In Friedrich Moritz August Retzsch’s haunting 1799 painting Checkmate, the eternal struggle between good and evil unfolds over a chessboard. Satan, smug and assured, faces a despairing man whose soul hangs in the balance. Long believed to depict inevitable defeat, the painting’s narrative was forever changed when American chess prodigy Paul Morphy saw it and declared, “I think I can take the young man’s game and win.” To everyone’s astonishment, he did.

This revelation transforms Checkmate from a tale of doom into one of hope—reminding us that even when life seems cornered, there may yet be “one more move.” Whether battling toxic influences or wrestling with self-doubt, the painting urges us to pause, reflect, and reclaim our power. Victory, it suggests, is often just a thought away.