Challenge #131
A good game of chess, even a bad game of chess, heck even just sitting at the chess board is my favorite and only retreat for this stupid bloody war, my family and sometimes even my friends.
For me chess is not merely an idle amusement. True, it can be but in general it is no ordinary retreat. It affords no solitude or seclusion. It lends no privacy or withdrawal; in fact it invites others into my thoughts and forces me to interact with them for as long as the game lasts.
By playing at chess, I gain foresight, which looks a little into the future in a way my crystal ball never could. In considering the consequences of a move I am given a chance to consider the moves of others. I am given a chance to consider the actions of my loved ones with a distance that I find so hard to manage away from the board. I don't get angry or frustrated and I can see the motivation behind the moves my opponents make both on and off the board.
I have learned to survey the whole chessboard, the relations of several pieces, people and situations, the dangers they are respectively exposed to, where the adversary will attack, and what different means can be used to turn its consequences against him. Each piece becomes a person, a family member or friend in my mind. I fight endless battles and I rarely lose. My reality is vastly different, people leave, they die and they are hurt. On the chessboard I can wage war without having to fight. I can lose battles without losing loved ones. I can win because my pieces trust me in a way my family does not.
I slowly learn caution, a skill not easily mastered or taught. Caution acquired by observing the rules of the game; to observing these rules makes the game the image of human life. In war if you put yourself into a bad and dangerous position, you cannot withdraw. In life if you make unwise choices you are rarely given second chances to make things right. In love the smallest misstep can wound mortally. You must abide all the consequences of your rashness both on the board and off.
I have learned from chess the habit of not being discouraged by overwhelming odds against me, the habit of hoping for a miracle, and that of persevering in the search of resources. The game is so full of events, there is such a variety of moves, the fortune of it is so subject to sudden changes, that I am encouraged to continue the fight to the last, in the hope of victory.
Chess as a retreat is far from ideal. It focuses my thoughts on external things even while allowing contemplation. It offers no respite from my reality, no relaxation of my guard even while separating me from that which is happening off the board. What it can be is a safe and private place, a place to escape to. Chess offers a place where I know we can win this war, even while I accept that sacrifices will have to be made.
Muse: Ron Weasley
Fandom: Harry Potter
Word Count: 532