Begone! Ignorant and impudent knight, not even in chess can a King be taken. – (reputedly stated to one of his knights in 1110 after he was nearly captured by enemy forces) – King Louis VI

In chess tactics, strategy, psychology, ability to foresee the future, intuition are essential skills. In politics the politician who can plan multiple moves ahead of his opponent is always at an advantage. So what was chess for the statesmen who liked this game? Exercise for mind to develop all these skills, a way to promote their political line and negotiate with other leaders or just a favorite pastime?

A friendly match during the XVII World Chess Olympics with F. Castro, Terrazas, B. Fischer, T. Petrosyan

Supposedly, this ambiguous match was initially being played between Terrazas and Fidel Castro, later the first player getting Bobby Fischer’s backup and Castro having Tigran Petrosian’s support. This blog investigated this unusual chess game(s) in detail trying to find a reasonable explanation of the occurrences.

Che Guevara was playing chess with an approximate force of a candidate master

The legendary revolutionary conversing with chess stars of the era: V. Smyslov (first from left); M. Najdorf and following the game of Taimanov in the third photo

Ernesto Che Guevara was famous for being an ardent chess player. He learned chess from his father and began taking part in local tournaments by the age of 12. Che participated in simultaneous games notably against Miguel Najdorf in 1962 and also Korchnoi in 1963, in 17th Chess Olympiad held in Havana in 1966. Che Guevara was also engaged in popularizing chess in Cuba as well as organizing various chess tournaments.

Che Guevara following chess games

Once Che confided that instead of being a minister he would rather be a strong chess player or make a revolution in Venezuela. The legendary revolutioner played chess with an approximate force of a candidate master and preferred attacking game to a positional one.

Napoleon vs. Bertrand (the first photo), playing against Madame de Remusat in the buff (second photo), and in the third and fourth photos Napoleon plays chess in the island of Saint Helena

Napoleon vs. Comtesse de Remusat: Pages 48-49 of Chess by Jean Pickles (Loughborough, 1980)

Throughout his life French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte had a deep love for chess, though was not a player of the first rank. His contemporaries mention in their memoirs many cases when Napoleon played chess.  He also used to play chess during his campaigns with his officers. For example, in Egypt Napoleon played with M. Poussielgue, and M. Amédée Jaubert. During the Polish campaign, his opponents were Murat, Bourrienne, Berthier and the Duke of Bassano. Napoleon also played much during his captivity in Saint Helen.
Today there can be found not only some portraits of him playing chess but also those games in chess databases. There is also an opening named after him 1.e4-e5, 2. Qf3 which is however not used in today’s chess practice.

FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi playing chess in Tripoli in June 2011

To his interview to Whychess Mikhai Gorbachev admitted that there are a great number of parallels between politics and chess since before you take any kind of decision you should be able to look 5-10 steps ahead. “It’s one thing when there’s a face-to-face confrontation and everything’s clear, but usually you have to calculate the consequences of this or that political decision, what the results of implementing it will be”. Nevertheless, Gorbachev never played chess against people he negotiated with, as chess demands a great deal of time.

FIDE president Ilyumzhinov vs. Colonel Gaddafi

The president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Kirsan Ilyumzhinov played a friendly game of chess with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during his visit to Tripoli in June 2011. As Ilyumzhinov proudly stated in his successive press release, chess contributed to peacebuilding process in the region and the world as a result of his visit!