“'Tis all a Chequer-board of Nights and Days / Where Destiny with Men for Pieces plays”Omar Khayyam · Rubaiate · 1120 · catrenul 49
You are not the player, you are the piece: sometimes you didn't lose, you were just moved.
Nights and days form the board, and people are the pieces an unseen player moves, captures, and removes from the game. It is an image of lost agency: you plan and strive, but the decisive moves are not yours. An employee laid off by an economic crisis, or a couple separated by war, lives exactly this — they were moved, not outplayed.
Why it matters It brings calm after a failure that was not your fault: sometimes you did not lose, you were simply moved.