Chess is a game that is known worldwide. According to FIDE World Chess Federation, over 160 countries are registered to be part of the FIDE. Chess is a game that is all about strategy and thinking ahead to plan out the best way to beat the opponent. Within the HBO T.V. series The Wire by David Simon, chess is used as a comparison to drug dealing, or as referenced in the series, “the game”. Just like chess, drug dealing, as portrayed in the series, is also all about strategy and planning ahead. Although some of the characters in this series understand the strategy and planning that is required to its fullest extent, quite a few do not. To show this, David Simon included a scene in this series where D’Angelo Barksdale, nephew of the Kingpin,
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Whilst he goes through each piece, he relates it to the life of the drug trade, thus resulting in enhanced ideas as to what is taking place. He starts the explanation with the king, “See this? This is the Kingpin.” He explains that the king is able to move wherever it so chooses, similar to D’Angelo’s uncle Avon. He also states that the king needs to be protected by the rest of his team. Subsequently, D’Angelo explains the queen. He says “She moves any way she wants, as far as she wants. And she is the go-get-shit-done piece.” This is followed by Wallace claiming, “Remind me of Stringer.” After that, is the rook/castle. D’Angelo describes it as the stash, and says that “we got to move a little muscle with it to protect it.” Finally, the seemingly lowest down, yet the most metaphorically vital piece, the pawn. “These are the pawns. They’re like the soldiers. They move like this, one space forward only except when they fight.” D’Angelo states. The pawn is a metaphor for the lower level, “unimportant” drug dealers in the Pits. Their job is to protect the king by drug dealing and being in harm’s way to keep Avon, the Kingpin, safe. The reason that the pawns are metaphorically the most vital pieces is due to the fact that D’Angelo, Bodie, and Wallace are all pawns, since they live in the
Whilst he goes through each piece, he relates it to the life of the drug trade, thus resulting in enhanced ideas as to what is taking place. He starts the explanation with the king, “See this? This is the Kingpin.” He explains that the king is able to move wherever it so chooses, similar to D’Angelo’s uncle Avon. He also states that the king needs to be protected by the rest of his team. Subsequently, D’Angelo explains the queen. He says “She moves any way she wants, as far as she wants. And she is the go-get-shit-done piece.” This is followed by Wallace claiming, “Remind me of Stringer.” After that, is the rook/castle. D’Angelo describes it as the stash, and says that “we got to move a little muscle with it to protect it.” Finally, the seemingly lowest down, yet the most metaphorically vital piece, the pawn. “These are the pawns. They’re like the soldiers. They move like this, one space forward only except when they fight.” D’Angelo states. The pawn is a metaphor for the lower level, “unimportant” drug dealers in the Pits. Their job is to protect the king by drug dealing and being in harm’s way to keep Avon, the Kingpin, safe. The reason that the pawns are metaphorically the most vital pieces is due to the fact that D’Angelo, Bodie, and Wallace are all pawns, since they live in the