Time, sacrifice, defeat

The Latin expression memento mori, usually translated as "remember [that you have] to die" and related to the idea that we are all mortal, has long served as a reminder of the limits of human existence. Originating in ancient Rome, the phrase was supposedly whispered to victorious generals during triumphal processions to prevent pride from turning into arrogance. Later, during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the concept became associated with Christian morality, stoic philosophy and artistic representations of the fleeting nature of life.

Rather than encouraging fear, memento mori invites reflection. It reminds people that life is temporary, that wealth and status do not last, and that time is limited. In the stoic tradition of figures such as Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius, the awareness of death is not meant to provoke despair but to encourage wisdom, calmness and a greater appreciation of the present.

Master Class Vol.2: Mihail Tal

On this DVD Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Oliver Reeh and Karsten Müller present the 8. World Chess Champion in video lessons: his openings, his understanding of chess strategy, his artful endgame play, and finally his immortal combinations.

This view is strongly reflected in the film Gladiator (2000), which contains several lines closely linked to the spirit of memento mori. One of the most memorable is Maximus Decimus Meridius' statement: "What we do in life echoes in eternity". Another comes from Marcus Aurelius: "Death smiles at us all, all a man can do is smile back". The famous salute "Ave, Caesar, morituri te salutant" — "Hail, Caesar, those who are about to die salute you" — also turns the gladiators' entrance to the arena into a ritual acceptance of fate.

Chess can be linked to this philosophy in several ways. The game mirrors life in miniature: it begins with potential, develops through decisions and conflict, and inevitably ends. Every game contains ambition, setbacks, uncertainty and finality. The pieces may begin in symmetrical order, but they gradually disappear from the board until little remains. In this sense, chess reflects the idea that everything that is born on the board is destined to perish. Even the king, though never captured, cannot escape the inevitability of checkmate.

The chess clock is perhaps the clearest symbol of memento mori in competitive play. Each player has a limited amount of time, and every move brings that reserve closer to exhaustion. No one can stop the clock or recover lost minutes. As in life, postponing a difficult decision does not eliminate the problem - it merely delays the outcome. The ticking clock serves the same symbolic function as the hourglasses and fading flowers often seen in Renaissance vanitas paintings.

"Vanitas" by Bartholomaeus Bruyn the Elder (1524), including the text "Omnia morte cadunt, mors ultima linia rerum" - "Everything perishes with death, death is the final limit of things"

Chess is also a lesson in humility. Even the strongest player cannot control everything or avoid mistakes forever. Defeat remains possible in every game, and success is always temporary. This is why the warning of memento mori can be applied to the chessboard as much as to life itself: victory should not lead to arrogance, because every triumph is fragile.

Captures and sacrifices give chess another symbolic connection to mortality. Every captured piece represents the end of a possibility, the disappearance of a role from the struggle. Yet those losses are often necessary. A player may sacrifice a pawn, an exchange or even the queen in pursuit of a greater objective. In that sense, chess teaches detachment: pieces are valuable, but none of them should be clung to too tightly if giving them up can serve a larger plan.

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Smyslov cultivated a clear positional style and even in sharp tactical positions often relied more on his intuition than on concrete calculation of variations. Let our authors introduce you into the world of Vasily Smyslov.

Ultimately, checkmate can be understood as more than a simple result. It represents the moment when time has run out, movement stops and all possibilities disappear. The board becomes still, and the entire struggle suddenly acquires meaning through its ending. In that sense, chess is not only a game of strategy and calculation. It is also a meditation on mortality, the limits of human control and the need to act with purpose.

There are players who seem to enjoy entering phases of deep time trouble - Alexander Grischuk is known for spending copious amount of time in the opening, only to show remarkable precision when only seconds are left on his clock | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Links

• Chess as a mirror of universal tension
• Chess as part of English philosophical and literary tradition
• Jacobus de Cessolis: The chessboard as a model of virtue and medieval order