Chess

In the game of chess, there are two categories of pieces: the officers (king, queen, knight, bishop, rook) and the soldiers (pawns). The officers can jump with great strides and move in all directions, covering much ground quickly, while the soldiers can only move forward one square at a time. When a soldier achieves his goal and reaches the other side of the board, he can become elevated to any rank, even that of queen. However, he cannot become a king, for there is only one king in the game.

We find a parallel between the game of chess and a Jew’s relationship to G-d. In the higher spiritual realms, there exist both angels and Jewish souls. Angels are comparable to the “officers” in chess: they can leap from place to place, yet they can never advance beyond their original rank. By contrast, the Jewish souls, like the “simple soldiers”, are slow-paced and deliberate. Although they are only able to advance one small step at a time, when they complete their mission in this world they may attain a very high level.

In the end, however, there is only one king G-d, the King of Kings in all His Holiness.

Sicha of the Rebbe in the year 5708,
printed in Yemei Melech,Vol. II, p. 570