Why a knight?
I get asked this a lot.
My passion for chess ebbs and flows, but ultimately remains as a corner stone, metaphorically, of my 'unpredictable lane control' of life.
The knight, arguably, is the most unique piece on the board. When one piece walks, the knight jumps. When another retreats, the knight ambushes. It is the only chess piece which can target an opponents' piece without being targeted itself. It is the only chess piece that does not confront its' opponent in a perpendicular or horizontal manner.
The knight is special. To rightly use the knight one must have an elevated vision of the board. Anybody can use the knight, but as some say(only me) the knight is an amateurs' dream and the experts' nightmare. He is tricky, whose unique jumping ability was reportedly introduced in the 6th century, and is the only piece which can "fork" four of your opponents' most powerful pieces without being attacked itself.
For context as to my love for the game of life, which I see at times depicted on 64 black and white squares, I'll share a personal regret and a moment which I will never forget.
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I wish I had taken chess seriously before my grandfather passed. I remember a moment as a pre-teen where he attempted to teach me the rules during a family gathering. I listened and learned attentively despite the many kids at the function trying to drag me out of this moment. Towards the end of the game, which he had let me off handedly, I remember getting into an argument about the knights' movement. It was the most polite argument I've ever had. He and I asked a third party, and even a fourth, on how exactly the L-shape movement worked with this chess piece. Long story short I was good at listening, but fell short with, well, short-term memory.
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The knight is unique, impactful, aggressive while defensive, controls space, ambitious, it takes time to learn his usage. You need patience, confidence, even sacrifice if it delivers fruit down the road, to truly appreciate the knight.
I've seen someone who devoted their entire life to chess, finally sitting across from their opponent, a Global Grand Master, competing for title of what people in the chess community regard as the height of achievement. After hours of grueling concentration and risk, the attackers' weights were lifted off the scale by one piece which you, I'm sure, could guess. The move was simple, but impossible.
The knight was useless, alone, sitting on the edge of the board, having been developed on turn two. He sat there, patient, for twenty turns. His opponent counted him out, forgot about him after an hour of thinking. To everyone watching they both seemed to forget. With one explosive move the entire scale was thrown off balance. Out of nowhere he transitioned the knight into an attacking position center board, but still protected, setting himself up for the strike. The follow up. After the opponents' response, and subsequently the second punishing movement of the knight, the defending champion was able to take complete control of the game.
Perceive to be strong when you are weak, act wise when you do not know, and for the love of god, don't sac your quean.
Be sure in your words, be confident in your actions, be truthful in your manner.
We are Fitz Brands.
