Chess as Metaphor for Politics - Redux

I've written before about chess being used as a metaphor in life, sports and, particularly, in politics. Here is a story that demonstrates the aptness of the analogy of chess and politics: From the Phillipines Sun Star Online Monday, February 25, 2008 Pangan: Gambit By Benjie R. Pangan At Close Range GOOD chess players employ gambits (e.g. Marshall, Dutch, Center Counter) in order to: extricate themselves from an otherwise losing or weak position, seize and sustain tempo and eventually win the game and, if luck favors the gambit or if the opponent takes it, win back the sacrificed piece and equalize. As in chess and poker, politics employs bluffs and counter bluffs, traps and subterfuges in order to unmask motives and dark designs. In the case of the beleaguered President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is keeping a brave front despite flak from left, right, back and dead center, she may be in more difficult positions to extricate herself from. These past weeks, protests have been mounted by different groups. Today, even student councils like that of the University of the Philippines, will be staging more anti-GMA activities and on February 29, a much bigger (and heavier) protest action will be staged by not one but several religious denominations dubbed Interfaith rally. Surely, massive demonstrations will be used by machinating opposition politicians to demand the resignation of PGMA. Going by her character, the President will not be easily cowed into surrender because she believes she had done nothing fatal to her governance; instead, she argues that she has done and achieved the optimum best for the country. In two weeks time, we will know whether the calculated "defiance" of GMA will capitulate to the growing signs of dissent and disenchantment. These two weeks will be crucial to the beleaguered President and, by extension, to her family and allies. Since the protests are aimed and staged only (yet) in the seat of National Government in Manila, the local leaders in the province should not become complacent, instead, they should show to their constituents that they work hard and long for them. This is one way to keep peace in the countryside and will neutralize the heat emanating from Manila. Let us do our thing here in the provinces. Huwag na tayong makisalo sa ingay sa Manila para hindi na tayo makadagdag pa sa mga problema.

Struck on the Head with a Chessboard

[24.12.2007 13:40] Yanukovych`s friends told him he was struck with chess board on his head The Party of Regions will act toughly, should the power’s activities be destructive. Party of Regions leader Victor Yanukovych said this in an interview to Inter television. According to him, the Party of Regions will undertake actions, “stipulated by the law.” At the same time, he stressed “we are law-abiding people”. At the same time, Victor Yanukovych said he recently heard from his friends that is he trying to play chess with his opponents, while his opponent take the chess board and strike him on his head. He noted: “We will pay attention to that”. Victor Yanukovych also stressed that any radical actions never benefited to the country. “We have always been opposed to radical actions”, he said. The Party of Regions leader added he does not envy either the government or the coalition, because “this coalition is non-viable”. At the same time, he noted: “We will not put any obstacles on the way of this coalition, if it proposes a real way for the country’s development, and there will be no populist slogans but real steps”. Victor Yanukovych refused to forecast the period of tenure of the current government, and just recalled that the experience indicates that governments in Ukraine are shifted annually. ctnstant URL of article: http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-228083.html ************************************************************************************* Ah, yes. The old "strike your enemy on the head with your chessboard" ploy. There are many historical precedents, including this one reported on at Goddesschess: King Canute and the Murder of the Danish Earl over a Chess Game

Iran, US engaged in a lethal Chess Game

By Linda S. Heard Online Journal Contributing Writer Dec 28, 2007, 00:18 In this ongoing and protracted game of chess, there are two teams at play. On the one side of the table is the US and Israel and on the other is Russia and Iran. Parts of the game are being held in the open with other sessions behind closed doors. Which side will eventually be checkmated is anybody’s guess. What’s certain is the game is high stakes for both teams but different for each partner on the same team. The US and Russia are hungry for hegemony. But for Israel and Iran, their very survival could hang on the outcome. More.

Human pawns, free at last

USA Today.com Wed Aug 22, 12:20 AM ET Iranian-American scholar Haleh Esfandiari, 67, has been living in an Orwellian hell since her Tehran airport taxi was stopped by three masked, knife-wielding men in December. They prevented her from flying home to the USA after visiting her ailing mother. In May, after months of interviews by Iranian intelligence, she was imprisoned and held virtually incommunicado. Until Tuesday. Suddenly, she was let out on $333,000 "bail," guaranteed by the deed to her mother's Tehran apartment. It's unclear whether Esfandiari will be allowed back to the USA or whether the charges will be dropped. Her case is part of a profoundly disturbing pattern. Iran has a history of using hostages for extreme psychological warfare. It inflicted trauma on the USA almost 30 years ago when young Revolutionary Guards seized 52 U.S. Embassy hostages and held them for 444 days. Now Iran is returning to this abusive tactic. In March, it held 15 British sailors and marines on trumped-up charges. It has charged three other Iranian-Americans for security-related offenses. Iranian TV has churned out chilling, coerced propaganda. Why the newfound capriciousness? Revolutionary Guard student leaders, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, are now in positions of power. The nation needs bargaining chips as it spars with the United States over Iran's illicit nuclear weapons program and influence in Iraq. Hard-liners are desperate to win internal factional power struggles. Whatever the underlying reasons, they reflect an erratic, insecure regime. Firm, steady, concerted pressure is the appropriate response, be it to the weapons program or the holding of human pawns. Beijing games China, meanwhile, has released a jailed activist — and allowed him to return to his home, wife and two children in the Boston area after five years in prison. The case of Yang Jianli (left, by Getty Images), 44, a Chinese citizen and legal U.S. resident, has some parallels to that of Esfandiari. The Harvard scholar and former Tiananmen Square protester was detained in 2002 while traveling around China, meeting activists and laid-off workers. He was held, mostly incommunicado, on charges of spying for Taiwan and entering China illegally. Although he was released in April, he wasn't allowed to leave the country until now. After being reunited with his family Saturday, Yang said he still believes that China is on the path to democracy, that the government is "sitting on a powder keg" and "the tighter the grip on power, the more difficulty they will have in holding on." That may, or may not, be true. As with Esfandiari, U.S. officials — including President Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson — championed Yang's cause and pressed for his release. But what seems to have clinched the deal: China is eager to show a tolerant face to the outside world as the 2008 Beijing Olympics approach. Repressive regimes have always used human beings as pawns. During the Cold War, Eastern bloc countries singled out dissidents according to the state of the political chess game with the West. The fates of Esfandiari and Yang are proof that the game still goes on. Leverage on Iran is more limited. Fortunately for Yang — and perhaps for others — China's grandmasters are looking toward the Beijing Games. But the real test of whether China's tolerance is genuine will come only after the games are over.