December 16, 2025
Right angles, wrong takes
How geometry is fundamental for chess
Is chess just shapes? Fans hype, skeptics squawk about crows and Hikaru’s triangles
TLDR: A Lichess blog says chess is powered by geometry and claims only humans truly grasp it, citing primate tests. The comments explode: fans high-five over Hikaru’s shape patterns, skeptics cite research on clever crows, and others say geometry helps—but it won’t save you from blunders.
A spicy Lichess blog claims chess is built on shapes—lines, angles, and patterns—and boldly says only humans truly “get” geometry. Cue the comments section going full gladiator pit. One camp cheered, with a mic-drop “Geometry is fundamental, period,” while others brought receipts: fans pointed to Hikaru Nakamura sketching right triangles on stream and “wooden shield” bishop patterns. Someone even yelled, “Someone call Bernard Parham,” summoning the patron saint of geometry-first chess. Protractors out, bishops on the diagonals, vibes immaculate.
Then came the plot twist: “Humans only? False,” snapped a skeptic citing a study on crows that reportedly grasp geometric rules, linking to Science Advances. Suddenly it’s Team Euclid vs. Team Murder Crow. Others asked if seeing shapes actually wins games or just looks cool—“great patterns, still gotta not blunder.” A thoughtful voice wanted nuance: geometry may guide vision, but isn’t a magic Elo wand. Bonus meme: a commenter praised the typos as proof a human wrote it—peak internet. Meanwhile the article’s bonobo experiment (they struggled to spot a non-square) and a “6ish-7ish” animal number sense line stirred more eyebrow raises than a queen sac. Entertaining? Absolutely. Settled? Not even close.
Key Points
- •The article claims geometry is fundamental to chess, mapping piece movements to geometric lines, angles, and rotations.
- •Pawns, bishops, knights, and queens are described through geometric constructs (e.g., diagonal lines for bishops, L-shaped combinations for knights).
- •The author argues humans uniquely understand geometric shapes and discrete numbers, unlike other animals.
- •Weber’s Law is cited to explain primates’ approximate number judgments, contrasting with human discrete numerosity needed for chess.
- •A 2024 study (Sablé‑Meyer et al.) is referenced, reporting primates performed near chance when identifying an odd geometric shape, reinforcing human-unique geometric understanding.