Chess (poem)
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''Chess'' ( pl, Száchy) is a poem written by
Jan Kochanowski Jan Kochanowski (; 1530 – 22 August 1584) was a Polish Renaissance poet who established poetic patterns that would become integral to the Polish literary language. He is commonly regarded as the greatest Polish poet before Adam Mickiewicz. ...
, first published in 1564 or 1565. Inspired by
Marco Girolamo Vida Marco Girolamo Vida or Marcus Hieronymus Vida (1485? – September 27, 1566) was an Italian humanist, bishop and poet. Life Marco was born at Cremona, the son of the consular (patrician) Guglielmo Vida, and Leona Oscasale. He had two brother ...
's '' Scacchia Ludus'', it is a
narrative poetry Narrative poetry is a form of poetry that tells a story, often using the voices of both a narrator and characters; the entire story is usually written in metered verse. Narrative poems do not need rhyme. The poems that make up this genre may be s ...
work that describes a game of
chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
between two men, Fiedor and Borzuj, who fight for the right to marry Anna, princess of
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
. The poem anthropomorphises the pieces, presenting the game as a battle between two armies, in a style reminiscent of battle scenes in the works of
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
and
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
. In 1912, Alexander Wagner reconstructed the game described in the poem, while
Yuri Averbakh Yuri Lvovich Averbakh (russian: Ю́рий Льво́вич Аверба́х; 8 February 1922 – 7 May 2022) was a Russian chess grandmaster and author. He was chairman of the USSR Chess Federation from 1973 to 1978. He was the first centenari ...
found that it has three possible endings in 1967.


Background

During his visit to the Italian lands in 1558–59,
Jan Kochanowski Jan Kochanowski (; 1530 – 22 August 1584) was a Polish Renaissance poet who established poetic patterns that would become integral to the Polish literary language. He is commonly regarded as the greatest Polish poet before Adam Mickiewicz. ...
encountered ''Scacchia Ludus'', a poem by
Marco Girolamo Vida Marco Girolamo Vida or Marcus Hieronymus Vida (1485? – September 27, 1566) was an Italian humanist, bishop and poet. Life Marco was born at Cremona, the son of the consular (patrician) Guglielmo Vida, and Leona Oscasale. He had two brother ...
, which describes a game of
chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
played on
Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...
between
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
and
Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...
.Litmanowicz (1974), p. 14 It is possible that Kochanowski also met Vida himself.Litmanowicz (1974), p. 19 Inspired by ''Scacchia Ludus'', Kochanowski decided to create his own poem with a chess game as the main topic. Until the second half of the 19th century, ''Chess'' was often thought to be only a
paraphrase A paraphrase () is a restatement of the meaning of a text or passage using other words. The term itself is derived via Latin ', . The act of paraphrasing is also called ''paraphrasis''. History Although paraphrases likely abounded in oral tra ...
of Vida's poem, rather than an independent work. In his 1856 essay ''Chess in Poland'' ( pl, Szachy w Polszcze), historian Maurycy Dzieduszycki proved that Kochanowski's poem, while inspired by ''Scacchia Ludus'', is dependent on it only to a small extent and should be considered a fully separate work of art. ''Chess'' is dedicated to " Jan Krzysztof, count of
Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarnów ...
,
castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...
of
Wojnicz Wojnicz () is an ancient historic town in Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship. In the early medieval period of the Polish state, it became one of the most important centres in the province of Lesser Poland, as part of the system of Dunajec ri ...
."


Plot

Tarses, the
king of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories of the Faroe ...
, has a daughter named Anna. Of the many foreigners who wanted to marry her, two men, Fiedor and Borzuj, stood out as the most interested. After the two men proclaim that they want to have a
duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...
, Tarses proposes a game of chess instead. Fiedor and Borzuj learn the
rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Education * Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule pert ...
and after spending some time training, meet in Tarses' palace for the game. Borzuj is chosen to play white and Fiedor black. The game, described as a battle of
anthropomorphised Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
pieces starts, comprising the biggest part of the poem. Kochanowski uses the names of the pieces (which are often different from their equivalents in modern Polish) in literal sense, describing the game as a war between infantry soldiers ( pawns),
knights A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
, bow-wielding
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
s (
bishops A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
),
war elephant A war elephant was an elephant that was trained and guided by humans for combat. The war elephant's main use was to charge the enemy, break their ranks and instill terror and fear. Elephantry is a term for specific military units using elephant ...
s (
rooks Rook (''Corvus frugilegus'') is a bird of the corvid family. Rook or rooks may also refer to: Games *Rook (chess), a piece in chess *Rook (card game), a trick-taking card game Military *Sukhoi Su-25 or Rook, a close air support aircraft * USS ...
),
queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
and kings. The play is described metaphorically: Captures are referred to as killings, the pieces are said to have emotions. At one point, Borzuj attempts to "resurrect" a dead knight, i.e. illegally put a captured piece on the board. When both queens are killed, the kings are said to look for new wives among their servants – a metaphor of pawn
promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
. The play advances into the
endgame Endgame, Endgames, End Game, End Games, or similar variations may refer to: Film * ''The End of the Game'' (1919 film) * ''The End of the Game'' (1975 film), short documentary U.S. film * ''Endgame'' (1983 film), 1983 Italian post-apocalyptic f ...
and Borzuj indeed promotes and gets a new queen. The match progresses to a position which seems to end with white inevitably mating in its next move (see the diagram). Fiedor sees no way to evade his loss and makes no move, despite urging comments from Borzuj and advice to resign from members of Tarses' court who watch the game. The sun sets with black still not making any move and it is decided that the players will stop the game for the night, to resume on the following day. Later Anna, who would rather marry Fiedor, visits the room with the chessboard, guarded for the night. She also initially believes that there is no way to evade white's mate, but subsequently notices a chance for black. Anna loudly expresses an enigmatic opinion: That knights know how to fight, priests are good at giving advice, infantry doesn't hesitate to walk forward and that it's no loss to change a dear thing for someone beloved."Dobry Rycerz jest od zwady \ Popu też nieźle zachować od rady; \ Dać za miłego wdzięczną rzecz nie szkodzi, \ Piechota przedsię jako żywo chodzi". Before leaving, the princess turns the black rook to the side. The following day, hopeless Fiedor and content Borzuj meet to finish their game. Fiedor asks the guards about the turned rook and learns about Anna's visit and her words. Borzuj pays no attention, believing she was referring to the real-life knights and priests. Fiedor starts to think deeply and understands that the princess' words are a message with a hidden hint for him: that he should not use the knight and the bishop, but
sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
the most valuable piece his still has, the rook; before ending the game using the pawns. To get the attention of his spectators, Fiedor proclaims that he will admit loss if he won't be able to mate his opponent in the next three moves. To Borzuj's surprise, black sacrifices the rook and mates with two pawns. Fiedor marries Anna, while Borzuj leaves, declining an invitation to the wedding.


Critical analysis


Artistic

''Chess'' is written in eleven-syllable verse. It was one of the first Polish language works created by Kochanowski, who was earlier mostly writing
elegies An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...
and
epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mille ...
s in Latin. According to prof. Edmund Kotarski of the
Gdańsk University Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
, ''Chess'' resembles a
short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
in the parts dealing with the human characters, while the battle of the chess pieces is a parody of heroic epos of
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
and
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
, "following its style while presenting a plot which clearly was not monumental or grand", so that the "clash between seriousness and humour" results in humorous effects. The poem was described as more humane that ''Scacchia Ludus'' which inspired it,Krzyżanowski (1966) as instead of mythological gods, Kochanowski tells a story of two young men fighting for their future.


Chess

Chess theoretician Władysław Litmanowicz considers Borzuj and Fiedor's playing skills as not extraordinary, but notices that the game's theory was much less advanced in Kochanowski's times compared to the modern day.Litmanowicz (1974), p. 26 The ending combination is a variation of the well-known Dilaram problem. Anna's advice was most likely easily understood by the contemporary readers.


Reconstruction


Background

In 1912, the ''Szachista Polski'' ( pl, Polish Chessplayer) magazine announced a contest to reconstruct the game described in Kochanowski's poem. It ended with only one entry sent – created by Alexander Wagner, who was one of the magazine's employees.Litmanowicz (1974), p. 22 Wagner submitted his reconstruction under the pseudonym of "Wanda Reger Nelska" (an
anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into ''nag a ram'', also the word ...
of his name), so that his colleagues wouldn't be biased in judging the entries. Most of the commentary in Wagner's work are simply quotations from the poem.


Wagner's reconstruction

1. d4 d5 2. c3 e5 3. e3 a5 4. b3 h6 5. a3 Na6 6. h3 Bf5 7. Be2 Qd6 8. c4 g6 9. b4 axb4 10. axb4 O-O-O 11. Nf3 Kb8 12. Nc3 Rh7 13. Nxd5 Nxb4 14. Nxe5 Nc2+ 15. Kf1 Nxa1 16. Bd2 g5 17. Qxa1 Be6 18. e4 Bg7 19. Ne3 f6 20. Nf3 Qa6 21. Qb2 Qd6 22. d5 Bd7 23. Qd4 Qb6 24. c5 Qb1+ 25. Be1 Be8 26. c6 Rc8 27. d6 f5 Borzuj touches his e4 pawn, thinking about 28. exf5?. Fiedor immediately captures the white queen with 28. ... Bxd4. Borzuj protests, as he is not aware of the
touch-move rule The touch-move rule in chess specifies that a player, having the move, who deliberately touches a piece on the board must move or capture that piece if it is legal to do so. If it is the player's piece that was touched, it must be moved if the p ...
. They eventually agree to cancel the move. 28. Qc4 Nf6 29. Ne5 Qb6 30. Rh2 h5 31. f3 Rd8 32. Bg3 f4 White contemplates whether he would rather want to lose a knight or a bishop and decides to keep the former. 33. Nf5 fxg3 34. Nxg3 Rh8 35. Nd7+ Bxd7 36. cxd7 Rxd7 37. Qc1 Qxd6 38. Qxg5 h4 39. Nf5 Qb6 40. Qf4 Rh5 41. Qc1 c5 42. Ne3 Bh6 43. Kg1 Qd8 44. Kf1 Rd2 45. Kf2 Nd5 46. Qc4 Rxe2+ 47. Qxe2 Nxe3 48. Qe1 Qg5 49. Kg1 c4 50. Qf2 c3 51. Rh1 b6 Borzuj attempts to illegally put his captured knight again on the board, which Wagner renders as 52. Na1–b3? 52. Kh2 Qg3+ 53. Qxg3+ hxg3+ 54. Kxg3 Ra5 55. Kf2 Ra8 56. Ke2 Nc2 57. Kd1 Ne3+ 58. Kc1 Nxg2+ 59. Kb1 b5 60. h4 b4 61. h5 b3 62. e5 Bg5 63. h6 Nh4 64. e6 Bf6 65. h7 Nxf3 66. e7 Bxe7 67. h8=Q+ Kb7 68. Qh3 Ne5 69. Qh5 Nd3 70. Qh3 Nb4 71. Qf3+ Kb8 72. Qe2 Bf6 73. Qe6 Bg7 74. Qd7 Bd4 75. Rh7 The play is suspended for the night after this move. 75. ... Ra1+ 76. Kxa1 b2+ 77. Kb1 c2#


Alternative endings

In his book ''В поисках истины'' ( en, italic=yes, Searching for Truth), Grandmaster
Yuri Averbakh Yuri Lvovich Averbakh (russian: Ю́рий Льво́вич Аверба́х; 8 February 1922 – 7 May 2022) was a Russian chess grandmaster and author. He was chairman of the USSR Chess Federation from 1973 to 1978. He was the first centenari ...
also reconstructed the game. At the point when the play is stopped for the night, it is a "mirror reflection" of Wagner's work (with the black king on g8, black rook on h8 etc.). However, Averbakh proposed three alternative ways for black to mate. The first one is the same as Wagner's. The two new variants are (starting from Wagner's reconstruction after 75. Rh7): 75. ... c2+ 76. Kc1 Ra1+ 77. Kd2 c1=Q+ 78. Ke2 Qd1# (or Qd3#) and 75. ... Ra1+ 76. Kxa1 c2+ 77 Qxd4 c1=Q# Note that the first variant would exceed Fiedor's claim that he'll mate within three moves.


See also

*
Chess in the arts and literature Chess became a source of inspiration in the arts in literature soon after the spread of the game to the Arab World and Europe in the Middle Ages. The earliest works of art centered on the game are miniatures in medieval manuscripts, as well as p ...


References


Further reading

* * With foreword by Julian Krzyżanowski. *


External links


Review of Kochanowski's works
including ''Chess'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Chess (Poem) 1565 books 16th century in chess Chess in Poland Polish poems Poems about chess