Chess is a great analogy for society, its limitations, and how each class of society interacts with each other.
The king represents the bosses of this world; he represents the leaders in society.
He holds the most power and can determine the fate of the chess game of life. His position can either make or break the outcome of the battle.
Yet, he rarely sees any action. The King rarely moves past the first row.
This is because the leaders in this world are too crucial to success to put out on the battlefield, out where expendable pawns go to die.
Instead, the bosses and leaders of this world stay back and have their subordinates take charge out on the battlefield; bosses tell their managers to oversee the regular offices.
The King’s importance is too great for him to do the “dirty work” of life. He instead relies on subordinates to do such jobs that do not directly require his oversight.
The Queen is the King’s general, the person on the battlefield that commands the King’s army.
The Queen is usually the strongest piece on the chess board, but her strength also burdens her. Because of her strength, she is often overused and when taken, the rest of the army has no idea what to do.
Similarly, in life, managers and generals often burn out, their bosses and commanders overuse and rely too much on them.
The Queens of society are often the closest to being in command, work the hardest, but often burn out before they can reach their ultimate goal— being the boss; being the commander.
The Rook is the lapdog of the bosses; the president’s security.
Rooks usually work to protect their leader and punish those who seek to undermine their superior. They stick close to their leader and tend to work better in pairs.
The Rooks of society constantly work to gain their leader’s approval.
In society, they often have a lot of power, despite being disliked by others for their clingy nature.
Rooks are the henchmen.
Rooks are the body guards.
Rooks are the devoted followers.
The Bishop is often overlooked, overshadowed by the Queen’s sheer power and the Knight’s special skills.
The Bishops hold a lot of power, but are often never noticed.
In society, they are the line engineers who should be head engineers of big corporations. Their lack of quirks never allows them to be noticed.
Bishops are those in society who should be accomplishing much more, but instead lead a life of mediocrity.
The Knight might not be the most powerful or the most willing to follow his leader around, but his skill set is unique and gets him the recognition needed to be used frequently.
The Knights of society are the people who are really good at one and only one specific thing.
Their eccentricities allow them to succeed in society, often passing over the much more talented Bishops.
The Pawn is the everyday worker; he makes up the bulk of society. His powers are generic, yet allow him to shape society. Though he might not seem like much, when there are a lot of Pawns, large numbers of Pawns can overtake the Kings and Queens of society. Bosses can fire workers, but the workers can also strike.
When the workers strike, their power ends up exceeding that of the bosses; the power in numbers works to their favor.
In fact, when in the right place at the right time, the Pawns can become the most powerful pieces of the game in a heartbeat. And so, the Pawns are the most powerful pieces of the game.
Chess draws many parallels to society. There is a social hierarchy, but even the most seemingly insignificant of Pawns hold great power; even the most powerful of Queens can fall.
And the king?
He’s the most vulnerable of all, for the higher up on the social ladder one gets, the more susceptible he becomes.
