Chess Playing Increases Life Expectancy!

[Stockholm, Sweden] Recent studies in Scandinavia support the link between "Bergman's Theory" and increased life expectancy. Now 88, Ingmar Bergman- swedish filmmaker, depressive and avid chess player- first proposed the theory in his 1957 black and white film masterpiece "The Seventh Seal". Bergman, ever-popular among moody types and philosophy majors the world over, proposed that: "playing chess can extend your life".

The film stars a young Max Von Sydow (pictured above, right) as Antonius Block, a weary knight returning home after many years fighting in The Crusades. [see Gulf War] Despite overcoming death in battle, rampant bubonic plague through the countryside [see Bird Flu] and an annoying smorgasborg of "tag-alongs" he picks up along his journey home, Block has reached the homestretch.
Enter Death: Dressed in de rigeur black, The Reaper strikes a far more sinister pose than any of Darth Vader's derivative posturings. (see photo, above left) Antonius Block, to delay his own death, cunningly challenges Death to a game of chess. He claims to have seen Death playing chess in many paintings, and lures him into playing by appealing to his ego. [ie: you any good?]

Thus challenged, Death agrees to the conditions of play: As long as the young knight plays, he and his fellow travellers will live.

For more on Bergman's oeuvre, click HERE
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