Are you moved by the pieces?

All chess players move the pieces.  But how many are moved by the pieces?  Are you moved by their beauty?  Their design?  Their metaphor?  Or perhaps you are moved by the rules applied to their movement.  Are you moved to tears?  Gratitude?  Joy?  Are you indifferent, ambivalent, or unconsciously moved? Are you moved deeply or superficially?  Is your sentiment garolous, like a parade?  Do you wear it on your sleeve? Or are you private, discrete and withdrawn about your sympathy?

A fundamental law that underpins physical interactions in our universe states that when one body, for example your hand, exerts a force on a second body, for example the chess piece, the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to that of the first body. So yes, in fact, we are all moved by the chess pieces...

That doesn't mean that the second body "moves" the first body.

This kid was definitely "moved by the pieces."

That means that the second body exerts a force, which is a PUSH or PULL. If we are pushed or pulled, then we are physically "moved."

A common and understandable misconception. Movement, or motion, is observed by attaching a frame of reference to a body and measuring its change in position relative to another reference frame. If you punch a brick wall, the wall will push your hand, and by extension you, backwards. One of Newton's laws of motion ... Brick wall... Chess piece... It really doesn't matter, physics is physics...

Only if the obect you are trying to move is able to stay standing  or resist your force against it. In other words, if you push on a wall the is strong enough to stay standing when you push on it, you will be pushed backwards by it. But since the only resistance a chess piece has against your hand is, well, nothing really (friction against air, if you want to get technical) you will not be pushed backwards by it.

Ahhh, but I do want to get technical!  And a chess piece possesses a quantifiable mass.In order to get that stationary mass moving across the board as you play your move, the chess piece pushes back against you with exactly the same forces you apply to it. It may be an extremely small force compared to the aforementioned brick wall example, but that does not matter one bit, the chess piece still moved us...

I often find that if I inadvertantly turn a knight sideways, the wind resistance becomes too much for me to overcome, and I topple over backwards.

If I set a brick on a table, the brick is exerting a force on the table, but not causing the table to move -- because the ground is also exerting a force on the table which cancels out the force of the book on the table (plus the weight of the table itself).  Amazing!

Quite right. The gravitational force of the stationary brick on the table is being cancelled out by an equal force from the table to the brick.  As neither are in relative motion this example is not directly relevant to our previous discussion. Nevertheless, remove the force provided by the table and the brick will fall down and hit the floor.  Interestingly, the force of the brick hitting the floor will move the earth ever so slightly.  Physics is fun...

The point I was trying to make was that the presence of a force does not imply the presence of motion.  But this is quite a digression from the OP's question.

Am I moved by the pieces in some kind of spiritual way?  No.

Reading the thread to this point was almost worth just it to see Boko-maru's comment.

For me, yes I am moved by the beauty of a chess set, including the board, and tend to inspect them closely whether in person or in pictures from tournaments or shopping sites. I always take at least one slow stroll around a tournament hall to see what sets and clocks are being used. Also enjoy seeing old standbys that have been around for the (now four) decades I've been playing.

Have searched and searched for a set like one an opponent (Texas expert Gary Simms of Amarillo...) had in a game I played almost 40 years ago.

I'm moved by this thread.

When you squeeze a piece, the piece squeezes your skin back (unless you literally have "iron hands"), so therefore the piece 'moves' you.

DrJamesB wrote:

Casual_Joe wrote:

DrJamesB wrote:

MrMeerkat wrote:

DrJamesB wrote:

reflectivist wrote:

All chess players move the pieces.  But how many are moved by the pieces?  Are you moved by their beauty?  Their design?  Their metaphor?  Or perhaps you are moved by the rules applied to their movement.  Are you moved to tears?  Gratitude?  Joy?  Are you indifferent, ambivalent, or unconsciously moved? Are you moved deeply or superficially?  Do you put on a big show, a parade?, or pagentry at any level or by any analogue?  Or are you private, discrete and withdrawn about how you are moved by the pieces?

A fundamental law that underpins physical interactions in our universe states that when one body, for example your hand, exerts a force on a second body, for example the chess piece, the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to that of the first body. So yes, in fact, we are all moved by the chess pieces...

Only if the obect you are trying to move is able to stay standing  or resist your force against it. In other words, if you push on a wall the is strong enough to stay standing when you push on it, you will be pushed backwards by it. But since the only resistance a chess piece has against your hand is, well, nothing really (friction against air, if you want to get technical) you will not be pushed backwards by it.

Ahhh, but I do want to get technical!  And a chess piece possesses a quantifiable mass.In order to get that stationary mass moving across the board as you play your move, the chess piece pushes back against you with exactly the same forces you apply to it. It may be an extremely small force compared to the aforementioned brick wall example, but that does not matter one bit, the chess piece still moved us...

If I set a brick on a table, the brick is exerting a force on the table, but not causing the table to move -- because the ground is also exerting a force on the table which cancels out the force of the book on the table (plus the weight of the table itself).  Amazing!

Quite right. The gravitational force of the stationary brick on the table is being cancelled out by an equal force from the table to the brick.  As neither are in relative motion this example is not directly relevant to our previous discussion. Nevertheless, remove the force provided by the table and the brick will fall down and hit the floor.  Interestingly, the force of the brick hitting the floor will move the earth ever so slightly.  Physics is fun...

This is getting completely out of hand...