Chess and why Ben can’t kill Widmore
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By Lostompa
- Chess and why Ben can’t kill Widmore
- Created: Apr 28, 2008
- Last updated: Oct 23, 2008
- After episode: 4.9: The Shape of Things to Come
- Status: Current
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Hi everyone! I have been reading theories since january this year. This site is excellent. Thanks to all those that post your theories and observations and of course to those that read and comment them.
This is my first post. I hope I can contribute with something here.
I hope this hasn’t been mentioned before… I apologize if so.
After watching Episode 9 I was surprised and very intrigued why Benjamin Linus said that he can’t kill Charles Widmore.
Chess was the first thing that came to my mind in that particularly moment. Kings don’t and can’t kill Kings. If you have an idea how to play chess you’ll find out immediately that this can’t be possible. I know that in chess you don’t actually kill but actually capture pieces. What I’m saying here is that if Ben and Charles are actually playing chess they can’t kill each other.
Is Lost a big game of chess between Linus and Widmore? I don’t know, but it could be interesting to see how they put everything together in that matter…
But one thing is sure, this series has taught us that can go any direction. I wish good luck to the writers and producers to tie everything together.
Thanks for reading! Please comment.
Key characters
| Short Name | Full Name | Episodes | Theories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben | Benjamin Linus | 3.20, 4.9, & 3” href=”/episodes/theres-no-place-home-parts-2-3/”>4.13 | 1819 |
| Charles | Charles Widmore | 432 |
Key episodes
| # | Title | Aired | Central character | Theories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.9 | The Shape of Things to Come | 4-24-2008 | Ben | 280 |
Key events
| Theme | Relevant Episodes | Theories |
|---|---|---|
| “Adam” and “Eve” are discovered | 1.6 | 171 |
Key locations
| Theme | Relevant Episodes | Theories |
|---|---|---|
| The Black Rock | 3.19, 1.24, 1.9, 1.23 | 60 |
Welcome Lostompa. It has been mentioned before, but its still a valid point. Ben is an expert chess player as we saw in the mobisodes against Jack. Good first post.
Yeah good theory. It also alludes to the episode where Locke is playing Chess in Mikhail’s basement and also ties in with the ever present black and white theme.
On a side note, if this is a big game of chess lets look at Ben and Widmore. Ben has black hair, Widmore white hair. Chess rules state that the white piece always moves first. This could indicate that Widmore made the first move and in theory, started the game or initiated the war. Maybe this does back up Ben’s consistent claim that the others are the ‘good’ guys.’
The question is who are the queens. Its safe to assume that Penny is Widmore’s queen and he would do anything to protect her, as seen when he wouldn’t consent to a ‘pawn’ like Desmond to marry her. But who is Ben’s queen…. Is it Alex, is it Juliet, or is it Annie? We all know that in a game of chess the King can take the Queen, so in response to Ben’s claim that Widmore had ‘changed the rules’ we could possibly rule Alex out of this equation. Maybe Alex wasn’t part of the game, too important to be a pawn but not quite Ben’s queen. So by having her executed Widmore has killed somebody who wasn’t part of the overall chess game, therefore changing the rules.
In relation to Sayid and Michael, who we know are working for Ben post-island, these characters could be seen as higher ranking members of the board i.e rooks or bishops.
If chess is the big metaphor behind the overall concept of the show, then the writers have done a really good job so far.
+1 from me
I think you are on to something with the Chess analogy….there were a couple of other chess references in the last episode.
Specifically, when Ben’s daughter has a gun to her head, he tells the grunt that she is “just a pawn” — Ben seems to think that he has the situation under control and that she won’t be killed (as you said, chess pieces aren’t killed, only captured — perhaps by saying she was a pawn, Ben is indicating that she is not to be killed).
When she is then shot Ben says that they’ve “changed the rules” (i.e. by killing a pawn). War doesn’t have rules, but chess certainly does.
I also like the analogy because some pieces can “jump” other pieces, aka time travel. +1 and let’s discuss more.
Thanks for your comments!
Lojozz: I know it has been mentioned before the idea of chess in Lost. However, I’m focusing more in the idea of why can’t Ben kill Charles (Kings can’t kill Kings in chess) with that I’m suggesting an alternative answer to Ben’s phrase: “you know I can’t kill you” (or something like that)
I also wanted to explain that in chess you don’t kill but rather capture pieces. If you read “boybacon” comment above he explained it very good.
Gary OC: I’m also wondering who the other pieces in this game are. Queen, Bishop, Knights, etc. Thanks for your comments. It will help to expand the theory.
Boybacon: Excellent addition to the theory about “changed the rules” Thanks.
I like this theory a lot!
Boybacon-I thought about the changed the rules line several times he said it again at the end I believe when he was talking to Widmore so I really felt at that point that it was more than a comment.
maybe locke is bens queen :O
I’d also like to predict that it will be Locke who ultimately is the key to ‘winning’. Remember when he was playing chess on that computer and the Russian said nobody can beat it? Well, Locke beat it. Hmmm…
love this theory, but where does jacob fit into all of this. I believe that he is a very important piece in the game, or maybe even outside of the game. Either way, i think its safe to say he’s on ben’s side
i dont think that the whole thing is a game or anything along those lines, last friday i wrote a piece titled “pawn sacrifice” here http://lost-theories.com/theories/2008/apr/25/pawn-sacrifice
id appreciate any comments whatsoever (btw i also mention the king rule)