The Best Chess Haikus of All Time (maybe)

And here they are:  the best of the best from what was most likely the first ever chess haiku competition.  Points were awarded for the first two; the others were awarded virtual pride.

 

Checkered battlefield;

Sweet victory or despair,

By one deadly move!

– Justin Tan

 

Chess is a great wife:

She feeds me morning and night

Then cuts like a knife.

– Max Illingworth

 

Masterminds at work

Nothing is just black and white

Lines are blurred sometimes.

– Andrew Fitzpatrick

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Babok ertetek

Aldozom az eletem

Sakk a mindenem.

– Andras Toth

 

(This probably would have won, except for the fact that I was forced to translate it myself – no easy feat, as Google Translate sucks with Hungarian.  As far as I can tell, it reads something like:

            Puppets, I

            Sacrifice my life for you.

            Chess is my everything.

Surprising beauty from a man who used more expletives in his answers than anyone else, and offered “How To Become A Loser Ride” for question one.)

 

Arbiter?  Touch move!

The tournament hall goes silent…

Touch it, move it, Patz!

– Tristan Stevens

 

(The extra syllable in the second line kept this one out of the proverbial [and imaginary] money.)

 

Wikileaks chessless

For the sake of sport should Dave

Do a Godwin Grech?

– GM Ian Rogers

 

(Topical, personal, and may get me fired.  An all-round gem.)

 

f3 then e5

g4 then mate Qh4

Learning to play chess.

– Phil Green

 

(An entire chess game in a single Haiku.  Genius.)

 

Sicilian tail

Rook, bishop, queen…Kill the King!

Lost on the H-file

– Frank Lekkas.

 

A battle of minds

A test of time, nerves and skill.

Why do we play chess?

– Kerry Stead

 

(Amen to that.  A second Kerry berry was just a little too sycophantic, even for me:

            Chess and politics,

            Life’s trials and tribulations:
            David Smerdon’s Blog.

I’ll send that one to Mum.)