‘Gens Una Sumus’ – What three Latin words under a chess emblem taught me about the world | Chess News

My earliest memory of chess is from when I was seven years old.Walking to the venue of my first international tournament, my hand in my mother’s, I stopped under the symbol of FIDE, the international federation that governs chess. Three words, printed in a language I did not understand, caught my eye. Gens First Sumus.As I stood there trying to understand them, my mother gently squeezed my hand and reminded me that my game was about to begin.Afterwards, I found him waiting in a quiet corner of the dining room and asked what the words meant. He looked for his phone and told me that they are Latin for: “We are one family.”Since then, I have seen the words in tournaments around the world.

Most players walk under them without noticing. And still do. They remind me that every time I enter a tournament hall, I enter a community bound by shared values.Years later, I learned that the phrase predates modern chess by more than fifteen centuries. It comes from the Roman poet Claudian, whose words were later adopted by the chess world. Their meaning has evolved – from describing a person to reminding us that, through chess, we can become a family.That might seem like an ambitious motto for a game. But after years of traveling to tournaments, I believe it reflects the reality of chess.Chess is one of the few games where almost anyone can compete on equal terms. You don’t need expensive equipment or a particular body. The board is the same in Reykjavik as it is in Chennai. Tournaments are held in grand hotels, school auditoriums and community halls, but the rules don’t change. In most open events, anyone can enter.That means a kid who learned the game just a few years ago can be matched up against someone who has spent decades playing it.

I experienced that when I was eight years old in a town located in the Austrian Alps. My opponent is a man in his fifties. Our game lasted more than five hours and lasted past midnight. The organizers patiently waited for us to finish because none of us were willing to stop at a square or agree to a draw.In general, age is no longer important. Nor the reputation. There are only two players trying to solve the same position.Chess also brings people closer physically than most sports. We sat across from each other for hours. We notice the slight change in breathing, how long a hand hovers over a piece, the sudden stillness after a mistake, or the quiet confidence that follows a good move.Then the game ends. We shook hands. We reset the pieces.And more often than not, we sit down again – this time next to each other instead of across from each other – to analyze what happened.“I should have been here.”“No, I think the problem started earlier. Look at your knight.”Just a few moments ago, we were trying not to think about each other. Now we are trying to understand the game together.That has always fascinated me.Wins and losses matter a lot as the clock ticks down. But when the clocks stop ticking, curiosity usually takes over. Opponents become collaborators. Together, we’re looking for a game-changing moment and helping each other figure out what we’re both missing.Maybe that’s what Gens Una Sumus meant to me.Chess cannot erase differences. The tournament halls still have rivalries, frustrations, ambitions and, at times, genuine dislike. It’s far from a perfect world.But it reverses putting strangers next to each other and asking them to interact with respect. For a few hours, the person sitting opposite will not be a nationality, age, rating or stereotype. Every move requires you to take them seriously.When I first saw those three Latin words at the age of seven, I knew nothing about their history. Little did I know that they had traveled for centuries before finding a home in the world of chess.I just know they stopped me.Now, after years of sitting on the other side of people older and younger than me, from countries I’ve never visited and cultures I know little about, I understand them differently.Each tournament begins with sixty-four squares.Many end up with one more human connection.Gens First Sumus.We are a family.(Aarav Dengla is the 83rd Grandmaster of India. He is a keen observer and student of world history in general and chess history in particular)