Kieffer: Finding hope in another beginning – The State Journal-Register
Posted: January 6, 2020 at 10:44 am
The New Year presents the prospect of another beginning and all the anticipation and hope for a bright future.
In the movie Pawn Sacrifice, the possibilities at the beginning of each new chess game are explored in the story of Bobby Fischer, the World Chess Champion from 1972-1975. Fischer was a brilliant, somewhat disturbed, young man who beat Russian player Boris Spassky during the Cold War and transformed the game by inventing a new variant of chess which randomized starting positions, compelling players to rely on their talent and creativity rather than memorization.
One of the quotes in the movie which both affirms the possibilities in each beginning as well as the wonder of Gods expanding creation was an observation made by Father Lombardy, a Roman Catholic priest who was Fischers confidant and coach. He said. After the first four moves, there are 300 million options before a chess player. Thats more than the stars in the sky.
As we move into another beginning and consider the options before us as well as the stars above us, let us find hope in the premises of our faith and the character of our Creator implicit in the biblical story of creation. Here we find the retelling of a well-known fable in antiquity about the beginning; however, this author tells the story with a different emphasis to affirm the Hebrew peoples belief in the goodness of God and Gods creation.
If we can trust that life began in goodness, we can go forward into life with courage and expectation. The evil in the world is not due to some relentless fate; it is a contradiction of the Creators purpose. God does not secretly wish ill for creation or delight in punishing us for some known or unknown wrong committed along the way. Quite the contrary, my friends, God is delighted in our well-being and peaceful coexistence and glorified when our lives are creative, loving, and shining brightly.
When Gods abiding presence came into the world to partake in the human experience, the light of an eastern star announced Christs arrival and another beginning. This light of Epiphany, which led strangers to the Christ child, symbolizes another belief at the heart of our faith. Namely, that Gods redeeming presence is intended for all whom God created and not limited to a chosen few. No human being is excluded from Gods justice and mercy.
Our faith affirms the God who was in the beginning, the God who makes all our beginnings possible and the God who will see our beginnings through to the end. In this New Year as we consider the options and strategies that outnumber the stars in the sky, may this chess analogy offered by American statesman and scientist Benjamin Franklin be a source of inspiration in the way we live our lives.
Chess teaches foresight, by having to plan ahead; vigilance, by having to keep watch over the whole chess board; caution, by having to restrain ourselves from making hasty moves; and finally, we learn from chess the greatest maxim in life that even when everything seems to be going badly for us we should not lose heart, but always hoping for a change for the better, steadfastly continue searching for the solution to our problems.
As it was in the beginning, is now and evermore shall be. Thanks be to God.
Rev. Dr. Blythe Denham Kieffer is pastor and head of staff at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Springfield.
See the rest here:
Kieffer: Finding hope in another beginning - The State Journal-Register
- What Is The Best Online Chess Time Control? - Chess.com - January 23rd, 2021
- On Chess: Chess And The Arts - St. Louis Public Radio - January 23rd, 2021
- Daily Chess Ratings And Daily960 Ratings Adjusted - Chess.com - January 23rd, 2021
- Chess Looks Wild In 2021 - Kotaku - January 23rd, 2021
- Grand Chess Tour Returning in Summer 2021 | US Chess.org - uschess.org - January 23rd, 2021
- Chess: Carlsen starts well but slows as Swedish outsider impresses at Wijk - The Guardian - January 23rd, 2021
- Chess: Two cases of cancel culture - TheArticle - January 23rd, 2021
- Mamedyarov Grabs Another Titled Tuesday - Chess.com - January 23rd, 2021
- Updates: Scholastic National Invitational Event and Award Requirements - uschess.org - January 23rd, 2021
- Thunder players passing time with chess, video games on long road trip: 'Still a lot to be grateful for' - Oklahoman.com - January 23rd, 2021
- Texas' Botez sisters are at the forefront of an unlikely, and booming, partnership: Chess and esports - The Dallas Morning News - January 23rd, 2021
- Chess is having a moment on Twitch - Eurogamer.net - January 23rd, 2021
- Auto Chess, the Dota 2 spin-off, is getting its own MOBA - PCGamesN - January 23rd, 2021
- Chess Corner: Over and over - Muskogee Daily Phoenix - January 23rd, 2021
- Mike Evans: At this point in his career, Tom Brady is playing chess - NBC Sports - January 23rd, 2021
- First ever Barak Valley Open Chess Tournament kickstarts in Silchar - Barak Bulletin - January 23rd, 2021
- The Embiid-Theis chess match - Celtics Blog - January 23rd, 2021
- Best mobile chess games for iOS and Android - Gamepur - January 23rd, 2021
- Lenderman Wins Playoff, Will Appear in 2021 National Championship - uschess.org - January 23rd, 2021
- Daily Deal: The Complete Chess Bundle - Techdirt - January 23rd, 2021
- Reece James and I played chess for four hours on the way back from Russia! - Chelsea's Chilwell - Goal.com - January 23rd, 2021
- Who are the Botez Sisters, one of chess's most popular streamers? - Sports Interactive Network Philippines - January 23rd, 2021
- Auto Chess MOBA is a new MOBA based on Auto Chess - PC Invasion - January 23rd, 2021
- Here's How to Play Chess by Mail, and What Movies to Watch to Get Your Game Going - Willamette Week - November 22nd, 2020
- So Defeats Duda With Incredible 3|1 Performance In Speed Chess - Chess.com - November 22nd, 2020
- The art of chess: a brief history of the World Championship - TheArticle - November 22nd, 2020
- Humpys Gambit: How Koneru disturbed the male-dominated status quo in chess - The Indian Express - November 22nd, 2020
- Cardinals QB Kyler Murray might be the best chess player in the NFL - Sporting News - November 22nd, 2020
- The Queen's Gambit On Netflix - All The Info - Chess.com - November 22nd, 2020
- Washington state team crowned national chess champions - KING5.com - November 22nd, 2020
- On Chess: Mizzou's Chess Team Proves Capable Of Winning Even In A Virtual Space - St. Louis Public Radio - November 22nd, 2020
- Outlawing heading would turn football into chess but game has to act to break dementia link - The Times - November 22nd, 2020
- Understanding before Moving 2: How to improve the activity of my pieces - Chessbase News - November 22nd, 2020
- Local Event: Thanksgiving Chess Camp For The Little Ones ~ Keep Em Active 😉 - Patch.com - November 22nd, 2020
- How Dama's Gambito nailed the chess world re:Jerusalem - re:Jerusalem - November 22nd, 2020
- Packers will have an interesting chess match against the Colts defense - Acme Packing Company - November 22nd, 2020
- Chess Online: How to Play and Win Chess | Chess Tips & Strategies - Popular Mechanics - October 6th, 2020
- On Chess: Returning To Over The Board Chess Tournaments - St. Louis Public Radio - October 6th, 2020
- October Cover Stories with Chess Life: GM Maurice Ashley - uschess.org - October 6th, 2020
- 'Audiences wont have seen anything like this': how Iranian film Chess of the Wind was reborn - The Guardian - October 6th, 2020
- Why Utah's new Teacher of the Year wants his students of color to play chess - Salt Lake Tribune - October 6th, 2020
- CCPS hosting in-person chess tournament, limited to students in Grades 4-12 - The Southern Maryland Chronicle - October 6th, 2020
- Its more natural for men to pick chess as an interest or women to pick arranging flowers - Mint - October 6th, 2020
- Gone too soon: Brimfield teen remembered as jokester and expert chess player - Pekin Daily Times - October 6th, 2020
- Meet these mini-grandmasters of chess - two brothers from Cork - EchoLive.ie - October 6th, 2020
- Carlsen and So tie in Chess 9LX tournament - Stabroek News - October 6th, 2020
- Sacred squares and foolish horses - Chessbase News - October 6th, 2020
- More than 100 players start at the Fagernes Open - Chessbase News - October 6th, 2020
- Russias Post-Covid Economic Policies Will Be a Game of Chess - ETF Trends - September 23rd, 2020
- The Only Problem In Fischer Random Chess - Chess.com - September 23rd, 2020
- AlphaZero (And Other!) Chess Variants Now Available For Everyone - Chess.com - September 23rd, 2020
- On the origins of chess (7/7) - Chessbase News - September 23rd, 2020
- Ten Years of Chess Innovation. How Lichess grew from a simple tech | by Samuel Sullivan | SUPERJUMP | Sep, 2020 - Medium - September 23rd, 2020
- Mechanics' to Host U.S. Cadet National Championship this Weekend - uschess.org - September 23rd, 2020
- Guess the child prodigy - Chessbase News - September 23rd, 2020
- Blitz Tournament of the Americas: Bringing Cultures and Communities Together Through Chess - uschess.org - September 23rd, 2020
- Int'l online chess event to mark 74th birthday of PM Hasina - Dhaka Tribune - September 23rd, 2020
- Road To The PCL Finals: China Pandas - Chess.com - September 23rd, 2020
- CHESS Health Selected by Next Step Community, an Addiction Recovery Program Located in Terre Haute, Indiana - PR Web - September 23rd, 2020
- The True Story Behind Critical Thinking, Movie Based in Miami - Miami New Times - September 23rd, 2020
- DeepMind's AI is helping to re-write the rules of chess - ZDNet - September 15th, 2020
- The 10 Best Chess Moves Of All Time - Chess.com - September 15th, 2020
- The classic game of chess has found a new home: Twitch - The Next Web - September 15th, 2020
- John Leguizamo on bringing the 'intellectual hustle' of chess to life - Page Six - September 15th, 2020
- On Chess: St. Louis Chess Club To Host Two Upcoming Online Chess Tournaments Featuring The World's Top Grandmasters - St. Louis Public Radio - September 15th, 2020
- Chess.com Teams Up With CLG For First CLG Arena With $2,100 In Prizes - Chess.com - September 15th, 2020
- Indian chess team celebrates its Olympiad victory with a special Twitter Chat - WION - September 15th, 2020
- Nihal Beats Tang In Junior Speed Chess Championship - Chess.com - September 15th, 2020
- An interview with Ben Johnson, the perpetual podcaster - Chessbase News - September 15th, 2020
- Auto Brawl Chess from Panoramik Games is available now for iOS following its Android launch earlier this year - Pocket Gamer - September 15th, 2020
- A game of chess in the Himalayas - The Hindu - September 15th, 2020
- Reward Olympiad-winning Indian team: Chess Forum appeals to Kiren Rijiju - Moneycontrol.com - September 15th, 2020
- Retired Chess Grandmaster, AlphaZero AI Reinvent Chess - Science Times - September 15th, 2020
- Sign Of The Times - Sparta Chess Online - TAPinto.net - September 15th, 2020
- Chinas check on Indias chess board: New Delhi will have to fall back on its own resources - The Times of India Blog - September 15th, 2020
- Chess masters make all the smart moves - IOL - September 15th, 2020
- Hennessy Spotlights Living Legend and International Chess Grandmaster Maurice Ashley In Latest Chapter of Award-Winning "Wild Rabbit"... - September 15th, 2020
- 'He is a chess player on a tennis court' - ATP star tipped to beat anyone - Tennishead - September 15th, 2020
- Just the Rules: New Internet Chess RulesEssential Player Tips - uschess.org - August 20th, 2020
- Norway Chess Oct. 5-16 With Reduced Field Of Participants - Chess.com - August 20th, 2020