuensis (her word!) ?? any idea???? bye … see you later ..
See you later, perhaps come out to play later then!
Mike,
This is scary.
Uncanny timing – only last night I played chess for the first time in 4 years – I loved it, absolutely loved it and the chess piece I’d be if in life is the knight – zig, zag approach, powerful to keep hold of until the end and one of the most versatile pieces in the box.
Quality stuff…..
Speed chess anyone?
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzrap8Vtyq8
Good Grief!!! It has been so long since I played Chess that it would take me that long just to make one move.
Probably the Bishop – sanctimonious as hell (jeez louise, Billy would be proud of that oxymoron) & yet diagonally cut-throat
BTW, Young Vic got panned by The Observer.
& technically ‘sanctimonious as hell’ isn’t an oxymoron – so Billy wouldn’t be so proud – it’s a similie (i think?). ‘sanctimonious hell’ would be an oxymoron.
Thought i’d correct myself before the pedants tear me to shreads – know there’s some pretty strict grammarians & syntaxians around these parts.
Don’t worry about the Syntax Police O’DB and I saw Young Vic last night and it was okay, good period drama piece.
Cheers Mike. You’ve assuaged my fears a little – syntactically & cinematically.
**Reading thesaurus – not a dinosaur in sight**
Scary coincidences Jim lad.
except the knight doesn’t ‘zig zag’ and is actually the weakest outside of the pawn in terms of value and if be versatility you mean can only move in an l shape over a limited amount of squares you are dead right.
i’d be the queen
most powerful piece
Also the biggest prize & target of the opposition.
& slang for ‘poof’
It’s the piece I’d be!
Giddy up.
I love this game. I learnt at a very early age and played it a lot until I left school. By then I was totally sick of it and the seriousness which with everyone took it took all the fun out of it for. I didn’t play again for years, but now I like to play the occasional game, usually online.
I think I’d be the king – the most important piece, who gets to hang around at home doing nothing all day, while all his servants work for him.
Ditto Mike – I would be the King too. What more does one need than such a powerful Queen who stands no nonsense and will protect you till death!
I love chess and at one time I used to collect unusual chess sets from all around the world. At one time I had 15 sets but in the end gave most of them away as gifts as I could only display a few at a time and it seemed sacrilege not to have them out. I now have a couple of sets, my favourite being a soft stone set from Kenya, the country of my birth.
I took up chess quite late at school but soon became the school number one and also played for my university. But I decided to stop playing when I started dreaming about chess moves rather than moves for girls!
Mike – maybe we can have an online game sometime soon?!
It’s actually Mark not Mike! But yes, I’m always up for a game. If you’re on facebook we can play through that, or there is a chess website I used to play on called, wonderfully, redhotpawn.com.
Cheers
Mark
I think I will just let Mark and Arvind play this one out!
I’ve never played chess in my life. The only time I felt like a pawn was when I was still under the thumbs of my abusive parents and their games. Since then, I vowed never to be a victim again; pawn no more!
Thriver,
Good for you. I’m glad that you found this site and hope that you will participate much!
take care,
CC
Pawn in a game? I guess at some point in our lives we pretty much all our. Certainly in my workplace there are alwaysy a bundle of games going on between suppliers, customers and within the company.
I guess it depends on how you want to view yourself. If you are naturally pessimistic and have strong tendancies towards conspiracy theories like some of the past and present visitors to this site then I personally think you will be more likely to feel like a pawn and tend to be a victim.
If you have a more optomistic outlook then you will perhaps see yourself more as a player than a pawn and your competetive nature will come out and generally help you.
As for which piece;
Well seeing as how all the other pieces seem to have gone I think I’ll have to be a pawn.
Its not such a bad piece,
Firstly you can spring the odd surprise and take down a big piece if overlooked. Being underestimated can prove fatal for the opponent.
Secondly it is the only piece that can improve itself. by striving to reach the end rank the pawn can then be upgraded.
Thirdly in general the pawns are in the thick of the early action and don’t have to hang around for the inevitable end game.
Fourthly if bored you can always crack a ‘carry on’ or type joke about yourself generally by working in some reference to rhythm mags and/or jazz films.
On the other hand Pawns are often sacrificed in order to win the game – gulp.
We play chess all the time, but never finish a game. The cat intervenes frequently. I like the Knight….surreptitious little player.
We are not pawns…just peaceful warriors most of the time, of necessity.
But sacrifices have to be made, right?
Yep as long as they don’t involve being killed and cast into a little wooden box.
Hi everyone .. I’m always amazed when a topic comes up .. and then you immediately find others similarly linked .. – so here’s my link .. Wikipedia has as its featured article today “Chess” ..
That’s enough on Chess .. & I don’t have a cat like Kathleen trying to find the pawns amongst the aristocracy ..
Have good days .. Hilary: Be Positive Be Happy