While the games of Chess and Checkers are both played on a game board with 64 squares, arranged in an eight-by-eight grid, and are enjoyed by millions of people worldwide, the similarities stop there.
Chess is the ultimate game of military strategy. To play chess effectively, it requires a well thought out and precisely executed plan to attack and defend. A top tier player can, at times, be passive and at other times aggressive. To conquer your opponent, you often must anticipate their next move before they do. Checkers, on the other hand, is more like a street fight. It has been described as “the lazy man’s chess.” It’s something to do when you have nothing to do. Either side can win with a little luck and patience. Needless to say, checkers is right up my alley due to its simplistic form of entertainment.
Allow me to compare and contrast the fundamental differences between these two games.
Conception. Chess is believed to have originated in Eastern India during the Gupta Empire of the 6th century where it was known as Chaturanga. The game reached Western Europe and Russia in the 9th century as trade routes were opened. I once traded six pawns and a Bishop for a handful of football action figures. The result made for a very confusing version of full contact “Chessball.”
Checkers is derived from the game of Draughts which is played in England. A similar game has been played for thousands of years and a board resembling draughts was found in Ur from 3000 BC. Ancient Egyptian checkerboards were found in sacred burial chambers. It is uncertain whether or not checkers was the cause of death.
Playing Conditions. Chess is ideally played in a mahogany trimmed game room or den in front of a roaring fire while sipping Cognac on a cold winter afternoon. The scent of a prime rib wafting through the house creates a cornucopia of sensations in the ideal chess venue. Conversely, the perfect checkers arena is a screened-in front porch while chugging moonshine on a hot summer night. Fireflies or June bugs only add to the ambiance of a checkers coliseum. The aroma of BBQ squirrel does grab the attention of players and dogs alike.
Attire. A tweed sport coat looks devilishly cool when sweeping someone’s Rook with your Knight on the chess battlefield. Horned-rimmed glasses and a non-functioning pipe add to the drama of saying, “Checkmate.” At the same time, overalls or cut-offs are mandatory when executing a double king jump from deep in enemy territory on the checkerboard. Chewing tobacco is optional when yelling, “King Me Bitch!” at the top of your lungs.
Competition. The game of chess is most exciting when two evenly matched opponents, of equal intellect and intelligence square off against one another. The most famous competition was perhaps the epic battle between Mr. Bobby Fisher and Comrade Boris Spassky for the title of World Chess Champion in 1972. “The Match”, held in Reykjavík, Iceland, attracted more worldwide interest and publicity than any chess match before or since.
On the other hand, some of the best checkers games are between prison cellies, shut-in couples (aka agoraphobics) and dim-witted cousins. Sadly, none of these potentially life altering duals will ever be televised.
Marketing. Wikipedia lists over 30 movies with chess as the central theme. The most notable, Searching for Bobby Fisher, was released in 1993 and stared Ben Kingsley, Joan Allen, Laurence Fishburne and Joe Mantegna. It was a delightfully entertaining story of a prepubescent chess prodigy who refuses to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer. As for checkers, I could only find an adult film (aka porn) entitled Checker Double-Decker staring Jenna Jamison. After watching it several times, I found the story line confusing, the plot unrealistic and it lacked adequate character development.
Culture. Chess is often perceived as highly tactical game for nerds and brainiacs. Let’s be honest, it is a thinking game that does usually attract the uber-intelligent segment of the gene pool. My Neanderthal football buddies used to make fun of the lunch time chess playing “mathaletes” in high school. Now those same gridiron jocks are filling out job applications to work in the warehouse for chess playing captains of industry. The glamorous cheerleaders who once undoubtedly teased the “fembot” female members of the college chess club now approach those same academic driven chess-playing coeds for plastic surgery consultation and divorce representation.
If the truth-be-told, Checkers is a game for slackers. Crack a beer, fill your prescription using the MMIC (Medical Marijuana Identification Card) and you’re ready to play. Nobody teases people who play checkers, (unless of course you’re a lonely and desperate humor lifestyle columnist for a high-profile local magazine) because we’ve all played checkers. Checkers is good for the soul.
There will be those of you that bring up the world of “speed chess” which is played throughout inner city parks by many of our nation’s homeless population for money, cigarettes or other forms of currency. Yes, it’s a deviation from the normal chess culture, but I dare you to watch one of these games without seeing the poetic beauty of each move. It’s like a symphony that has been placed on mute. The clock is their metronome. Using another music analogy, checkers in the park can best be described as a one man band played by someone who is out of tune and tone deaf.
As our magazine celebrates all things chess, I would like to tell you that I am a card carrying member of the chess nation, but that would be a lie. I have played the game but it destroyed me. I am confident that I will one day, in the not too distant future, take it up again, but for now I’m a checkers man. I’m King of the “King Me” population!
