A friend shared with me recently a very interesting work of art. I had never seen or heard of it before. I quickly learned there was an equally interesting story behind it.
The artist and the art
The German painter is Moritz Retzsch and he painted it in 1831. It began as an etching and then became a famous oil painting originally called “The Chess Players”. Later it also became known as “The Game of Life” and “Check Mate”. It was once owned by Queen Isabella II of Spain and eventually found its way to the famed Louvre Museum in Paris.
Billy Graham referred to it in a sermon in 1955 (good year!). I’ll let him describe it: “There is a picture of a chess game hanging in Paris. On one side of the painting is the Devil, and on the other side is a lad about 16 years of age. They are playing chess. The Devil has a leering, triumphant expression on his face. He has just licked this boy at chess, and the boy is sitting there with his head bowed and big tears trickling down his cheeks. The Devil has just won in the game of life over this lad. He has no strength, he has no way out, and he has given up. The title of the picture is ‘Check Mate’. He had him.”
Other commentators have explained further details in the painting. A young guardian angel stands behind the chess table looking anxiously toward the man. The devil’s ornate chair has a lion’s roaring head on it with its paw resting on a human skull. Scripture reminds us that “your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
The chess board is resting on a sarcophagus or elaborately engraved stone coffin. The devil’s chess pieces are black; the young man’s are white. A spider is climbing onto the table and heading toward the man. This again suggests the devil’s sinister intent to ensnare and destroy. From the number of captured chess pieces, the devil is clearly winning. The symbolism is obvious – the young man’s eternal soul is imperilled and the devil is already gloating at his prize.
The rest of the story
Billy Graham then told the sequel to the painting’s story. “A famous chess player came through one day. He looked at the painting. He felt sorry for the boy and he hated the looks of the Devil. He began to study the board where the men were placed, and all of a sudden he shouted: ‘Son, I have found a move, one move . . . if you will make that move you can lick the Devil.’ He forgot himself, he forgot it was a painting — he was so engrossed in it.”
We will never know the painter’s true motive. Was it to convey the message that mankind was doomed and ready to be destroyed by the Devil’s imminent check-mate? Or did Retzsch know the game quite well and intentionally left the young man with one last life-saving move? The apostle Paul was inspired to write, “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Billy Graham concluded his message this way. “But I believe there is One looking down from above who looks upon the board and says to you and me: There is a move, there is one move that you can make, and you can win! That move is toward Jesus Christ. You can make that move today in your own souls.”
Rob Weatherby is a retired pastor, mediocre chess player, and avid admirer of Billy Graham.
