A 19th-century painting titled "The Devil's Checkmate," initially perceived as a depiction of inevitable defeat, is reinterpreted through the lens of chess strategy and symbolic meaning to represent the enduring possibility of hope and choice even in seemingly lost situations.
Mind Map
Click to expand
Click to explore the full interactive mind map • Zoom, pan, and navigate
In 1888, one of the most renowned chess
players of the 19th century saw this
painting and noticed something strange.
Its title was the devil's checkmate. But
to him, that didn't seem quite right.
The scene shows a young man playing
chess against the devil while an angel
watches silently. The white pieces are
cornered. It looks like there's nothing
left to do. For years, everyone assumed
the same thing. The devil was about to
win the game. But Paul Morphy saw
something no one else had noticed. After
analyzing the position, he simply said,
"The king has one more move. The game
wasn't lost." And this painting had
fooled everyone for a very long time.
The idea of a man facing the devil in
the game of chess has appeared many
times in film and literature. One of the
most well-known examples is The Seventh
Seal, the film by Ingmar Bergman, where
a knight plays chess with death to gain
time and meaning before the end. But
this painting is much older. It was
created in 1831, almost 130 years before
that movie. At the time, Europe was
fully immersed in the romantic era, an
artistic and cultural movement that
didn't focus on flawless heroes, but on
inner conflict, intense emotions, and
moral dilemas. Themes like good and
evil, the soul, temptation, and destiny
were everywhere. It was a time when
artists didn't just want to show beauty.
They wanted to teach something. Moritz
Wretch, the artist behind this painting,
didn't create it on commission or to
decorate a room. He painted it because
he felt he had something to say,
something urgent. Wretch was fascinated
by the big human questions. He believed
art should speak directly to the soul.
And in this scene of the young man
playing against the devil, what he's
truly portraying isn't just a chess
match. It's life itself. A life where
every decision matters. where temptation
is always close and where even when
everything seems lost, there might still
be one more move.
For a long time, everyone who looked at
this painting came to the same
conclusion. The young man had already
lost the game. And it wasn't a
far-fetched interpretation. If you look
closely, everything in the scene
suggests it. On the right, the young man
sits with his head tilted down, his face
buried in one hand. He's completely
devastated. You can tell he's trapped in
his thoughts trying to understand how he
ended up in this position. It looks like
he's been checkmated. Or at least that's
what the painting's title leads us to
believe. But that despair doesn't come
from losing a simple game. It comes from
something deeper. Because what's at
stake here isn't victory. It's his soul.
In front of him on the left side is his
opponent, Satan. He sits with a relaxed,
almost arrogant posture. His head rests
on one hand and he doesn't even look at
the board. He's confident the win is
his. And right between them, slightly in
the background, is the angel, the most
mysterious figure. It doesn't intervene,
doesn't give any signal, just watches as
if it believes the game is already lost,
yet can do nothing to stop it. But we'll
come back to this figure later, because
in my opinion, it holds the key to the
painting's meaning. For years, no one
questioned the obvious interpretation of
this scene. The man had lost and Satan
was claiming his soul until Paul Morphe
came along. It happened in Richmond,
Virginia, while Morphe was visiting
Reverend RR Harrison. There he saw a
copy of the painting prominently
displayed. He examined it carefully and
after studying it for a while, became
intrigued by the position on the
chessboard. Without pointing out
anything specific, he suggested there
might still be a winning move for the
young man. The reverend was skeptical,
but they set up a real chessboard,
replicating the scene from the painting.
According to witnesses, Morphe developed
a sequence of moves that allowed the
young man to win. A move no one had seen
before. That reinterpretation completely
changed the way people viewed the
painting. The story I'm telling you was
first published on August 18th, 1888 in
the Colombia Chess Chronicle under an
article titled Anecdote of Morphe. And
Reverend Harrison later confirmed he was
the source of the account. From that
point on, what once seemed like an image
of defeat became a symbol of hope. And
maybe you didn't notice it, but in this
painting, the chest pieces aren't just
pieces. Each one represents something
deeper. This isn't an ordinary chess
match. Remember, what's at stake here is
a man's soul. The black pieces on
Satan's side embody vices, doubts, and
temptations. If you look closely, you'll
find unsettling details like this piece
stepping on a cross as if trying to
crush faith, or this other one that
seems to be hiding a dagger, something
we might interpret as betrayal. What's
clear is that these are no ordinary
chess pieces. Each one is deliberately
designed to symbolize something. On the
other side, the white pieces might
represent virtues, values the young man
has gradually lost with every move. Some
have already been taken off the board as
if life has slowly stripped him of
everything that once made him strong.
What's fascinating about this painting
is that it doesn't show the devil's
victory. It captures the exact moment
before when all seems lost. But
technically, the game isn't over. just
one move away from losing it all, just
like Morphe discovered. But there's
another interpretation that's just as
compelling, and it has to do with the
angel in the scene. And I promise you,
it will completely change the way you
see this painting. But before I tell you
about it, I want to remind you that if
you'd like to have this artwork in your
collection, it's now available on our
website. You can order it in the size
and finish you prefer. And you'll also
find over 600 historical works just as
fascinating as this one. So you can have
a piece of art in your home that will
last a lifetime. By purchasing this
painting or any from the catalog, you'll
be supporting my work and helping me
continue creating videos like this one.
I'll leave the link in the description
so you can browse the full collection
once the video is over. Now then, let's
continue. For a long time, I thought the
angel was there to protect the young
man, like a silent guide. But if you pay
close attention, he's not looking at
him. And he's not looking at the devil
either. He's staring directly at the
center of the board. And that made me
think, maybe he's not there to
intervene, but simply to observe, as if
he represents the freedom we all have,
the freedom to choose. If you really
think about it, the angel doesn't make
the decision. The young man does. And
interestingly, the devil isn't looking
at the board either. He's watching the
young man as if he knows there's a move
that could save him, but he's waiting
for him not to see it. He's waiting for
him to give up on his own. And that, I
believe, is the true message of this
painting. That even when everything
seems lost, the game isn't over. That
sometimes all evil needs to win is for
us to stop trying. But as long as we
still have a chance, no matter how
small, there's something we can do. I
don't know if you agree with this
interpretation, but I'd love to hear
your thoughts in the comments. And
before I wrap up, there's one detail I
don't want to overlook. There's a spider
near the board. It might seem like a
meaningless decoration, but given the
message of this painting, I seriously
doubt that. I'm sure it holds a deeper
meaning. I'd love for you to help me
figure it out in the comments. As
always, thank you for watching until the
end. If you enjoyed it, don't forget to
leave a like and subscribe so you don't
miss more videos like this one. See you
Click on any text or timestamp to jump to that moment in the video
Share:
Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds
One-Click Copy125+ LanguagesSearch ContentJump to Timestamps
Paste YouTube URL
Enter any YouTube video link to get the full transcript
Transcript Extraction Form
Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds
Get Our Chrome Extension
Get transcripts instantly without leaving YouTube. Install our Chrome extension for one-click access to any video's transcript directly on the watch page.
