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Quiz about Fate Plays Chess
Quiz about Fate Plays Chess

Fate Plays Chess Trivia Quiz


Each move of Fate means someone wins, gets sidelined, or loses, just as in chess. Your life goal is to beat Fate, or at least keep Fate from winning...

A multiple-choice quiz by babsr. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
babsr
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
382,375
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
314
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Question 1 of 10
1. "A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!" Who is purported to have uttered these words in the Battle of Bosworth Field, losing both horse and kingdom, and ultimately his life? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. According to legend, the proof that the future King Arthur descended from King Uther Pendragon was a sword encased in what substance? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. In the many legends of Arthur is the tale of Excalibur, his sword. This is not the same as the Sword in the Stone. Who gave him Excalibur? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. "Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her. But once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game." So, Fate also plays cards. What witty writer philosopher penned these words? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Who is the pundit who made the following fateful comment?

"Man does not control his own fate. The women in his life do that for him."
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. "I wonder if you're lonesome tonight
You know someone said that the world's a stage
And each must play a part.
Fate had me playing in love you as my sweet heart."

These lyrics were sung by whom?
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Fate has been woven into several lives in a particular Broadway musical. A poet of questionable character who takes the place of an absent beggar, his beautiful daughter who cares for him, a princely character, destined to marry a princess of his country, who has fallen in love with the beautiful daughter, and more are melded together. The song "Stranger in Paradise" comes from which fateful musical? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. "Well, let me tell you of the story of a man named Charlie
On a tragic and fateful day
He put ten cents in his pocket, kissed his wife and family
Went to ride on the MTA
Well, did he ever return?
No he never returned and his fate is still unlearned
He may ride forever 'neath the streets of" what city?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. "Two households, both alike in dignity
(In fair Verona, where we lay our scene),
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;"

This is the Prologue to which Shakespearean tragedy?
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Fate can check one's progress, or stop one's progress altogether, as in a checkmate. But even with Fate, sometimes it finally gives one peace. In August 2012, a skeleton was unearthed which had the potential of being Richard III. Which unlikely site possibly held the remains of a King of England? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. "A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!" Who is purported to have uttered these words in the Battle of Bosworth Field, losing both horse and kingdom, and ultimately his life?

Answer: Richard III

These are the words spoken in Shakespeare's tragedy, "Richard III". They reference the War of the Roses, in which Richard, House of York, was killed. He was the last English monarch to die in battle, 22 August 1485. He was also the last Plantagenet king. The War of the Roses was essentially war between the two English Plantagenet houses, York and Lancaster.

The death of Richard III was significant beyond this, however. As Fate would have it, Richard's son, Edward, Earl of Salisbury, had died in 1484, leaving no Plantagenet heir, neither from York, nor from Lancaster. Henry VII, who triumphed over Richard was not a Plantagenet, but the grandson of Owen Tudor, a member of the royal household who bedded Catherine, the widow of Henry V, producing non-Plantagenet heirs to the throne.

What the death of Richard meant, then, was the assumption to the throne of the Tudor Dynasty, and with the new ruling house, a new period of growth, a Renaissance, a time of exploration in religion, sciences, literature, trade, philosophy and so much more. The English moved from the Middle Ages to embrace the Italian Renaissance, ultimately putting their own stamp on history.

King Arthur has not been totally proven to be anything but myth.

Julius Caesar was an early Roman emperor.

Charles Windsor is Charles, Prince of Wales. As his mother, the reigning Queen Elizabeth II, is still alive in 2016 and seated on the throne of England, polo-playing Charles is more likely to be saying "A kingdom, a kingdom, my horse for a kingdom!"
2. According to legend, the proof that the future King Arthur descended from King Uther Pendragon was a sword encased in what substance?

Answer: Stone

The legend of King Arthur tells that Merlin the mage led the young Arthur to the stone. No one had been able to remove it, but he did, proving to be the son of Uther. As one story tells it, a group of men had assembled to attempt to remove it. Arthur was not among them, but was at a nearby tournament. When a competitor broke his sword, Arthur left to find a replacement, and pulled the sword out. A second legend again has a group of men assembled, Arthur among them. When his turn comes, he easily pulls the sword free. Regardless of the story, he was fated to become King.

Norse legend tells of a sword driven into a tree by Loki, which is pulled out by Sigmund, father of Siegfried. This could also be the source for the Arthurian legend.
3. In the many legends of Arthur is the tale of Excalibur, his sword. This is not the same as the Sword in the Stone. Who gave him Excalibur?

Answer: The Lady of the Lake

Sometime after Arthur's reign began, Merlin requested the Lady of the Lake give the magical sword to Arthur to protect him. It was purported to have the power to heal wounds, and blazed with a blinding light. When Arthur was mortally wounded in a battle with Mordred (who apparently had seized the sword from him), he had his kingsman Griflet (aka Jaure) throw Excalibur back into the Lake. The Lady rose up, caught it and returned beneath the waves.

Depending on the source of the legend, Mordred was either Arthur's son, nephew, or Sir Mordred of the Knights of the Round Table. Again, depending on the source, Arthur left Mordred in charge of his throne while he went to fight the Emperor Lucius of Rome. While he was gone, Mordred usurped the throne and married Arthur's wife Guinevere. When Arthur returned, it was to attempt to regain his throne. Depending again on the particular source, Arthur is killed by Mordred, or Mordred is killed by Arthur, or both die at each other's hand.

How does Fate enter into the legend? The Twelfth Century author, Geoffrey of Monmouth, in his "History of the Kings of Britain", discusses the Prophecies of Merlin, and in another chapter discusses a battle between a white and a red dragon. In the Arthurian legend, Merlin is the dragonlord of Kilgharrah, the red-hued Great Dragon, who prophesies that Mordred will kill Arthur.
4. "Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her. But once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game." So, Fate also plays cards. What witty writer philosopher penned these words?

Answer: François-Marie Arouet aka Voltaire

To read a biography of Voltaire, you might find that he may have been cheating Fate most of his life, misdealing, or hiding cards up his sleeve. He often found himself vocally on the opposite side of the prevailing political scene. It is said even Louis XVI noted that Rousseau and Voltaire had "destroyed France", meaning the monarchy.
5. Who is the pundit who made the following fateful comment? "Man does not control his own fate. The women in his life do that for him."

Answer: Groucho Marx

It was, in fact, attributed to Groucho Marx, although any of the listed could easily have said it! Groucho himself (born Julius Henry Marx), in an interview with Roger Ebert in a 1972 Esquire magazine, said "I got $25 from Reader's Digest last week for something I never said. I get credit all the time for things I never said."
6. "I wonder if you're lonesome tonight You know someone said that the world's a stage And each must play a part. Fate had me playing in love you as my sweet heart." These lyrics were sung by whom?

Answer: Elvis Presley

"Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was written in 1926 by Roy Turk and Lou Handman. The wife of Elvis' manager Colonel Parker, Marie Mott, was fond of this song, and encouraged her husband to have Elvis record it. It was released in 1960, topping the charts in both the US and UK.
7. Fate has been woven into several lives in a particular Broadway musical. A poet of questionable character who takes the place of an absent beggar, his beautiful daughter who cares for him, a princely character, destined to marry a princess of his country, who has fallen in love with the beautiful daughter, and more are melded together. The song "Stranger in Paradise" comes from which fateful musical?

Answer: Kismet

From the Arabic word "kismat or "qismat", meaning to divide or allot, Kismet relates to one's lot in life, one's fate. Had the musical been set elsewhere than Baghdad, it might've been called "Kharma"!
8. "Well, let me tell you of the story of a man named Charlie On a tragic and fateful day He put ten cents in his pocket, kissed his wife and family Went to ride on the MTA Well, did he ever return? No he never returned and his fate is still unlearned He may ride forever 'neath the streets of" what city?

Answer: Boston

"M.T.A.", aka "The MTA Song" was composed by Jacqueline Steiner and Bess Lomax Hawes for a 1949 mayoral run by Walter O'Brien. The lyrics relate to fare rates, in which one could pay to board a Metropolitan Transit Authority streetcar, but once reaching one's destination, one had to pay an exit fare to get off the streetcar. The song and its message reached far beyond Boston when it was adapted and recorded by the Kingston Trio in 1959. I still know all the words and belt it out whenever I hear it!
9. "Two households, both alike in dignity (In fair Verona, where we lay our scene), From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;" This is the Prologue to which Shakespearean tragedy?

Answer: Romeo and Juliet

Probably the best known of Shakespeare's works, it was penned early in his career. Much of it was based on earlier writings, including "The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet" (Arthur Brooke) and "Palace of Pleasure" (William Painter). He, however, took these stories and expanded the plot and cast of characters to bring it to life.

The other titles you may recognize as also being Shakespearean tragedies.
10. Fate can check one's progress, or stop one's progress altogether, as in a checkmate. But even with Fate, sometimes it finally gives one peace. In August 2012, a skeleton was unearthed which had the potential of being Richard III. Which unlikely site possibly held the remains of a King of England?

Answer: The car park of the Leicester City Council

Although sometime in the history between now and then, antiquarian John Speed wrote in his 1611 "Historie of Great Britaine" that tradition held that his body had been unceremoniously dumped into the Soar River by Bow-Bridge, it appears that in fact he was carried to Greyfriar's convent and buried in the choir. Prior to Greyfriar's dissolution in 1538, there apparently had been a monument erected as well. With the friary's buildings torn down, and other buildings set on the land, the location of the King disappeared from history, until his skeleton was found under the car park on the very first day of excavation.

Following DNA research confirming the skeleton was indeed Richard III, his bones were reinterred in Leicester Cathedral 26 March 2015. King Richard III is finally entombed in hallowed ground (okay, a marble raised tomb inside the cathedral), so for him, Fate relented, and he is no longer in checkmate. Rest in peace, Your Majesty, rest in peace.
Source: Author babsr

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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This quiz is part of series Commission #42:

Certainly the number of this Commission, 42, drums up ideas of blasting through space and the pursuit of the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. Well, for this Author's Lounge Commission, launched in June 2016, our writers received literary quotes to be used as titles. Hope you're well-read!

  1. Sell All My Old Clothes - I'm Off to Heaven Average
  2. Tinged With Love Easier
  3. All the Stories Are Real Average
  4. It is a Tale Told By ... Average
  5. My Mother Is... Average
  6. Mother Died Today Easier
  7. Do You Think I'm an Automaton? Average
  8. Winter Is Coming Average
  9. We're Not Meant for Happiness, You and I Easier
  10. It Was Love Average
  11. ... Sleeps With the Fishes Tough
  12. I Thought What I'd Do Was ... Easier

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