The Symbolism of Chess

Chess is a great deal more brutal than we may think. Players can sacrifice any of their pieces, including the Queen, in order to win. Even those pieces we may think are the most useful, can be removed, if it serves the purpose of defeating the opposition. Only the king cannot be removed, and it is his defeat the players aim for. Chess originated in India, and the ancient Indian strategic model is still evident. In India, it was known as Chaturanga. It was passed on to the medieval West through the Middle East, particularly Persia where it was known as chatrang (shatranj). Many terms come from Persia. The expression "check-mate”, for example, is derived from the Persian shah: "king" and the Arabic mat: "he is dead". The original name for a castle was Rukh [not rook], Ruka or Hathi. The warlike symbolism in the Indian game relates it to the Kshatriyas - the caste of princes and nobles. The Hindus consider the game of chess as a "school of government and defence"- an allegory similar to that explained in our video on the Symbolism of the Theatre. Life is simply a repeating game of spiritual chess in which all are pieces. The two forces are not ‘good’ or ‘bad’. The Great Work [the objective] can be achieved in more than one way, and the battle pits one strategy against another. Occasionally a player may need to sacrifice a great number of their pieces. From the piece’s point of view their ‘death’ in this game would be classified as ‘bad’……but then it is not their game.
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CREDITS

Chinese Canton ivory George III chess set “antique-Keats-class-1”
Chess board - G Gull
Arjuna Fights Bhishma in the Battle of Kurukshetra
Bayasanghori Shahnameh 5
Photo – Max Ernst plays chess with Dorothea Tanning
Photo - Frithjof Schuon & Titus Burckhardt
Friedrich Moritz August Retzsch – Check-mate
The Chess Game - artist unknown [Arabic art]
Photo – ‘Worlds Most Expensive Chess Set’

VIDEO EFFECTS AND FOOTAGE

Chess Board During a Game | Free Stock Video | Royalty Free Video | No Copyright | Stock Free Video
https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=g38US4C0Lig

Motion Of Chess Pieces On The Table Stock Footage | Free No Copyright 4K Stock Footage
https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=4znnzbmebsk

Chessboard rotation on chess pieces with shadows moving (No Copyright Stock Footage)
https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=p76Gd2ntloA

Track shot of chessboard and chess pieces (No Copyright Royalty Free Footage)
https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=VbsF2T1Jazg

CHESS PIECES - VIDEO GRAPHICS [FREE STOCK] [FREE DOWNLOAD]
https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=wgk5kcFzESE

Free stock footage/Chess board strategy play
https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=aiIg-sWYBAM

Chess Bishop Animation
https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=dFe22HyQWP0

RARE FOOTAGE OF CHESS GREATS
https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=PsObn9lExys

Free-to-Use Stock Footage of Chess Move
https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=hKl-Mg26Vi4

You Won't Believe How Calmly This 6 Year Old Plays Chess!
https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=d9sRLY2z_NM

MUSIC

00:00 Alone - Emmit Fenn

02:02 Touchpoint by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Artist: http://audionautix.com/

06:12 Wander - Emmit Fenn
08:39 Yoga Style - Chris Haugen

11:09 That Kid in Fourth Grade Who Really Liked the Denver Broncos by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/uvp/
Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/

15:12 Alone - Emmit Fenn