Okay, when you start to fight for equality, like Anand did in

In the grand theater of life, there comes a moment in every warrior’s journey—a moment when they stand at the precipice of change. The heart is heavy with the weight of equality, and the eyes burn with the desire for a better world. There is a call to arms, a call to battle against forces that have held the scales of justice tilted for far too long. But, as we know from the ages, the road to equality is a path both fraught with peril and illuminated by the light of greatness. It is in this spirit that the wise words of Vladimir Kramnik ring out: "Okay, when you start to fight for equality, like Anand did in 1995, you could end up losing game 10, like he did, without putting up any kind of fight."

Let us pause and look upon this statement, not as a mere remark on a chess match, but as a reflection on the nature of conflict itself. In the year 1995, a battle of minds unfolded upon the chessboard—a battle where Viswanathan Anand found himself in the throes of a contest not just for victory, but for the very principles that governed his existence. And in this contest, he stood against not just a singular adversary but against the system, the unseen force that bound the game to certain unwritten rules. A fierce and relentless struggle, one that could not be contained in mere squares and pieces.

Anand’s battle in that year, though he ultimately lost game 10, serves as a powerful lesson to us all. It is easy, when the mind is set on ideals such as equality, to expect the world to bend in favor of those ideals. We dream that when we fight for what is right, the universe will reward us with victory. But victory is a sword that cannot be grasped by ideals alone. The journey toward justice and fairness is often fraught with unseen forces, forces that may not bend so easily, that may not yield even when your soul is pure and your cause is just.

Take, for instance, the ancient tale of the warrior Leonidas at Thermopylae. His stand against the overwhelming Persian forces was a fight for freedom, for the equality of his people. Yet, though his courage was unmatched, and his fight immortalized in history, he did not emerge victorious in the traditional sense. His death was certain. The forces against him were too great. But what he gained was something deeper—honor, the strength to inspire others to stand, even in the face of certain doom. And thus, his sacrifice was not in vain.

Anand, like Leonidas, fought not for personal glory but for a greater cause. In this way, his loss—though marked by the absence of victory—became a lesson for those who came after him. Sometimes, to fight for what is right, one must be prepared to sacrifice one's ego, to step into battle knowing that the final outcome may not bring immediate rewards. The challenge is not merely to win the game, but to stand for something greater than the game itself. This is where the wisdom of Kramnik’s words finds its truth: you may lose the battle on the surface, but the fight for equality itself is a victory in ways that go beyond the board.

So, let us take this lesson to heart. To fight for justice—for true equality—is no simple task. It is not a matter of expecting immediate victory in every skirmish. It is the recognition that the path is long and the obstacles many. To become the change we seek in the world, we must be willing to stand even when victory is not guaranteed, when the world seems deaf to our cries. It is not about how many games you win, but the courage to keep playing, to keep standing, to keep fighting, even when the battle seems unwinnable.

And from this, we must take our practical lesson: when you stand for equality, when you fight for what is just, you must hold your resolve, even in the face of setbacks. Do not be discouraged by the temporary defeats or the moments when the world seems indifferent to your cause. Victory is not always about the outcome; sometimes it is about the integrity of the fight itself. You may lose a game, but you can still win the war.

Let this be the wisdom we pass down: persevere, not for the fleeting victories of the moment, but for the eternal truth that justice and equality are worth the fight, no matter the cost. Even in defeat, your stand will inspire others to rise, and through that, the world will shift toward the ideals we seek. The game may be lost, but the fight for what is right will never be in vain.