Visiting the Louvre Museum in Paris to view the famous artworks on display will remain as an unforgettable memory for me. One painting hanging there, originally titled, “The Chess Players,” is the work of 19th Century German painter Friedrich Retzsch. I’ve found this painting and a remarkable story attached to it, particularly memorable.
Murray Smith
Better known now as “Checkmate”, the painting depicts two chess players: The Devil (Satan) and a young man, evidently defending his soul. The stakes are high in this game of life and death.
The young man, seated to the right of the chess board, looks disconsolate and contemplates his situation as he is in ‘Checkmate’. His head is bowed and his eyes are tear-filled. On the opposite side, Satan looks arrogantly confident, not even looking at the chessboard. The Devil has seemingly just won in the game of life over this lad. Engulfed in despair without strength, or way out, he stares at the board hopelessly. Standing between the two players, the artist has included an angel in his work. The angel’s stricken expression conveys deep consternation and sadness over the young man’s predicament.
A chess player named Paul Morphy stuided this painting one day. He felt sorry for the boy and he hated the looks of the Devil. This champion chess player wanted to see victory snatched from Satan and to see the young man ‘saved.’ Then, suddenly, he shouted out loud: “Son, there is one more move! You’ll escape the Devil’s snare if you make this move!” Forgetting himself, Morphy had become immersed in the painting, caught up in its drama and engrossed with trying to find a way for the young man’s release.
In a sense, all of us are engaged in this ‘chess match’…in the ‘game’ of life with its outcome swinging in the balance. We have an evil, malevolent adversary in common and while in ignorance, many cynically scorn the notion of an actual evil ‘being’ personified in Satan, the fact remains he is not a mythical force but is an insidious opponent hell-bent on our destruction. He delights in deceptively masking his existence. For some of our lives, it may seem the Devil has almost got us. From a whole world vantage point of view, a darkened shadowy future of uncertainty looms ahead. But there is One who offers a future having overcome and defeated all evil. He is greater, infinitely more powerful and insightful than our foe and his band of wicked cohorts.
He says to us all: ‘There is a move, there is one move that you can make, and you can win.’ In those moments when we’re almost ready to concede “Checkmate,” there’s a way of escape and victory. When hope fades from our life and when we are convinced there’s no answer for us, remember, there is one more move.
That move is toward Jesus Christ. You can make that move today in your own heart.
Chess. Photo: Tima Miroshnichenko, pexels.com
