02 Jul LIFE LESSONS FROM THE ROYAL GAME OF CHESS – PART ONE

Recently, together
with my Rebbetzin
Shoshy, I celebrated the
bar mitzvah of one of
my new grandchildren,
Isaac Schwartz, son of
my wonderful new children Moshe and
Devorah Schwartz. (I call them my ‘new
children’ because they are the children
of my second wife. I shun the term
stepchildren for, besides the negative
connotation, it gives an impression of
second-class, which is certainly not the
case. Even the term second rebbetzin is
not preferable and I once saw someone
write wisely, “She’s my second first
rebbetzin,” which is a much better way
to put it.) Since one of the ways that I
connect with Isaac is through playing
chess, at one of my speeches at his lovely
bar mitzvah, I opted to speak about how
we can learn many life lessons from the
game of chess.
Chess has been aptly called the
“game of kings.” Within the sixty-four
squares of the chessboard lie endless
possibilities of brilliant combinations and
staggering complexities. While it pales to
insignificance when compared to one line

of Rashi or one question of Rabbi Akiva
Eiger, chess does afford many lessons of
life skills and disciplines.
Most scholars trace the game’s origins to
India around 1500 years ago in the form
of a similar game known as chaturanga.
There is a Gemora in Kesubos [61b]
which says that a woman can avoid
the depression of boredom by playing
nardashir. Rashi translates this with
a French word which the Metargeim
in the back of the Gemora translates as
shachshpiel, which is chess.
There is a famous story that Rabbi
Shimon HaGodol of Gantze recognized,
through playing a game of chess with
him, that the pope was his long lost Jewish
child. There is even a legend that Shlomo
HaMelech played Banayohu chess cited
in the sefer Beis HaMedrash page 123.
While the Sefer Yeshurun discounts
this as a mere fable, chess certainly has
deep roots in the Jewish world. While
it was well known that my Rebbe, the
great Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, zy”a,
stopped playing chess at the age of eight,
Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, zt”l, zy”a, still
picked up a chess game occasionally in

his nineties at camp Ohr
Shraga.
The pastime of chess,
in a world where there
are so many hobbies that
can atrophy the brain –
from vegetating in front
of a screen to pounding
feverishly the controls
of addictive computer
gaming, is a refreshing
opportunity to activate
the mind and train it in
many beneficial abilities.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe,
zt”l, zy”a, gave a speech extolling skills
from the game of chess.
In the next few articles, I would like to
share with you, my dear readers, some
powerful lessons that chess has to offer
its aficionados.
In order to play of good game of chess,
one must be able to look ahead. If I bring
my bishop to one side of the board, it
won’t be available if I need it to protect
my king. If I push a pawn two spaces in
front of my king, it will leave my king
without sufficient defense. And these are
only elementary examples. The good
chess player is able to see the board in a
closed position four or five moves ahead.
The former world champion, Alexander
Alekhine, was able to compute, in
certain situations, fifteen moves ahead.
What a superb training for life for we
are taught, “Eizahu chacham? Haroeh
es hanolad – Who is wise? He who
can see ahead.” There is great wisdom
in foresight. This is true for the young
man who, before he becomes busy
with the responsibilities of a wife and
children, wisely uses his formative
years studying lots of Torah while he
has access to skilled Rabbei’im. It is
also true for a young man or lady who
thinks ahead and looks for a mate who
is kind, who has simchas hachaim, an
inner joy for life, who is easygoing, and
fair minded. And the ultimate foresight
is to remember that this world is only a
prozdor, a hallway to the next world. A
wise person looks ahead and prepares
amply for the Afterlife by giving much
tzedakah, learning Torah, and putting a
great emphasis on the spiritual side of
life.
Another important lesson is that the
good chess player knows that there is
strength in numbers. If he can marshal
many of his forces to work together in

tandem, for example lining up his bishop
behind the queen, attacking a defenseless
pawn and bringing a rook and a knight to
also focus on that pawn, it becomes an
overwhelming force.
So too in life, there is great success
when we work together. When siblings
are united, they are a force to be reckoned
with. As the posuk says, “Hinei matov
u’manayim, sheves achim gam yachad –
How good and how sweet, when brothers
work in harmony.” So too, if one belongs
to a chaburah, a group of like-minded
Torah chaveirim, they are in a powerful
position. Davening in a minyan is a great
example of the strength of numbers, for
Hashem never disdains the prayers of a
quorum of ten. As the posuk says, “Pado
b’shalom nafshi, ki berabim hayu imadi –
Redeem my soul in peace, for many were
with me.”
We are just getting started with how
chess can help us in the journey of life! In
the merit of brushing up on our life skills,
may Hashem bless us with long life, good
health, and everything wonderful.