This means that if someone is good at chess, they’re intellectually nimble. Interestingly, the history of the game is equally political, at least in its early years.ĭespite a reputation as being a European or Christian game, chess had its first heyday in Islamic countries in the Middle East, where the political elite used its elements of skill to hone their ability at strategy and tactics.Įven after its introduction to Europe in the 11th century, chess remained important to those in power.Īs archaeology professor Krysta Ryzewski points out, Europe’s elite nobles shaped the game further by introducing kings, queens and the power dynamics familiar to any chess player today.Ĭhess requires forethought and planning, and s cientific studies have shown that a player’s skill in chess is higher when they measure higher on tests to show processing speed, planning, memory, and problem-solving. today.Ĭhess has a long history, with its most likely originsin Persia in the 5th century. Then, we’ll look at the idea of playing chess in “4D” and how the phrase is used in common speech to talk about political figures in the U.S. To really understand the nuance of playing 4D chess, we’ll need to take a deep dive into chess and understand why it’s used to represent intelligence. The phrase is used primarily by conspiracy-minded individuals to try and explain why the figures at the center of their conspiracies sometimes (or always) act in ways that would be antithetical to the delusional ‘reality’ represented by the conspiracy theory they favor. That’s quite appropriate for chess, a game about doing exactly that. Although the fourth dimension is technically time, you can’t really make a board game that somehow includes it as an integral part of play.Īt its core, the phrase “playing 4D chess” has to do with political figures trying to outmaneuver one another. Let’s be clear: 4D chess isn’t a real game. Alternatively, people may use the phrase “playing 4D chess” sarcastically, to imply that even though a political figure thinks they’re smart, they’re being obvious and foolish. This phrase is sometimes used by conspiracy theory proponents who believe that Donald Trump (or some other political figure) is fighting a war against a deep state run by evil democrats. If someone is described as playing 4D chess, that means they are incredibly smart and making political moves that cannot be understood by ordinary people. What Does It Mean to Be “Playing 4D Chess”? Theodore Roosevelt famously said that it was important to “speak softly and carry a big stick” in foreign policy, while founding father and modern-day hip hop sensation Alexander Hamilton argued that “war is in fact the true nurse of executive aggrandizement.”Īnother political phrase you may have heard is the idea of playing 4D chess. politics is no stranger to strange expressions.