More than half of the world’s chess champions are Jews, but is there something particularly Jewish about the game itself? Yes, argues Nathan Lopes Cardozo:
The entire game takes place on a chessboard smaller than the size of a side table, but the game is larger than life. . . . [Its rules] may sound very easy, but what any player soon realizes is that these basic rules allow for thousands of combinations [and] maneuvers. . . .
But is chess rigid? Does it constrain? . . . Does it deny the player his freedom of thought or action? In one sense, it does. The player cannot move the pieces as he would like to. There are rules that make the game incredibly difficult. But that fact is exactly what makes this game so exciting. It leads to an unprecedented outburst of creativity. . . .
What makes [someone] a formidable opponent is his ability to use these rules to unleash an outburst of creativity, which resides deep within him and emerges only because of the “unbearable” limitations. He then strikes! One small move forces a major shift, creating total upheaval and causing the opponent to panic as never before. . . .
And that is why talmudic scholars, religious Jews, and secular Jews love this game and are often very good at it. Chess reminds them, consciously or subconsciously, of the world of [rabbinic] debate with all of its intrigues, its severe obstacles, and its seemingly deliberate tendency to make life more difficult and sometimes nearly impossible. The truly religious Jew loves it because it is these challenges that make life exciting and irresistible.
Read more on Cardozo Academy: http://www.cardozoacademy.info/thoughts-to-ponder/halacha-as-the-art-of-playing-chess-divine-insanity/