[Intro: Samuel L. Jackson in Fresh]nNow what kinda player am I? Am I an offensive man or a defensive man?nThat's right, I'm neither. I play my opponentnIf he likes to attack, I force him to defend himselfnIf he's a cautious man, I draw him into dangerous watersnSee, you get so frustrated playing defensive positionsnyou make stupid moves you would never make if you were thinkingnWhen you come here boy, check that shit at the doornn[Bridge]nI'm at the top of my game, cut the checknSomebody better king me, I'm the bestnLet's play a game of checkers, better yetnThe game don't love nobody, let's play chessnn[Chorus]nI keep forgettin' we're not in love anymorenI keep forgettin' things will never be the same againnI keep forgettin' how you made that so clearnI keep forgettin' things will never be the same againnn[Verse 1]nI got street knowlege, that's why I outsmart em allnGotta play chess in the streets, it's the art of warnRapper get robbed, they took the jewels off your necknYou call the person who you payin' to protectnHe got all your jewelery back, more or lessnBut now you owe him more, you in debtnGuess who got you robbednWhy don't you take a wild guessnThe person you pay to protect you, he playin' chessnOil price high, buildings fall, government stressednThey need somebody to blame for all this messncapture Sadam but ain't captured Bin Laden yetnThat's cause he doesn't exist, they playin' chessnA DJ, he helps artists progressnBut as soon as they get in position, they forgetnSo now he got his own artists on the setnThey risin' straight to the top, they playin' chessnn[Bridge]nn[Chorus]nn[Verse 2]nLife is like a game of chess, get it straightnYou cheated on your wife, called it a mistakenI told her I hate to see a heart breaknYou feelin' bad, lemme take you on a datenI just took your queen right in front of your facenNow it's easy to get to the king, checkmatenOne man's pain is another man's pleasurenHe treat you like trash, I could treat you way bettern'Cause one man's trash is another man's treasurenThis is chess not checkers, chess not checkersnShe don't love you no more, eat dinner out the fridgen+When a woman's fed up+, you see the difference kidnYou try to deny it but you admit what you didnShe know you better than yourself, there it isnFemales are intelligent, that's the wisdom kidnThey're built from the top down like a pyramidnn[Bridge]nn[Chorus]nn[Verse 3]nLife is like a game of chess, get it straightnI made my first hit record, checkmatenI'ma do numbers on my release datenHere's another hit record, checkmatenYou sold millions of records, but what's next?nYou need a couple of bombs from funk flexnA diss record'll make everybody upsetnBut that'll make you hot, you playin' chessnUsed to be an artist, but now you an execnYou signed a buncha wack artists at your desknYou make sure they wack so you can sound freshnI guess they just your pawns, you playin' chessnRecord labels, y'all signing acts right and leftnHe pop bottles and celebrate his successnY'all put him on the shelf but told him he was nextnHe just a tax write-off, yall playin' chessnn[Bridge]nn[Chorus]nn[Papoose]nI got my rooks on the chessboard, uhnI got my knights on the chessboard, uhnI got my bishops on the chessboardnIf you play your cards right you can get yours