# Chess figure - composer matching game



## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

Edit: Started out as a sort of funny idea, but I guess the pawn figure might make the game 'offensive' to some. But you're welcome to play, of course, if you wish.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Pawn = Philidor (at least one of the pawns...Black's Queen pawn). He was a composer of note, although didn't make quite as big a mark.


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## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

King = Haydn .... Queen?


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

HaydnBearstheClock said:


> King = Haydn .... Queen?


Mozart, probably. Otherwise Boccherini (who was insultingly called "the wife of Haydn").


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Black Knights -- Scriabin (piano) and Wagner (opera)
White Knights -- Chopin (piano) and Verdi (opera)


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* I don't understand this game.


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## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

Boccherini definitely didn't deserve that moniker, but ok, let us move on . 

King - Wagner, Queen - ?


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## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

SONNET CLV said:


> Black Knights -- Scriabin (piano) and Wagner (opera)
> White Knights -- Chopin (piano) and Verdi (opera)
> 
> --------------------
> * I don't understand this game.


Alright, you basically have to match the composer with the chess figure - so, say, you can say Bach is the king, because most musicologists agree that he is the greatest. It's basically a humourous game.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

The queen should be Prokofiev, because:

1. His music is as spiky as the crown on her head; and
2. he was a good chess player himself.

Beethoven is a rook: a heavy piece that bludgeons its way through the opposition. 

Philip Glass is a pawn. And another pawn. And another pawn. And another pawn...


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

HaydnBearstheClock said:


> Alright, you basically have to match the composer with the chess figure - so, say, you can say Bach is the king, because most musicologists agree that he is the greatest. It's basically a humourous game.


Perhaps if certain eras or genres had a chess "team" -- say, the Baroque chess set would feature Bach as King, and Wilhelmine, Princess of Prussia, later Margräfin of Bayreuth as Queen ...

...while the Atonalists team would consist of Schoenberg as King, Berg and Webern as Bishops, Ruth Crawford (Seeger) as Queen ...


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## Guest (Jul 14, 2014)

The queen should be Schoenberg; on the surface, one might get a lot of crap for being "the queen" (or for being Schoenberg!), but the guy was damn important and had a lot of different moves!

On that note, ArtMusic will surely nominate Webern, Stockhausen, and Xenakis as pawns


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Rossini will be a knight, seeing as he composed the soundtrack to "The Lone Ranger." 

With all that religious music, perhaps Bach should be a bishop (though I can see why a staunch Lutheran like him would have me lynched for the suggestion).


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## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

Vivaldi should be a bishop, since he was actually a violin-shredding priest.
Other possibility for the bishop: Haydn, since he was a devout catholic and wrote quite a bit of significant sacred works. 

Knight: very specific, individualistic composers - a.k.a Liszt, Schumann, Chopin

Beethoven and the rook is a good one. Stubborn, brutal and uncompromising . 

A good candidate for king could also be Handel, since he was a royal composer.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

brianvds said:


> Rossini will be a knight, seeing as he composed the soundtrack to "The Lone Ranger."
> 
> With all that religious music, perhaps Bach should be a bishop (though I can see why a staunch Lutheran like him would have me lynched for the suggestion).


Lutheran churches have bishops.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Sloe said:


> Lutheran churches have bishops.


Ah well, lucky for me then, as long as I can put him at ease that I meant a Lutheran bishop...


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Here's a real bishop for you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agostino_Steffani


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## scratchgolf (Nov 15, 2013)

Interesting. Before I give my take, I'll give 2 disclaimers. 

1. Pawns are irrelevant here. We're all pawns. Only the back row seems to apply for this game. 
2. Ignore the standard meaning of queen and think in terms of Chess. In the Army the Infantry is the Queen of Battle. Mobile, versatile, and lethal. The Artillery is the King of Battle. Highly immobile but without it, you lose. 

Having said that, my choices

King: Vivaldi - Important to Classical Music because he's a huge gateway. Without him, some of us would not be here.
Queen: Beethoven - Versatile across multiple genres. Strong and important in each. The one composer/chess piece i couldn't do without. (Interestingly, an experienced chess player can thrive without the queen and an experienced listener can survive without Beethoven. Something a beginner at each can't seem to fathom)
Bishops: Bach and Mozart - Important, powerful, and sneaky. You know they're there but you don't always see them coming. Game changers.
Knights: Schubert and Mendelssohn - Underrated and overlooked. Sometimes considered the "least important" or "most expendable" of the "important" pieces. Still, they are uncompromising and can force you to change your tactics by just staying in one place. 
Rooks: Wagner and Chopin - One trick ponies but masters of their tricks. Obvious yet powerful. They also aren't typically utilized at an early stage of the game but become very important once the game is established. 

Did I overthink this?


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## spradlig (Jul 25, 2012)

Philidor is noted for saying that "Pawns are the soul of chess."



GreenMamba said:


> Pawn = Philidor (at least one of the pawns...Black's Queen pawn). He was a composer of note, although didn't make quite as big a mark.


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

Bach should be the rook, Mozart the queen, Beethoven the knight, Schubert the pawn, Debussy the bishop and Haydn the king.

Don't ask me *why*, I don't know!


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