When Have You Sacrificed Pieces For Position?

Chess as a Metaphor for Life

The average chess player seeks to win by taking her opponent’s pieces. The great chess player seeks to win by achieving a superior position over her opponent, even if it means sacrificing pieces. The great player knows that pieces are a means to an end (checkmate), not an end in itself.

Apparently, the reason AI has surpassed us at chess consists in its ability to focus on position and not be lured in—as we are—by pieces. Perhaps AI’s dominance in other fields will follow a similar pattern.

To the extent that chess is a metaphor for life, what are the analogues to the tension between pieces and position?

On a materialist plane, pieces might be thought of as financial capital, while position might be thought of as cultural or social capital. David vs. Goliath stories typically follow a pattern of someone with better position but few pieces overtaking someone with many pieces but poor position.

On an intellectual plane, pieces might be thought of as things you know (information) while position might be thought of as how you organize, arrange, and store it. A person who knows many things but is bad at connecting them or can only connect them in simple ways may be less advantaged than someone who knows fewer things but is great at finding interconnections.

On a spiritual plane, pieces might be thought of as your naturally given positive qualities, while position might be thought of as your ability to self-regulate and self-improve. It’s easy to win, as it were, when you have many good character traits. But failing that, a commitment to working on oneself may prove just as effective.

When in your life have you sacrificed a piece for position? What do you think has been your riskiest gambit?

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