Check! by Slawomir Mrozek
"Check!" by Sławomir Mrożek is a thought-provoking narrative that explores themes of absurdity, power dynamics, and the struggles inherent in human interaction through the metaphor of a chess game. The story centers around a narrator who substitutes for a friend working as a chess piece in a living chess game, a public spectacle where people dressed as chess figures move on a large board controlled by two elderly players. The atmosphere is bleak, marked by the discomfort of the participants and the incompetence of the game’s controllers.
As the narrator navigates his role as the white Bishop, he learns about the unfairness and randomness of the game, increasingly aware of the manipulative tactics employed by the black Rook. The narrative escalates into a commentary on competition and survival as the Bishop attempts to outmaneuver not just the game itself, but also the oppressive nature of the Rook, who embodies ruthless ambition. Ultimately, as tensions rise during a storm, the Bishop finds himself in a position where he must confront the absurdity of his circumstances, leading to a dramatic climax that reflects on the futility of the struggle. Mrożek's work invites readers to ponder the complexities of life and the often arbitrary rules that govern human behavior.
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Check! by Slawomir Mrozek
First published: "Szach," 1962 (English translation, 1968)
Type of plot: Fable
Time of work: Around the 1960's
Locale: Courtyard of an old palace, presumably in Poland
Principal Characters:
The narrator , an unemployed man who substitutes for a piece in a game of living chessThe regular white Bishop , his ill friendThe white Knight , a chess piece who gives adviceThe black Rook , the jingoist who wants to win
The Story
Two friends who have in the past worked together at trivial jobs meet on a day when a storm threatens. Complaining about his various physical ailments that will worsen if he is caught in a storm, the man who has been working regularly as a piece in living chess games asks the narrator to substitute for him. He describes the life-sized chess game as a public spectacle in which people dressed as pieces move about on a great outdoor board controlled by players sitting on elevated platforms. He regards it as a relatively easy way to make money—so long as the weather cooperates, which it rarely does. The people serving as chess pieces are not volunteer chess aficionados—who tend to quit when they dislike how the game is going—but disinterested people who are paid for doing a job. The narrator's friend has worked his way up to playing the white Bishop, for which he gets more money and does more work than the pawns. The narrator agrees to fill in for his friend when the latter assures him that the chess match is just the private sport of two old men and that the white Knight will give him practical advice.
When the narrator arrives at the courtyard, he is put off by its ominous and gloomy atmosphere, the pathetic tattered shoes that the chess pieces are wearing beneath their monstrous papier-mâché cardboard costumes, and by the threats of a black Rook. Nevertheless, he locates the white Knight, who shows him how to dress, how to smoke and eat surreptitiously, and how to exploit the stratified system.
It does not take the new Bishop long to realize that the two old chess players controlling the game are incompetent. The Knight confirms his fears that the game has neither rhyme nor reason, telling him that the two senile players sometimes even leave the pieces out overnight. After the Bishop has been moved about randomly for some time, it begins to rain and gradually intensifies. During the long intervals between moves, the Knight warns the Bishop about the cruel, heavily booted black Rook, who will do anything to win.
Eventually the white Bishop can endure the tedious game no longer. Not caring whether white wins or loses, but keeping out of the black Rook's way, he decides to cheat so that a King can be checkmated. Although he captures the drunk black Bishop and two pawns, he discovers that the balance of the game has not changed. Someone on the other side must be cheating as well: It is the black Rook, who is now openly kicking white pieces. The Knight sees what is happening but cannot help the Bishop for fear of jeopardizing his own job and leaves after being captured by the Rook.
When only the two Kings, the black Rook, and the white Bishop are left, cheating is no longer possible. The Bishop tries to reason with the Rook that because the game is obviously a draw, they should all go home, but the Rook refuses to listen. Fearing that the Rook will injure the white King, the Bishop stealthily steers the sleepy old man off the board, with angry cries of "Check!" rising over the storm. When they near the gate, the Rook closes in on them, but inspired by fear, the Bishop takes off their cardboard costumes, throws them as far as possible, and hides. As the Rook repeatedly stabs the sodden costumes, the Bishop and the King walk out of the courtyard.