The Symbolism of Games

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. ======================= 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