And some people say games aren’t political.

Birth of the Chess Queen explores the foundation of the Queen on the chessboard and its evolution from other pieces over time to what we understand it as today. Fundamentally, Yalom’s argument is that powerful women and their position over time influenced the game as it made its way to Western Europe, but underneath this argument is a startling realization that the Queens in history it may have been modeled after were in many ways similar to game pieces themselves. It’s an interesting juxtaposition of gender empowerment and telling sexist narrative, and it’s something that still has relevance to games today.

Yalom’s argument that the Queen evolved as a response to politically powerful female figures is a valuable one; by highlighting the use of women as political tools in reality and game spaces, Yalom creates a discourse that questions the cultures that shaped chess.

Yalom is right — Marriage was a tool. Even in the East, Marriage politics dominated political dealings from the classical era forward. The Fujiwara clan in Japan was known specifically for this, and as a result the value of women was seen in their position as a bartering tool rather than in their personhood.

In chess, the Queen is the most “powerful” figure on the board. She can go anywhere on command of the player. However when examined critically this reveals a somewhat alarming message. The rook provides a powerful defensive perimeter around the board — much like the tower walls it resembles. The Knight swoops in on his horse, gallantly jumping over other pieces. The Queen? She’s sent anywhere to deal with anyone, She takes them out of the game, but her value is not in her symbology but her usage. That is to say that the queen’s thematic place on the board very much so resembles her real life predicament: Her power is only a product of her place next to the king.

Games still suffer this issue. There are many great female characters in video games that boil down to little more than their functional relevance to whatever story or system they are apart of. Games still fall into the trap of emulating female empowerment through interwoven male fantasy, Something that Yalom makes a point to dissect in her discussions on the Queen’s positioning on the board and her use as the most political figure on the board. It’s a scary, real problem that exists and has apparently existed for hundreds of years.

Regardless of the historical elements at play, Games could really learn a thing or two from Yalom’s thoughts on the gendering of game elements, and its something game designers struggle with even now in our Culture. That is to say that it’s no surprise the titular Queen is as she is, because gaming itself has a complicated relationship with its female characters.