Chess

Chess is an ancient game of strategy that gained an honorable status throughout history, played by nobility, earning it the title "the game of kings."

In 1851, the game became a competitive sport, and for most of the years since World chess championships began, the title was held by Jewish chess players.

The game received many references in holy seforim, and the Rebbe even explained its inner meaning and the lessons that can be taken from it for daily avodas Hashem.

Chassidim have a custom to play this game on Nittel night, when Torah study is prohibited to avoid adding vitality to the klipos and sitra achra.

By the Rebbe Rashab

The Rebbe Rashab would play chess on Nittel night, or stand near the players and offer various suggestions.

On one occasion when his son, the Frierdiker Rebbe, was playing with the chossid Reb Elchanan Dov Marozov, the Rebbe Rashab approached and gave them various suggestions about the game, and afterward explained how these things are expressed in avodas Hashem and what could be learned from it.

About these suggestions, the Rebbe said: "For the Rebbe Rashab, this was in a manner of 'from above to below.' He saw things as they are in ruchnius, and from this he knew how the game proceeds in gashmius."

The Rebbe and the Frierdiker Rebbe

In 1937-1938, the Frierdiker Rebbe was in poor health, and following doctors' orders, he went several times to rest at a resort in Parchtelsdorf, Austria. During his stay there, the Rebbe would visit him frequently, discussing Torah and Chassidus, and receiving instructions regarding klal matters.

The doctors prohibited the Frierdiker Rebbe from exerting himself and instructed him to rest from intellectual Torah study. Because of this, the Frierdiker Rebbe took advantage of one of the opportunities when his son-in-law visited and sat down to play chess with him.

During a farbrengen on 11 Nissan 1947, during the Rebbe's visit to Paris, the Rebbe related that after the first round, the Frierdiker Rebbe thought the Rebbe was manipulating the game so that the Frierdiker Rebbe would win. Therefore, the Frierdiker Rebbe requested another round, which the Rebbe won.

In 1995, Rabbi Shmuel Krauss conducted extensive research on the photograph documenting the game, from which he tried to deduce the moves the Rebbe made to achieve victory. The research was published in the Beis Moshiach weekly.

The Inner Meaning of the Game

In 1948, there was a Jewish chess player named Samuel Reshevsky who won the United States chess championship and would frequent the Frierdiker Rebbe's beis medrash at 770.

Following the Frierdiker Rebbe's instruction, the Rebbe would farbreng every Shabbos Mevorchim with the young chassidim. At one of these farbrengens, the Jewish chess player was present, and due to his presence, the Rebbe began speaking about the spiritual meaning of chess and the spiritual message that can be derived from it for a Jew's daily life.

The Rebbe based the lesson from chess on the Baal Shem Tov's teaching that from everything a Jew hears or sees, he can and must learn a lesson in avodas Hashem.

At that farbrengen, the Rebbe explained that chess symbolizes the war between the kingdom of kedusha and the kingdom of sitra achra in the world, where each side wants to capture and subdue the other. For this war, there are different types of pieces symbolizing the army personnel, and each type of military personnel has its advantages and limitations:

The simple pawn - can only make simple moves and its role is to go step by step without deviating from its designated path. If it follows instructions precisely and goes straight without skipping - it can rise in rank and reach the highest level among the army personnel, but cannot reach the king's level. The simple pawn alludes to Jewish neshamos that descended below to expand the borders of Hashem's kingdom and subdue the sitra achra.

The officers (knights, bishops, and rooks) - can perform various actions and advance multiple steps at once, but each has its special capabilities and can only move with the powers given to it. The officers symbolize the malachim that have different types, and each serves Hashem in its unique way. Unlike the pawns that can change their role and rise in rank, the officers [= malachim] always remain at the same level without the ability to change.

The queen - can change her way of moving and advance in any way she wants. The queen symbolizes the sefira of malchus of the world of Atzilus, which gives power to all the soldiers and can be clothed in each creation according to its nature and actions.

The king - his role is not to fight, and his moves are made only when necessary. The king symbolizes Hashem Himself, whose matter is not to fight, but together with this, in times of danger when the battle encounters difficulties, the king descends to the people and is with them on the battlefield.

Before the publication of the book "Yemei Breishis" in 1991 by Otzar HaChassidim, the Rebbe edited this sicha for the book, and it was printed as an addition to the book.

Further Reading

• The Game of Kings - A compilation edited by Vaad Chayalei Beis Dovid regarding Nittel night, published before Shabbos Parshas Mikeitz 2012
• Rabbi Shmuel Krauss, What Happened in the Game of Kings? - Research attempting to trace the possible moves in the chess game between the Rebbe and the Frierdiker Rebbe, Beis Moshiach Weekly, Issue 19, page 12, 20 Teves 1995