Chess Gestalt, from Laurence Glazier
It is interesting to speculate on which people in one's life have characteristics of chess pieces. We have only a limited number of people who are the significant players on our own "team." The design of chess (unlike Go or checkers) incorporates pieces which may symbolize psychological types, and as it works so well in the game, in life do we notice someone who:
- is forever buzzing around busily in all directions (a queen)?
- tends to look askance and get diverted from the direct goal (a bishop)?
- has tunnel vision and goes direct to the coffee shop (a rook)?
- has a wiry mind that finds new twists (a knight)?
- is utterly faithful and stolid, whether or not the potential great reward comes (the pawn)?
- is a recluse who stays at home who may allow visitors to pay court (the king)?
The king can also represent spirit or essence which grows through the layers of personality which have long protected it. In this vein gestalt analysis can also be applied to a single personality. We have a part of all these types within us. As chess has evolved to a design that defies all attempts to improve it, its structures may have wider application.
GM Nigel Davies adds:
An interesting idea that is close to others I've considered. The most obvious extension is that the pieces all represent aspects of the personality (psyche, soul) and that our struggle to coordinate the pieces symbolises our attempts to be 'complete personalities'. The forces of the 'other side' are there to provide the necessary resistance that inspires us to grow.
GM Davies is the author of Play the Catalan, Everyman, 2009
Legacy Daily asks:
The people/personality spectrum is perhaps far richer than the chess glasses allow but the situations in which we find ourselves are indeed as diverse as the possible combinations of pieces on a board. But how do the three outcomes (win, lose, draw) mirror life? Also, in life the “queen” or some other piece decides to sacrifice another piece or move in a direction. While in chess the player rules and dictates all of the moves. Who’s the “player” in life?