En Passant

When I was a 5th-grader, my best friend Tom taught me how to play chess.  Tom was very patient with me as he showed me how all the pieces moved and taught me the basic rules. Tom gave me and understanding of the fundamentals.  At first, Tom beat me every time we played.  But over time, I got better, and eventually I played well enough to win every now and then. 

In college, I had a friend named Dave, who was a really strong chess player.  His father was a physics professor and was only a few points away from being an Expert Chess Player (1800 club.)  Dave learned the game from years of playing against his father.  Dave destroyed me game after game.  But through all of that chess board carnage, I got better.  Dave taught me about strategy.  Later, I played all kinds of people in my dormitory and it was great fun.  And yes, I even won a few times.

But over the years, the person I loved playing the most was my brother-in-law.  He's a great guy and a great family man and one of the most competitive people I've ever met.  He's one of those people you love to beat because you know how much he hates to lose.  I'm the same way; I am very competitive.  I remember one particular game we played where I was feeling very confident I had won.  I could see it - just a few moves away … and then, it happened.

I moved my pawn two spaces forward in what I believed was a perfectly safe move, and then my brother-in-law causally said, "en Passant" and took my pawn.

"En Pa-what?" I asked.

"You know, 'En Passant.'  It means 'in passing'.  When you move your pawn like that, I get to take it.  It's a special rule,  En passant."

"Well that's a bunch of malarkey!" I said, "I've never heard of that. What are you trying to pull?"

"It's just a rule …it's a real rule, Butch."

"Well I've never heard of it," I said curtly.

I was mad because  I thought my brother-in-law had pulled a fast one.  His so-called "En passant" meant I would lose the game.  I left his home that day feeling pretty upset about it.

Well, it turns out there is a move in chess called, "En passant."  It's fairly rare, but it is perfectly legal.  My brother-in-law was right.  He had legitimately beaten me and I had helped him do it.  It turned out that through all my years of playing,  I had never been taught, nor had I taken the time to learn all the rules of the game.  Even though I had outplayed my opponent, I had been undercut by my lack of knowledge.  And while I had mastered the fundamentals, learned the strategy, and was actually playing and winning games, I had allowed myself to become precariously vulnerable.  I think the thing that troubled me most was that I didn't know that I didn't know.  I didn't know there was more for me to learn, that there were finer details that could mean the difference between winning and losing.

Rules come in many forms depending on the game you happen to be playing.  In business, failure to know and follow the rules can result in fines and lawsuits.  In social settings, breaking the rules can result in being ostracized.  In criminal law, ignorantia juris non excusat.  Regarding the Faith, God tells us that ignorance has consequences:

Hosea 4:6:  "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge …" 

I work in the Information Technology industry and I am perpetually surrounded by people much smarter than me.  Every day I am reminded of just how much I do not know.   I am a firm believer that regardless of your I.Q. or your years of experience, there's always room to learn more.  I've learned that unless I am intentional about seeking the areas of my ignorance,  and taking the time to fill those voids, I will become just another piece sitting on the side of the game board captured En passant.