Chess with Death: Difference between revisions

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The most mimicked version is to have a dying man challenge [[The Grim Reaper]] to a [[Chess (Tabletop Game)|Chess]] game in return for a longer life, hence the trope title. See also [[Enemies With Death]] and [[Smart People Play Chess]]. However, it doesn't have to be chess - if the player is allowed to ''pick'' the game, [[Cooking Duel|absolutely anything could happen]].

Compare [[Did You Just Scam Cthulhu]].

Compare [[Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?]].

Not to be confused with [[Human Chess]] where the pieces are humans and captured pieces are sometimes killed.

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* Used in one issue of ''[[Marvel Adventures]]: Avengers''; the Avengers end up playing [[Human Chess]] with [[Planet Eater|Galactus]] over the fate of an alien world. Hulk screws up and it's [http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/8554/maavengers26017tt6.jpg a stalemate], so they try [http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t142/robertroberts_2007/Capture-Copy-9.jpg in a human-scaled stadium baseball.] Ant-Man [http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/630/maavengers26019zk6.jpg screws it up], so they play [http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/6718/maavengers26020is5.jpg poker]. Hulk screws up again, and then [[Spider Man]] mentions that he's hungry and they end up in an [http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/4813/maavengers26021se2.jpg infinite-star restaurant.]

* The [[Marvel Comics]] cosmic villain, The Grandmaster, is obsessed with games, especially using humans as pawns. In one occasion, he challenged [[Death]] herself, in order to get back his dead brother. He won, but [[Balancing ~~Deaths~~ Books|had to die in his place]]. This turned out, however, to be part of a larger [[Xanatos Gambit]] of his.

* The [[Marvel Comics]] cosmic villain, The Grandmaster, is obsessed with games, especially using humans as pawns. In one occasion, he challenged [[Death]] herself, in order to get back his dead brother. He won, but [[Balancing Death's Books|had to die in his place]]. This turned out, however, to be part of a larger [[Xanatos Gambit]] of his.

* In [[Top Ten]] spin-off ''[[Smax]]'', there is actually a specific Death responsible for playing chess with "wily peasants". His name is Lionel. Naturally, he even looks like the [[Grim Reaper]] in ''[[The Seventh Seal]]''. Just as naturally, he isn't very good at chess (that's why the peasants always win).

* In Grant Morrison's ''[[Seaguy]]'', the eponymous hero plays chess with a none-too-clever, black-white colorblind Death.

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== [[Music]] ==

* [[Starflyer 59]]'s [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDuQhga4iSk "No New Kinda Story"] music video is a very clear [[Shout Out]] to Bergman's chess match. (Although the hooded figure could be interpreted as [[God]] instead of Death; the video is something of a [[Mind Screw]].)

* [[Starflyer 59]]'s [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDuQhga4iSk "No New Kinda Story"] music video is a very clear [[Shout-Out]] to Bergman's chess match. (Although the hooded figure could be interpreted as [[God]] instead of Death; the video is something of a [[Mind Screw]].)

* Russian band "King and Jester" has a song called "Henry and Death" in which Henry the King, a chess prodigy, defeated every worthy opponent in his kingdom and decided to challenge the Death itself. He loses due to death knowing each his move in advance.

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* ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]'': Will Turner's game of Liar's Dice against Davy Jones, pitting his soul against the key to the Dead Man's Chest. In the spirit of the game itself, the trope is subverted - all Will really wanted was the key's location, so he could steal it later.

** Interestingly enough, he technically loses, but just as Jones is starting to gloat -- "Welcome to the crew, boy..." -- Will's father ups the bet so as to save Will.

* [[Fritz Lang]]'s ''Der Mude Tod'', also known as ''Destiny'', revolves around a woman trying to meet Death's challenge to save one of three people's lives in order to get her husband back. When she fails at that, Death [[Balancing ~~Deaths~~ Books|asks for another soul in return]]. When she refuses to give him a baby trapped in a fire, Death takes her instead. Bergman cited this film as an inspiration for ''The Seventh Seal''.

* [[Fritz Lang]]'s ''Der Mude Tod'', also known as ''Destiny'', revolves around a woman trying to meet Death's challenge to save one of three people's lives in order to get her husband back. When she fails at that, Death [[Balancing Death's Books|asks for another soul in return]]. When she refuses to give him a baby trapped in a fire, Death takes her instead. Bergman cited this film as an inspiration for ''The Seventh Seal''.

* In the short film ''De Düva'' (U.S. title ''The Dove''), 1968. Despite the name the film was made in the U.S. Death is challenged to a game of <s>badminton</s> ''"badmintonska"'', and loses. The film was nominated for an Oscar (short subject), but didn't win. Perhaps the director should have challenged the Academy to a game of badminton!

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* In [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]]'s ''[[The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Literature)|The Rime of the Ancient Mariner]]'', Death and Life In Death gamble with dice, and Death wins the crew, while Life In Death wins the Mariner, and gives him a [[Fate Worse Than Death]].

* In the ''[[Discworld]]'' series, Death is often challenged to these. Again, with the twist that he can't lose (unless he wants to). For example:

** In ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Maskerade|Maskerade]]'', Granny Weatherwax challenges Death to a poker game for the soul of a dying child, with the stakes being that if she wins he'll instead [[Balancing ~~Deaths~~ Books|take the sick cow in his place]] (but if ''he'' wins, it's double or nothing; Granny has to put her own life on the line as well). Granny initially tries to cheat , but Death insists they exchange hands. Granny has four queens -- and Death admits defeat, having "only {{smallcaps|four ones}}" (Death, in addition being [[Don't Fear the Reaper|a pretty nice guy]], knows not to cross Granny Weatherwax.)

** In ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Maskerade|Maskerade]]'', Granny Weatherwax challenges Death to a poker game for the soul of a dying child, with the stakes being that if she wins he'll instead [[Balancing Death's Books|take the sick cow in his place]] (but if ''he'' wins, it's double or nothing; Granny has to put her own life on the line as well). Granny initially tries to cheat , but Death insists they exchange hands. Granny has four queens -- and Death admits defeat, having "only {{smallcaps|four ones}}" (Death, in addition being [[Don't Fear the Reaper|a pretty nice guy]], knows not to cross Granny Weatherwax.)

** In ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Reaper Man|Reaper Man]]'', Death refers to playing a game called "[[Monopoly|Exclusive Possession]]", which he won, even though his opponent had got three streets and all the utilities.

{{quote| {{smallcaps| I was the boot.}}}}

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== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* ''[[Scrubs]]'' once featured J.D. playing Connect Four with Death in an [[Imagine Spot]], and Death wins on the diagonal, prompting J.D. to say "Very sneaky, Death!"

* In ''[[The Twilight Zone (TV)|The Twilight Zone]]'' episode "One For the Angels" a salesman talks death into letting him stay alive until he can make the sales pitch of a lifetime, e.g. "one for the angels." Death agrees, whereupon the salesman smugly quits his job. Unfortunately, Death [[Balancing ~~Deaths~~ Books|still has to take a soul]], and chooses a little girl who lives in the same building. To save her life, the former salesman distracts Death with a series of enthralling sales pitches, keeping Death occupied until after the appointed time - and willingly sacrificing his life in the process, since now that he's made his sales pitch of a lifetime, his bargain with Death is now complete.

* In ''[[The Twilight Zone (TV)|The Twilight Zone]]'' episode "One For the Angels" a salesman talks death into letting him stay alive until he can make the sales pitch of a lifetime, e.g. "one for the angels." Death agrees, whereupon the salesman smugly quits his job. Unfortunately, Death [[Balancing Death's Books|still has to take a soul]], and chooses a little girl who lives in the same building. To save her life, the former salesman distracts Death with a series of enthralling sales pitches, keeping Death occupied until after the appointed time - and willingly sacrificing his life in the process, since now that he's made his sales pitch of a lifetime, his bargain with Death is now complete.

** In another episode from ''[[The Twilight Zone (TV)|The Twilight Zone]]'' (the new episodes from the 1980s), "I Of Newton", Sherman Hemsley is a mathematician trying to solve a complex problem. In frustration, he says he'd trade his soul for the answer. And sure enough, the devil (played by Ron Glass) appears. The devil (wearing a red T-shirt with an ever-changing series of slogans, the most memorable being "Hell is a City Much Like Newark") says the only way Hemsley can save himself is to come up with a request the devil can't perform - i.e. a riddle he can't solve, a game he can't win, an object he can't retrieve, and so on. The devil describes in fantastic detail how he can instantaneously appear anywhere, any time; how he can zip into and out of parallel universes, imaginary dimensions, impossible situations. At last the devil says, "What is your request?" And Hemsley's reply? "Get lost."

** And then there's another where the devil shows up to a few friends' Poker game, intending to take one of their souls. When the soul he picks challenges him to a card game to decide it, the devil slyly accepts, and promptly gets caught cheating. To save face, he decided to fill their fridge with beer instead of killing them all, proving that even the devil could be a good sport.

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* In a tribute to Gary Gygax, ''[[Xkcd (Webcomic)|Xkcd]]'' has Gary playing [http://xkcd.com/393/ D&D with Death]. He's going to be there a while.

** Aaron Williams neatly reverses the whole thing in [http://www.crispygamer.com/comics/backward/backward-2009-04-13.aspx this] [[Backwards Compatible]] strip about the death of Dave Arneson

* In [http://nonadventures.com/2008/06/21/satan-on-the-dock-of-the-bay/ this page] of ''[[The Non Adventures of Wonderella]]'', Wonderella challenges Satan to a drinking match for her soul after using Satanic powers one too many times. She wins and not only does she get to keep her soul, but ''[[You Kill It You Bought It|takes Satan's place]]''.

* In [http://nonadventures.com/2008/06/21/satan-on-the-dock-of-the-bay/ this page] of ''[[The Non Adventures of Wonderella]]'', Wonderella challenges Satan to a drinking match for her soul after using Satanic powers one too many times. She wins and not only does she get to keep her soul, but ''[[You Kill It, You Bought It|takes Satan's place]]''.

* A mild subversion occurred in the webcomic ''[http://thosedestined.pensandtales.com Those Destined]'' : The other being was not death, and had no power to resurrect the protagonist. However, since he had bet his own soul, [http://thosedestined.pensandtales.com/?date=20041207 his nemesis] [http://thosedestined.pensandtales.com/?date=20041209 was more than happy] [http://thosedestined.pensandtales.com/?date=20041211 to help].

* Let's not forget ''[[MS Paint Adventures|Problem Sleuth]]'', where dead characters are almost always sentenced to a battle with Death in any boardgame ''other'' than chess. Such as the Game of Life. Death loves Life.

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[[Category:Older Than Feudalism]]

[[Category:Chess With Death]]

[[Category:Trope]]