'The queen truly lives life adventurously! '
By the board: Sarah Sheard on chess
‘As a passionate Quaker pacifist I can humour my alter ego in the ultimate game of war.’
In lockdown after breakfast, lunch and dinner, my husband and I play chess – at least three times a day, quite often six. When passions have risen high we have even reached the dizzy heights of nine or ten games.
After playing so frequently I understood why Bobby Fischer said that ‘I find chess more enjoyable than sex’! We have been living together for thirty-three years and our sex life was always a joy. But in lockdown the thrill of chess is a sublime pleasure. It sparks joy, creates humour and narrative – and I long to wear those 1950s outfits in the Netflix show The Queen’s Gambit as I calmly and smugly look across to check my mate.
You need to believe me when I tell you that being defeated truly feels like a stab in the heart. I love the fact that as a passionate Quaker pacifist I can humour my alter ego in the ultimate game of war.
It’s brutal and sums up society. The pawns/peasants are dispatched without mercy – but never forget their final power: pawns can collectively gather in strength and surround the opposing king and force him to relinquish his power.
The true star of the show, however, is the feminist queen. She glides around the board doing whatever the hell she likes, with what appears little regard for her partner, the king. Yet just like any long fulfilling marriage, she will be there by his side when he is vulnerable and exposes his weakness by being placed in check.
She will sacrifice herself for her king who, sadly, with his limitations, can only move one square at a time. Until then the queen humours herself throughout the game with gay abandonment, toying and trapping various pieces, and with great pleasure dispatches bishops without any remorse. The queen truly lives life adventurously!
Her greatest and most pleasurable adventures are with her closest companion, the knight. The knight will cavort and strut around those squares vainly saying ‘Look at me, I’m so special, I’m the only one who can move like this!’ The knight is a unique and valiant warrior striking down any unaware piece. Finally, with a killer blow, queen at the side, the knight disables the opposing king with that killer term: ‘Checkmate!’
So in ten years time when I look back at the long days of lockdown, among all the misery of the pandemic I will find pleasure in remembering this genius game. Chess teaches you how to think independently and creatively. It’s character building and teaches children about maths, history and thinking outside the box (and I don’t think it should be thought of as an entirely indoor game; many outdoor boards could be placed in school playgrounds).
I know people play chess on computers but for me the real joy comes from playing with a person sat across from you. Chess has stereotypically been regarded as a male game but I think it’s time this myth is dispelled: girls need to be encouraged to play together with boys. Remember that adventurous queen…
