The Chesscentric Anti-War Protest Article
On the heels of US involvement in Iran say "STOP THIS WAR!"
This is a protest article of sorts but we WILL do some chess! I thought of a novelty in chess writing where I will use chess as a metaphor for what is going on in the Israel - Iran war. One caveat here: I am not an expert in politics and history but I am an enthusiast as I believe it VERY IMPORTANT to be alert and aware of what is happening in our world. Hopefully, this will be an intelligent take but please comment if you think I get anything wrong (or right!). I am happy to have constructive discourse.
War is horrible. War is a stain on human civilization and with the advent of nuclear weapons, an existential threat to the species. I am writing this article to state that I am unequivocally against any war currently ongoing in our world, whether it is Russia-Ukraine, the War in Gaza, India - Pakistan and this new chapter of the Israel - Iran war (not to forget the horrible civil wars going on in Myanmar and South Sudan plus the drug war in North and South America). I have an unrealistic demand: End all wars and play chess instead.
Chess is a game based on war but I believe games like chess can lead to peace. Chess leads to an exchange of ideas which eventually break down the artificial boundaries of our tribal nature. Chess is culture and they learn from each other. Chess is the beauty of history and an ever evolving sport.
Now for my main inspiration for this article: SAY NO TO THE CURRENTLY ESCALATING WAR IN IRAN - No matter who you are and what side you are on - we as a collective group of humans, must tell every government involved that they need to sit down to negotiate a solution. More bloodshed does not create lasting peace. Humans have found ways to to reduce nuclear weapons with non-proliferation treaties so it is time to re-engage in that hard diplomatic work.
Now, with that said, I would like to test out my novelty in chess writing and compare three different scenarios of what I believe is currently happening in the Israel - Iran war. Let’s start with the most obvious metaphor: The Dragon Sicilian, Yugoslav Attack: Modern Main Line.
An Opening such as the Dragon fits well as a metaphor for the Israeli - Arab conflict. The historical complexity of the Sicilian Dragon and the Israeli - Arab conflict are more alike than you think except that in the former, no one has died. Both have been used to explosive and devastating effect, both have been argued to be out of fashion, and both will need an incredible amount of positional understanding to employ or fight against. Here are 3 positions that illustrate the similarities:
Position #1 - History Repeating itself - Must we talk about WMDs in Iraq??? That’s tedious but important.
The depth and complexity of the Dragon make it perilous for beginners and it is highly likely that amateurs will repeat mistakes of the past sometimes hundreds of times. Here we have a position in a modern variation that I like to play after the following moves: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. O-O-O d5 10. Qe1 e5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. exd5 cxd5 - Black’s last move was a mistake but at lower levels it can work because White won’t know the best follow-up move.
And, it is very interesting to note that if you click on any of the above moves and go to the database at 365chess - there will be a myriad of branching possibilities. I just chose this line because it’s one of my favorites for White AND I have missed the correct move 13.Bg5 many times. It’s burned in my memory now but even after the correct move 12…Nxd5, the position remains incredibly complex and have lost many games from this position even while outplaying my opponent in the opening.
The obvious historical parallel in the Iran affair here is the Bush administration’s WMD debacle. However, the situation with the Iranian nuclear ambitions is certainly a different scenario. It is well known to the world that the Iranians have been pursuing a nuclear program. And, it is also well known that Israel sees this as an existential threat due to well, the Iranian Government threatening their destruction. The hard part here for the casual observer is that there are many conflicting reports on the status of the Iranian program and it is very clear that Netanyahu has just survived a vote of no confidence meaning his position is now safe until elections in October of 2026. So the complexity of the situation is beyond the average, or even the expert player in chess and international politics.
I note these complexity because it is important to see the angles. But, make no mistake, the blowback from this war will have disastrous affect on the world. Stop this war!
Position #2 - Surprise Value if Not Exactly Correct
Even the world’s foremost experts can surprise their opponent’s with sidelines that contain deep hidden ideas which can be echoed in what is happening in the Middle East. To know every possibility is impossible and it can be a big challenge to meet even a sly little move like GM Magnus Carlsen played against GM Gawain Jones in 2018.
In this game, Magnus played 14.Kb1 instead of the modern 14.Ne4. Magnus’s move maintains the tension and uses an old historical idea of simply getting off of the c1-h6 diagonal with a safer king. But, this loses a bit of the tension and Black should be completely fine.
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 O-O 9.O-O-O d5 10.Qe1 e5 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.exd5 Nxd5 13.Bc4 Be6 14.Kb1 Re8 15.Ne4 f5 16.Ng5 Bc8 17.g4
However in this game, Magnus blundered on move 17! Magnus, one of the best players in all of chess history blundered and the amazing part about this is that Jones could not capitalize. Black played inaccurately on moves 22, 23 and 25 completely giving away the advantage and Magnus took over the position winning by move 42.
17…f5! was good for a very strong advantage against one of the best players of all time!
This is a good warning that even the world’s foremost experts can miss many details and that the pressure of “battle” leads to many mistakes. In chess, there are no grave consequences save a blow to the ego or your standing in the tournament. But, in life, in geopolitics and minds of our leaders, these moves can lead to destructive consequences. So let’s refrain: STOP THIS WAR!
Position #3 - The deep historical significance (even in lines that have gone out of fashion)
Here is an example of a line that was incredibly fashionable in a game between GM Anatoly Karpov and GM Tony Miles. The main point of showing the following position is to highlight how moves like 9.g4 that Karpov played in 1982 that was considered the main line for decades, have fallen out of fashion.
I see parallels here to approaches such as the two state solution, that seemed so promising and may have worked for a time but have been abandoned as the main solution. Thus, we have the modern 9.0-0-0 as the current mainline. This is largely due to computer analysis rendering the 9.g4 line “theoretically harmless” which relegates it to being a surprise weapon at the top level.
As an aside, I find it a bit comical that the difference is in centi-pawns from 9.0-0-0 giving a 0.43 advantage to White and 9.g4 giving a 0.13 advantage to White but that is exactly how slim the advantages are in high level opening play. And, it really matters how long you run the engine as you will get varying results at shorter depths than the insane 50+ (Some top level player on Chessbase ran 9.0-0-0 to a depth of 73!)
There is so much to say here but I will end today’s article with this: STOP THIS WAR! Spread it far and wide no matter where you sit on the political spectrum.
Yours,
Coach Q