The King Has One More Move

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Die Schachspieler (“The Chess Players”) is the official title of an 1831 painting
by German artist Friedrich Moritz August Retzsch. It is more famously referred to as
“Checkmate”. It depicts a game of chess between Satan and a young man, with Satan
appearing arrogantly confident and victorious while the man is looking distressed and
beaten. They are playing for the man’s soul, and it appears Satan is in a winning
position having put the young man’s King in Checkmate. The painting was once
displayed at the Louvre Museum in Paris where the Mona Lisa is displayed.
 

There is a legend surrounding the painting that occurred when it was displayed in
the Louvre. The exact details vary but the context centers around the same theme. As
the story goes, when the painting was displayed at the Louvre, a world champion and
grand chess master by the name of Paul Morphy was touring the Lourve museum with a
group. The tour guide was giving commentary on paintings and artists as they walked
through the museum, pausing to take each one in. As they came upon the
“Checkmate”, the guide told the story of the painting as depicted above and they moved
on to the next one, except the grand master chess player. He stood there taking in the
painting and as the group started to move on, the tour guide called back to him and
asked him if he was going to join them. The grand chess master then brought it to the
tour guide’s attention that something was wrong with the painting. The painting was
going to have to be changed, or they were going to have to change the name. When the
tour guide asked him to explain what he was talking about he told her he was a world
champion chess player, and he sees things that others may not see or notice in the
painting. The grandmaster told the guide the placement of the pieces does not depict a
checkmate. One version of this story states he had them bring out a chessboard to
visually show them as he placed the pieces on the board just as they were depicted in
the painting. After putting all the pieces in place he showed how the young man could
not only escape but in fact deliver a defeating blow to Satan. With that, Paul Morphy
advanced the chess piece and said, “You see, the King has one more move.”
 

There have been various studies and analysis about the factual interpretation of
this legend but the one fact that is not debatable is this painting symbolizes the spiritual
warfare and battle between good and evil. It is a vision of hope. The man is in a
seemingly losing position. He is backed into a corner and the Devil has more pieces and
moves on the board. Through all of the despair and hopelessness he is facing, the man
can only see the negative position he is in now and fails to see that his King indeed has
one more move. It is not only a move of escape from the position he is currently in, but
one of ultimate defeat for Satan.

Throughout the Bible we see example after example of our King having one more move
in the face of hopelessness and defeat.
 

David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17)- The King had one more move.
 

Moses and the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21-29)- The King had one more move.
 

Lazarus was raised from the dead- (John 11:38-44 The King had one more move.
 

Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego saved from the furnace of fire (Daniel 3) The King had one more
move.
 

Daniel is saved from the den of lions (Daniel 6) The King had one more move.
 

As he was dying on the Cross Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.”
(Matthew 27:46) -The King had one more move,
 

Jesus’ last words on the Cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30) The King had one more move.
 

Jesus’ body was sealed in a tomb (Matthew 27:64 – 28:4)- The King had one more move.
 

If Jesus has done all these things, then why don’t we believe that no matter what our
circumstances are or how hopeless our circumstances may seem, our King has one more move?
Our King always has one more move, but we must make the first move. Prayer and faith.
 

You lose your job- The King has one more move.
 

Divorce- The King has one more move.
 

Cancer or an unexpected medical diagnosis- The King has one more move.
 

An unexpected financial hardship- The King has one more move.
 

Jesus died on the cross and rose again from a sealed tomb for you. Our earthly matters and
worries are no match for his power and mercy. Always remember and never forget, no matter
what life or Satan throws at us, The King, always has one more move.

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