Then Krishna took another leaf, tore it, and threw the two pieces into opposite directions. When the next fight began Bhima again tore Jarasandha in to two halves, but this time, he threw the two halves in opposite directions.

In my first attempt to connect chess to freestyle wrestling I have defined a space of 64 cubes and devised rules how chess pieces navigate that space. The resulting system was only partially good. I liked the way I could explain mate on f7 in wrestling terms. But the details of the system I designed were only partially intuitive and corresponded to wrestling. I wanted to explain each chess move from the logic of wrestling. My goal was to connect chess geometry to wrestling geometry. I didn’t like the way it was designed that e2 pawn (which is a forfoot in the correspondence where pawns are leg joints) moved to e3, which is fixed for king (because the 3rd rank is fixed for pieces) moved up to a cube which is at the height level of a belly (waist it king). Nobody moves up feet so high in wrestling. Only soldiers do that when marching on a parade. Even worse is when d2 pawn went to d3, it went up to the height level of the neck. And although the resulting system is completely isomorphic to chess and one can move cubes in space by corresponding chess moves and the resulting game will be just chess, but weird one. So what’s next? And how to design the space so that it is completely isomorphic to wrestling?

Firstly it is impossible to create such isomorphism without changing some chess rules. For example in chess - pawns could only move forward. Ok. That’s good. Moreover if a game of chess is just one wrestling attack as it was explained in my first blog, a successful attack in wrestling almost never allowed that an attacker takes back steps. But the defendant will do many backsteps in real life wrestling match. He will sprawl his legs to defend from the leg shot. Take few step back to get out of the uncomfortable grip and etc. Perhaps in ancient wrestling the stepping back was not allowed. That’s also possible. So for example if you have been made to step back during the wrestling match – you immediately lose. It’s an interesting way to wrestle! I need to think about it. But let me take a step back and create some confidence that some system of correspondence could be found.

F7 mate is a low head single.

The way to fill the void is to create more examples of chess wrestling correspondence. As it was explained in the first blog mate on f7 corresponds to low single leg attack. F7 pawn is black’s ankle joint. When you make a low jump with one of your forfeet keep your head low, attach the neck to opponents ankle, grab his ankle with your arm or elbow from behind and start pressing with your neck and part of the head into ankle and slightly above you will start create danger for opponents center of gravity, and he will lose his balance and will fall on his but. That’s checkmate as it was explained that’s check in wrestling is state of stable or unstable equilibrium where opponent center of mass becomes vulnerable and if it results that center of mass hits the ground, that’s checkmate. But if the equilibrium is stable and the opponent gets back control of his center of gravity, he is again stable - he was just checked. So you can do low head single using your neck and either palm or elbow. F7 mate is made with queen (neck) and either knight (palm) or a bishop (elbow).

This is how goal of wrestling was explained in Mahabharat Episode 29: There were two kinds of wrestling matches in those days. One was as a sport where, once you floor the opponent, the match is over. Another was a life and death match where you had to kill the opponent in the ring. I guess here we are talking about the first kind.

Fireman’s carry.

This move is an attack on opponents right or left shoulder (rooks) and right or left hips ( A or H pawns) depending on which side of the attack is chosen. Say the attack is on opponents right shoulder. Attacker also uses his neck (queen), left palm (knight) and his right shoulder (rook), right albow (bishop) and palm (knight) as well as his king and some queen side pawns to make this throw. Even the white’s waste is involved in some variations, which is a king in the correspondence.

Right and left in chess – Bima fights Jarasandha

As it was explained in Indian epic Mahabharat Episode 29: When Bhima Wrestled Jarasandha. The right and left side of the body played crucial role in Bima’s win. Bima first tore Jarasandha in to two halves right and left as Krishna showed him by tearing the leaf into 2 halves. But when he threw right half to the right and left part to the left Jarasandha body was stitched back and he survived. Then Krishna took another leaf, tore it, and threw the two pieces into opposite directions. When the next fight began Bhima again tore Jarasandha in to two halves, but this time, he threw the two halves in opposite directions. People anxiously waited to see if the two parts of the body would again come together and stitch up. Nothing happened. Jarasandha was finally dead.
So figuring out if white king side pawns are white’s right leg while black queen side pawns is also black right leg, as it should be when two wrestlers are standing in front of each other face to face is difficult. Perhaps king side pawns for both wrestlers are right side legs. Its funny to think about it in these terms and there is probably a big controversy and it is difficult to resolve. But it its important for fireman’s carry explanation. Let’s hope it works out.

In wrestling, the fireman’s carry is a dynamic throw that attacks the opponent’s shoulder and hip simultaneously. Translating this into chess, the move maps onto a complex and beautifully coordinated assault across the board — one that blends power, positioning, and leverage.
Let’s suppose we’re launching an attack on the opponent’s right shoulder, which in our mapping corresponds to their queen-side rook (a8) and adjacent joints like the a7 and b7 pawns (hip and knee). This right-side attack, though happening on the queen side of the board for Black, aligns with the right side of their body, because wrestlers face each other directly — their right and left are mirrored.
The move starts with White’s queen-side knight (representing the left palm or arm) jumping to attack the a7 pawn — this is like reaching to hook the opponent's shoulder from below. At the same time, the queen (White’s neck) ducks under the opponent’s arm, lining up behind the rook at a8 — just like tucking your head under their armpit in a real fireman’s carry.
From here, the attack builds momentum: as the knight (arm) pulls down hard on the shoulder, the opponent’s lower body shifts. The b7 pawn (knee joint) may instinctively “step forward” — in chess terms, it’s now pinned or lured — opening the line for the queen to capture the rook at a8. This is a key point in the throw: destabilizing the opponent's base.
Now the thrower's right foot steps forward — this is mirrored by White’s king-side pawns advancing, representing the right leg (hip, knee, ankle, and forefoot) engaging fully. The body sinks under the opponent’s center of gravity. The thrower is now sitting beneath their opponent, with the enemy’s upper body draped across their neck and shoulders.
Next comes the lift: the h1 rook (representing White’s right shoulder) moves into action — perhaps now centralized along the c-file — and helps elevate the opponent. The board mirrors a moment of suspension: the defender’s weight is now fully in the attacker’s control. Their “body” — represented by Black’s queen-side pawns and rook — is lifted onto White’s right shoulder.
To complete the throw, White uses further leverage from the left arm (knight), right elbow (bishop from c1), and forearm (knight from b1), all reaching into the opponent’s lower limbs — grabbing Black’s leg (the queen-side pawns). This final coordinated surge is what sends the defender airborne and flips them onto their back.
It’s a beautiful sequence: a moment in which chess geometry maps precisely onto a real-world wrestling throw. The opponent is lifted, twisted, and rotated in both space and symbolic position — losing their balance, their structure, and ultimately, their game.
Here is a FEN fir an ending position

Is Chess an Abstract Replay of the Body?

At some point, I began to wonder whether chess wasn’t just a metaphor for wrestling — but that chess itself is an ancient abstraction of human body conflict. That it encodes, in symbolic and geometric logic, the mechanics of balance, leverage, pressure, and counter-moves — everything that happens in a match, but expressed not through the muscles of the body, but through the movement of symbols.
And maybe that’s why both wrestling and chess are described as “wars”.
Maybe that’s why both start from a stance — a mirrored, balanced position.
And maybe that’s why they both end the same way: when one player, or one body, is out of moves.

Arm Throw

An arm throw is perhaps one of the most iconic moves in freestyle wrestling. It is often quick, explosive, and beautifully executed when timed well. To map it into a chess-based geometry of joints and pieces, I needed a correspondence that included rotational movement, upper body control, and diagonal leverage, which naturally brings bishops and knights into the picture again.
An arm throw starts by isolating an arm, typically by gripping the opponent’s wrist (knight), elbow (bishop), or shoulder (rook), depending on entry. Then the attacker performs a rotation using their own waist (king) and neck (queen) to create a pivot point. You could say that in chess terms, the queen and king create the axis, and the throw occurs when surrounding pieces create pressure on an isolated square or "joint" — usually a pawn being pulled out of its rank, or a rook disconnected from its defense.
In board terms, let’s suppose the black bishop on c8 is the opponent’s left elbow, and the white knight on e5 (representing attacker’s right palm) reaches across to apply pressure diagonally. The white bishop on d3 (attacker’s left elbow) joins the action. Then, the white queen steps forward—not to take, but to create rotational torque, mirroring how a wrestler’s head and neck duck under the opponent’s arm to execute the throw. The arm throw, when successful, disbalances the opponent’s center of mass (king) and leads to a collapse — or, in chess terms, a disconnection of defense and sudden collapse of position. A sacrifice could be involved, representing the attacker going down to the mat with the opponent, knowing the throw will score.
This leads to another key insight.

Sacrifice in Chess is giving up a limb in wrestling

Sacrifices in chess are often misunderstood by beginners as a blunder. But seasoned players know they’re a tactical device to change geometry — to open a diagonal, to expose the king, or to remove a key defender.
I remember one instance when my brother Sanasar wrestled with Peter Naniev in the Soviet Championships semifinals in 1984. WIth 10 seconds left the score was 4-4 and Sanasar was losing by decesion if he did not score. So he went forward with his head down and allowed Peter to capture his head (queen sacrifice). Peter grabbed Sanasar's head. But Sanasar performed a high crotch and scored and won that match. The attacker is committing their own balance, putting their own body in danger, in order to achieve a more favorable position.

High Crotch

If the low single is a clean, straight-line attack at the ankle — f7 mate — then the high crotch is its cousin: a deeper penetration shot that targets the inner thigh or upper hamstring, close to the opponent’s center of mass. It’s a move where you don’t just grab the leg — you go through it, often with your own torso pressed into the opponent’s hip, your head up, your spine aligned, and your back leg ready to drive forward like a piston.
In wrestling, the high crotch is less sneaky than the low single. It's bold, direct, and exposes the attacker more — but it also gives greater control if it lands. You're not just destabilizing an ankle — you're lifting the whole leg off the ground, tilting the opponent’s pelvis and forcing a shift in their entire balance structure.
In chess terms, this corresponds to an attack not on f7, but deeper — on d6 or e6, the thighs and hips of the defending body.
Let’s build this geometrically.

Mapping the High Crotch

In my model, the pawns are joints of the legs — ankle (7th rank), knee (6th), hip (5th), and so on. So a pawn on e6 or d6 is not just a leg — it's the thigh or hip joint of the defending wrestler.
A successful high crotch in chess, then, would be a move where a knight or queen penetrates into e6 or d6, from a central file like e4 or d4 — supported by a pawn drive or piece combination that opens the center.
Let’s suppose:

The white queen (neck/head) comes into e6.

The white knight (arm/palm) is supporting or following into f5 or d5.

The white pawn from d4 or e4 represents the driving leg of the attacker, propelling the move.

This is the high crotch: you’ve driven your own "torso" (queen) up into the opponent’s inner leg, supported by your arms (knight), and now you’re lifting. The opponent’s center of mass (king) is still stable, but you’ve compromised his base.
If the opponent has a pawn on e7 and f7, they might act as a sprawl or whizzer — defensive limbs trying to block. But if those are cleared or deflected — say, with trades or positional pressure — then the attacker locks both hands behind the opponent's leg (imagine the knight and queen forming that lock) and lifts. Suddenly, the black king must shift. His center has been displaced.

Visual Sequence of a High Crotch in Chess

White plays d4 or e4 attacker steps forward

Knight comes to f5 or d5 arm reaches in

Queen moves to e6 or d6 head and torso penetrate

Black’s leg (pawn) is isolated

Knight and queen apply pressure (lock)

Black king must shift, or the structure collapses

This creates either:

A tactical breakdown of defenses, leading to material loss (capture = takedown),

Or a direct mate threat via discovered attacks from other limbs — bishop (elbow), rook (shoulder), or the driving waist (king and central pawns).

The Finish

In wrestling, after lifting with a high crotch, you might transition to a double leg or a dump — rotating the opponent down. In chess, this is the follow-up tactic — a rook swinging to an open file, or a bishop slicing in along a diagonal. Often, the opponent is so off-balance that they must give up material — a piece or even the queen — to stay upright.
But if they can’t stabilize their center of mass, the game ends not in check — but in checkmate. The fall. The back on the mat. The pin.

Closing Reflection

If low singles are about sneaking under the opponent’s balance, high crotches are about penetrating into it — entering the torso space, disrupting from within. On the board, this means going beyond pawn structure and challenging the internal geometry of the position. It’s no longer just about grabbing a piece. It’s about tilting the axis of the game.
And what’s beautiful is that, just like on the mat, you have to commit your whole body to it. In wrestling, that means your hips, your head, your grip, your drive. In chess, that means your queen, your knight, your center. If one of those pieces is missing or out of place, the move fails. You sprawl. You lose position.
But if it all aligns — if timing and geometry meet — you lift your opponent off the ground.
That’s the language I’m searching for. A way to feel wrestling through the syntax of chess.

(as it this dull point, i was scarce for ideas and time - some paragraphs of this blog were written with the help of OpenAi chat GPT (in particular the ai wrote about arm throw and high crotch)- which surprisingly undestood the concepts much quicker then most of my wrestling mates, the ai even threw some wild ideas, which i so far rejected, but i now pay a lot of respect to a dilligent machine. i will have to rewrite the arm throw and high crotch sequence, because its really a data dump, and not the real intellegence, But so far its ok to fill the space)

Below are video examples of chess move animations in Blender