Only God Knows Chess

Every chess game tells a story. The game is a collage of logic and magic. it is not like a dice game where chance and probability drive the gameplay. In chess, there is always the best move in every given position. but no one can find it, not the most thoughtful human or the fastest computer. because the game is so full of dept it is simply impossible.

“Amazingly, there are even more possible variations of chess games than there are atoms in the observable universe. This is the Shannon Number and represents all of the possible move variations in the game of chess.” This is where the magic of chess lies, its mystery.

Every player will have to make do with the move he agrees with at the given time.

Sometimes the best move is clear and easy to find. This is where the player of that move will appreciate the logic in chess. The stronger the player the easier it is to find that logical move, for most masters it may be in a split second. But even they don’t know how their game will be. They have to rely on the weaknesses of their opponent and hope they can find them, or else they will lose the game. But failure is no stranger to them, they have experienced it thousands of times, and that’s how they became who they are today. By learning from their mistakes.

in a way that’s what makes losing in chess tolerable. because most times after investing a lot of mental effort in a game the losing player is emotionally crushed. Because every grandmaster is playing a losing game all the time. Except when he is playing against a much weaker opponent in which case: his good moves don’t count either. it doesn’t even matter if the computer agrees with him. we already know that the best computer available currently will burst into flames before it solves chess.

some people believe that chess when solved, should be won by the white pieces because they have the advantage of moving first. Some believe that white loses because he moves first. The first zugzwang happens because when white plays black plays the only refutation to white’s first move. And white has only 20 options to choose from, and since he who laughs last best: we can also say the same for he who moves last-who says “checkmate”.

There is also a third viewpoint to this: those who say the game is a draw if both sides play the best moves at every point. we can also see the truth in this. Since the kings can’t attack each other and if they are the only ones on the board the game is a draw by force, no matter which moves they play.

Whichever side you are it will not matter because we will not live long enough to experience the correct of the above theories. but you can still enjoy the game. Appreciate the little victories and learn from the losses.

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