The universal language of chess [D1EE, Market Ward] (Open)

[Ikkit the Bastard]

"Never played chess, but I've made some use of tactics. An' with only six types of piece workin' in two dimensions, it's a lot fewer combinations'n a scrap on a leaky boat on the Ditch..."

He lateraled his king out of the path of immediate harm.

[Mysti]

Well ... it didn't take long at all for a sudden and unbidden yawn to overtake her. She didn't bother covering her mouth as she normally did in polite company. Mysti had no idea whether this company, should one wish to call it that, was at all polite. Be that as it may, she could not honestly say she had seen anything untoward happening, and those two were so caught up in their own game and conversation that there wasn't much reason to disturb them. She wasn't one for forcing her presence onto those who gave no indication of wanting it.

Mysti took her arm off the tent pole and straightened her posture, no longer in a relaxed, leaning pose, and turned to leave. Granted, if she had a chess club, she would probably run it a wee bit differently. As the proprietor, she would refrain from playing herself and instead try to bring in more passersby from the street. Then she would have the guests play each other -- instead of, well, it didn't really matter. Did it. Starting her own chess club was about as likely as a Blood War ceasefire.

No ... no ... be fair, she told herself. A Blood War ceasefire was far and away more possible and plausible than starting her own chess club.

At which point, Mysti walked off, disappearing quickly into the general comings and goings of the Cage.

[Dare Shah]

"Never played chess, but I've made some use of tactics. An' with only six types of piece workin' in two dimensions, it's a lot fewer combinations'n a scrap on a leaky boat on the Ditch..."

He lateraled his king out of the path of immediate harm.

Knight takes rook. Clock.

"Over a billion times a billion times a billion times a billion times a billion possible positions in chess. Sure, you could have even more with more complex rules, but would there really be a point? For a brain such as mine or yours, it's the same difference as between infinity and a bigger infinity.

And its relative simplicity allows to consider more easily some critical principles. For example, how the strength of a piece is directly correlated to its freedom of movement. Which depends upon their nature but also their position and the state of the rest of the board.

Thus, the rook is quite strong because it theoretically threatens fourteen cases at once from anywhere, while the knight is restricted to only eight at best, a number down to two if they end up in a corner as of now.

However, the rook starts the game locked behind a barrier of its own pawns, while the knight is immediately free to move and bishops and queen need only one pawn out of the way before they unleash their own might, making them better suited to apply early pressure. And who strikes first usually strikes last.

In general, chess is a more aggressive game that seems at first glance, and has many openings where numerical advantage is traded for a superior position."

[Ikkit the Bastard]

He nodded, checked the rules he had, and tipped his king over.

"Something t'be said for taking the initiative, but that's also easier when y'know what you're about."

[Dare Shah]

"Definitely. There are general principles that are valid for beginners and experts alike however.

Usually a move is good if a. it saves me from losing something b. it allows me to win something c. it unlocks new opportunities. Often in that exact order of priority.

Which is rather instinctive once you get past the specifics of the game's representation. To rephrase it, it's nothing more than: first save your ass; second go for the prize; third engineer new opportunities."

[Ikkit the Bastard]

"Hm. Well, that comes naturally to me... 'cept in this game, y'always have t'make a move..."

[Dare Shah]

"Zugzwang. The obligation to make a move when any move will worsen your position.

You're forgetting a critical factor though. The clock."

She points at the contraption on the side of the board.

"Any important game is timed, whether it's five minutes or four hours for each player. And thus not taking a move will always end up with defeat in the end, as for when your time is up you always lose.

And, no big reveal there, life itself is timed. Often, when you're already in disarray, temporizing a bad outcome just means wasting time on a potential later comeback."

[Ikkit the Bastard]

"Yeah, but often in life, the best move is to bide your time"

He shrugged.

"'Course, games're different."

[Dare Shah]

"In the late game, it's not uncommon to triangulate, that is making a move that has no other effect than giving back the initiative to the opponent.

But yes, a game isn't real life. Doesn't mean they aren't lessons to be learned from them that can help in real life."

[Ikkit the Bastard]

Ikkit peered over the board.

"Not a bad time, anyway."