Fate Plays Chess Trivia Quiz

Answer: Richard III

These are the words spoken in Shakespeare's tragedy, "Richard III". They reference the War of the Roses, in which Richard, House of York, was killed. He was the last English monarch to die in battle, 22 August 1485. He was also the last Plantagenet king. The War of the Roses was essentially war between the two English Plantagenet houses, York and Lancaster.

The death of Richard III was significant beyond this, however. As Fate would have it, Richard's son, Edward, Earl of Salisbury, had died in 1484, leaving no Plantagenet heir, neither from York, nor from Lancaster. Henry VII, who triumphed over Richard was not a Plantagenet, but the grandson of Owen Tudor, a member of the royal household who bedded Catherine, the widow of Henry V, producing non-Plantagenet heirs to the throne.

What the death of Richard meant, then, was the assumption to the throne of the Tudor Dynasty, and with the new ruling house, a new period of growth, a Renaissance, a time of exploration in religion, sciences, literature, trade, philosophy and so much more. The English moved from the Middle Ages to embrace the Italian Renaissance, ultimately putting their own stamp on history.

King Arthur has not been totally proven to be anything but myth.

Julius Caesar was an early Roman emperor.

Charles Windsor is Charles, Prince of Wales. As his mother, the reigning Queen Elizabeth II, is still alive in 2016 and seated on the throne of England, polo-playing Charles is more likely to be saying "A kingdom, a kingdom, my horse for a kingdom!"

Answer: Stone

The legend of King Arthur tells that Merlin the mage led the young Arthur to the stone. No one had been able to remove it, but he did, proving to be the son of Uther. As one story tells it, a group of men had assembled to attempt to remove it. Arthur was not among them, but was at a nearby tournament. When a competitor broke his sword, Arthur left to find a replacement, and pulled the sword out. A second legend again has a group of men assembled, Arthur among them. When his turn comes, he easily pulls the sword free. Regardless of the story, he was fated to become King.

Norse legend tells of a sword driven into a tree by Loki, which is pulled out by Sigmund, father of Siegfried. This could also be the source for the Arthurian legend.

Answer: The Lady of the Lake

Sometime after Arthur's reign began, Merlin requested the Lady of the Lake give the magical sword to Arthur to protect him. It was purported to have the power to heal wounds, and blazed with a blinding light. When Arthur was mortally wounded in a battle with Mordred (who apparently had seized the sword from him), he had his kingsman Griflet (aka Jaure) throw Excalibur back into the Lake. The Lady rose up, caught it and returned beneath the waves.

Depending on the source of the legend, Mordred was either Arthur's son, nephew, or Sir Mordred of the Knights of the Round Table. Again, depending on the source, Arthur left Mordred in charge of his throne while he went to fight the Emperor Lucius of Rome. While he was gone, Mordred usurped the throne and married Arthur's wife Guinevere. When Arthur returned, it was to attempt to regain his throne. Depending again on the particular source, Arthur is killed by Mordred, or Mordred is killed by Arthur, or both die at each other's hand.

How does Fate enter into the legend? The Twelfth Century author, Geoffrey of Monmouth, in his "History of the Kings of Britain", discusses the Prophecies of Merlin, and in another chapter discusses a battle between a white and a red dragon. In the Arthurian legend, Merlin is the dragonlord of Kilgharrah, the red-hued Great Dragon, who prophesies that Mordred will kill Arthur.

Answer: François-Marie Arouet aka Voltaire

To read a biography of Voltaire, you might find that he may have been cheating Fate most of his life, misdealing, or hiding cards up his sleeve. He often found himself vocally on the opposite side of the prevailing political scene. It is said even Louis XVI noted that Rousseau and Voltaire had "destroyed France", meaning the monarchy.

Answer: Groucho Marx

It was, in fact, attributed to Groucho Marx, although any of the listed could easily have said it! Groucho himself (born Julius Henry Marx), in an interview with Roger Ebert in a 1972 Esquire magazine, said "I got $25 from Reader's Digest last week for something I never said. I get credit all the time for things I never said."

Answer: Elvis Presley

"Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was written in 1926 by Roy Turk and Lou Handman. The wife of Elvis' manager Colonel Parker, Marie Mott, was fond of this song, and encouraged her husband to have Elvis record it. It was released in 1960, topping the charts in both the US and UK.

Answer: Kismet

From the Arabic word "kismat or "qismat", meaning to divide or allot, Kismet relates to one's lot in life, one's fate. Had the musical been set elsewhere than Baghdad, it might've been called "Kharma"!

Answer: Boston

"M.T.A.", aka "The MTA Song" was composed by Jacqueline Steiner and Bess Lomax Hawes for a 1949 mayoral run by Walter O'Brien. The lyrics relate to fare rates, in which one could pay to board a Metropolitan Transit Authority streetcar, but once reaching one's destination, one had to pay an exit fare to get off the streetcar. The song and its message reached far beyond Boston when it was adapted and recorded by the Kingston Trio in 1959. I still know all the words and belt it out whenever I hear it!

Answer: Romeo and Juliet

Probably the best known of Shakespeare's works, it was penned early in his career. Much of it was based on earlier writings, including "The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet" (Arthur Brooke) and "Palace of Pleasure" (William Painter). He, however, took these stories and expanded the plot and cast of characters to bring it to life.

The other titles you may recognize as also being Shakespearean tragedies.

Answer: The car park of the Leicester City Council

Although sometime in the history between now and then, antiquarian John Speed wrote in his 1611 "Historie of Great Britaine" that tradition held that his body had been unceremoniously dumped into the Soar River by Bow-Bridge, it appears that in fact he was carried to Greyfriar's convent and buried in the choir. Prior to Greyfriar's dissolution in 1538, there apparently had been a monument erected as well. With the friary's buildings torn down, and other buildings set on the land, the location of the King disappeared from history, until his skeleton was found under the car park on the very first day of excavation.

Following DNA research confirming the skeleton was indeed Richard III, his bones were reinterred in Leicester Cathedral 26 March 2015. King Richard III is finally entombed in hallowed ground (okay, a marble raised tomb inside the cathedral), so for him, Fate relented, and he is no longer in checkmate. Rest in peace, Your Majesty, rest in peace.