The weakest piece in the court of chessmen is the King, yet the game in won by creating a situation where the King can be attacked and have no escape route. Much of the defensive part of a chess game is aligning the other more powerful members of the court in a protective position around the King. And the early offensive strategy of a chess game is capturing these lesser figures to both reduce the defenses and undermine the future offense. Of course, the most powerful piece on the chess board is the Queen, and her isolation and capture often heralds the beginning of the end of the game.
Beautiful graphic!!! May the end of Cheney’s chess game (with US trrops and legions of Iraqis) come speedily and without delay!
Off topic- If you have sources or suggestions I could use w/my intro-level students to help them view Loftus’ work in perspective, I would be very glad to get those. Please email me if you have the time and the inclination. Feel free to delete this post or this portion of it… couldn’t find a direct link.