Backgammon or Chess?
A lot of discussion has been going around regarding Backgammon, mostly just because of the in depth history/gaming lesson given to us by John Locke in season1. Someone on this site even mentioned the possibility that it is all one big Backgammon game and that the losties are the pieces.
When I thought about this I realized how the dark and light duality comes into play, but what if Backgammon was only mentioned to throw us off. Games are certainly important in LOST, it may be one big game at the end, who knows.
We have seen Backgammon several times – Lock & Walt, Walt & Hurley, Locke & Charlie, Locke & Sawyer, even child Locke.
We have also seen RISK, Connect 4, Poker, Golf, Baseball, Football, Ping-Pong, Mousetrap, Horseshoes, Crossword puzzles, I Never, Soccer & CHESS.
We see Chess is many scenarios – Russian Guys in Listening Station, Computer in The Flame, Mikhail & Richard, Matthew Abbadon is seen sitting at a chess board, Hurley & Ghost Mr. Eko.
Chess fits in with the same theme of duality (light & dark) yet “the rules” seem to apply in LOST better then a game of backgammon which seems to be a misdirection.
Chess has 16 players on each side, One side Light, One side Dark. I could get into the whole number spiel but id rather just relate the characters.
We have our Pawns – neccessary sacrifices the island demands; Boone, Michael, Anna Lucia, Libby, Shannon, Charlie, Anonymous Others/Dhamra people, etc.
Then we start with the soldiers
We have our Knights – those who move in their own way; Mr. Eko, Kate, Sawyer, Desmond, Sayid
Our Rooks & Bishops – strong but have order; Jin, Jack, Hurley, Ilana, Bram, Lapidus, Juliet
The Queens – this is the most powerful piece on the board, but if taken or lost one does not necessarily lose the game. This piece goes out and does all of the dirty work while The King sits back and watches. I believe Ben & Locke have become these pieces.
The Kings – Jacob and MIB, so far we have seem them do nothing but sit back and watch. In a chess game The King is rarely moved until necessary and is easily defeated. Seems like Jacob went down without much of a fight!
A chess game is strategic, not based as much on luck like backgammon with dice. The players of a chess game setup the pieces in different spots (future, past) and wait to use them, for them to make their move. The pieces keep going back and forth, sometimes one piece must sacrifice itself for another (Charlie & Desmond).
If a pawn makes it to the end of the board, he/she can return to the game as any piece. Maybe these are the voices and the ghosts, the pawns coming back into the game!
Joshcgs, I love this post. I’ve always felt that chess was a better analogy to Lost than backgammon, especially with the need to think several moves ahead in order to play a good game. The strategizing and tactical moves made by Ben, Jacob, Nemesis and others is closer to what happens when playing chess rather than backgammon. Great post!
Hey thanks Achalli! I was actually playing chess yesterday when I thought of this. I have been rewatching from the beginning and John keeps repeating how Boone was “a necessary sacrifice the island demands”
You sacrifice pawns in chess as part of the strategy all the time, something just clicked.
Think about how easily Jacob went down, in chess once a king is no longer guarded he is defenseless.
Now that I think about it, Ben may not represent a queen at all, he probably thought he did, being Jacobs right hand man but it may be Richard or Jack?
thoughts?
*also a sidenote on pawns reaching the end and being able to come back as any piece.
Every standard chess board comes with two queens per team because if you do happen to get a pawn to the end w/o losing your queen you can have two!
two queens in a chess set, two John Lockes.
Maybe we will have a double of some1 else!
JACK?
Cool idea, I’d had a similar one before the site went down and I very much agree that Chess seems to fit the storyline of Lost better than Backgammon. One thought though – if MIB abd Jacob are the Kings, then if Jacob is killed the game is over. The only way the game could still be playing is if MIB and Jacob are the Queens. Jacob then can be killed and either the game continues or a pawn can become Queen (John?). I also think Ben and Widmore are on the same team (just don’t like each other) but am working that one over in my head at the moment. Like the analogy, who else could be the Kings? –
Think about how in Chess it is pretty much impossible for a king to kill another king, they would just chase eachother around the board!
You need another piece to do the deed.
Maybe when MIB succeded in killing Jacob he thought the game was over, but now “they’re coming” and Ilana has been summonded, maybe some1 else stepped into Jacob’s shoes.
Maybe they are playing with one of those sets that alow up to four people play a game. Seriously, perhaps the Island is one of the kings and an as yet unnamed party is the othe king. I believe the anology does work better if Jacob and Nemesis are the queens. One other important thing about chess is the pawn structure, which is the placement of a player’s pawns on the board. A good structer allows a player to move and place their pieces effectively while also defending the king. Pawns can make or break a gameso they should never be underestimated.
Also, who are the rooks? Rooks are very good at threatening/protecting from a distance. Alpert perhaps? And then, has a pawn been promoted yet?
yes. i am a huge fan of chess, and often thought of lost in the same way. perhaps jacobs touches were subtle moves that put him in position for the big win. often in chess you sacrifice pieces for positioning, so jacob allowing himself to be killed is sort of a gambit, a misdirection. lose the battle win the war. nice post.
Great post! Maybe turning the FDW is a version of getting a pawn to the other side of the board, duplicate queen.
Thats why i love this site. I propose the idea of chess being more significant to LOST that backgammon and you guys just help with even more ideas!
great idea daddyx, never really thought about that way.
VERY nice theory imo. And have you seen the new Season 6 promo from Spanish tv channel Cuatro? If not, check youtube, it’s all about chess 🙂
I just saw it now, WOW that was definitely the best promo ive seen so far, wish it was in english. They seem to agree wit hmy theory!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C56Lgl6DorM
Okay, the idea about the Kings being unable to kill one another. That was good.
Perhaps turnign the FDW is the Island’s version of castleing.
Joshcgs, there are some versions of the promo with english subtitles in it 🙂 Best promo I’ve ever seen.
After reading your post, I wondered if perhaps Widmore was a “king” with Abaddon as his “queen”/protector, or maybe Abaddon was another piece left over from Widmore’s turn.
So many possiblities…
What if The Others are already captured pieces off to the side of the board?
What if when Locke was declared leader of The Others he had either been captured or had made it to the other side of the board and had been queened? Or when he returned to the island with a definite purpose?
Possibly the most brilliant post i have read on this site.
I love this idea and each charecter and piece you have mentioned fits perfestly into the storyline.
Is it possible that before Jacob was killed then if he was king he may have swapped with a castle and “ROOKED” therefore the person we see die is actually the castle? Just a thought.
thanks ostin,
check out some of the comments, I actually think that we were led to believe Ben played a queen but he never really knew Jacob, he has been a pawn as well.
We have yet to see Jacob reveal his queen who could be Ilana, Jack, Richard……
I also related how in chess the kings are unable to kill eachother!!!!! If two kings were left on the board they would keep moving around it is a stalemate. The kings needs another piece to do the deed!