Chess, Not Checkers

My Dad taught me how to play chess. The principle of chess is to protect the “King.” If the King gets “attacked” that’s called a “check.” If you completely entrap the King, that’s “checkmate.” It takes a lot of strategy to pull off a checkmate that your opponent doesn’t see coming. Usually there’s some offense and defense going on. The best chess piece to use to accomplish a checkmate is the Queen. She is the most versatile as far as what she can do, whereas weaker pieces can only do 1-2 moves.

(Pawns can only move forward, one space at a time. Rooks can only move horizontally or vertically. Bishops can move diagonally. Knights move in a L-shape. )

One time as a child, someone took my Queen early in the game, and I CRIED. I didn’t finish the game. I was too devastated to put up a fight. I’m a perfectionist, so what do you mean you’re just going to take my Queen. I was so focused on offense, I left myself wide open to attack.

So later, my Dad went beyond teaching me chess and the basics of how to play. He taught me how to checkmate, or win, in multiple ways: with and without the Queen, using just the Queen and King only, using different combinations of other “weaker pieces” and so on. He wanted to prepare me for the worst case scenario.

I didn’t realize how important this was until later in life. He wasn’t just teaching me chess strategy, he taught me life strategy in that moment. Life won’t always be full of free throws, and some of our passes get intercepted. Sometimes you lose, sometimes you struggle, and sometimes you’re on the defense fighting for a chance to stay in the game. If you can only persevere when life is peachy keen, you’ll struggle extra hard when curveballs come. You’ll be like me crying at a chess game that is not yet over and done.

It takes courage to keep going when life looks bleak. Jesus warns:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” -John‬ ‭16‬:‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It would amazing if he would’ve just stopped at the peace part, whew. But a good Father (in this case it’s Jesus speaking) prepares his children for the good and the bad. Even trials that bring us preparation also bring us peace. Peace is not just the absence of trouble. It can also look like walking through fire and not getting burned.

Imagine how much we are protected from!

If you can learn how to pivot when the going gets tough, if you can learn to play the cards you’re dealt, if you can learn how to pull off a checkmate from anywhere, anyhow, you’re going to be alright. How you start is not how you finish but your perspective through it all will make or break you!