August 09, 2004
Grandmasters Falsify Too
According to this article chess Grandmasters are better at falsifying their own hypotheses about potential moves than others. No big surprise there, but that's not why I'm blogging it. I found that article via this post on Marginal Revolution that contains this stray comment:
I have long believed that chess players are an especially unhappy lot. If you lose, you cannot even blame it on the weather. And everyone is ranked on a common rating scale with a clearly defined dimension of winning or losing. Sad to say, but a strict meritocracy is not great fun for the majority of participants.
Yes, chess is a meritocracy, but unless one can only have fun when winning, then there's no reason a majority of the participants can't have fun. Of course, winning a game is significantly more enjoyable than losing (although you actually learn things when you lose), but just playing the game is the real joy. The visual imagination, the struggle of wills, the time pressure (real chess players use clocks), the endlessly branching paths, the excitement of finding a surprising, good move (!!)—all are independent of winning. Plus, the fact that the outcome relies only on skill means you can savor your win more than in games of chance. Even if you only enjoy winning, there are always weaker players you can trounce. It's not like we all have to play Kasparov.
INTERVIEWER: "How did you do against Ken, Ed?"
ED: "I'm happy. I won for the 600th straight time. Of course, I'm rated 2174 and he was never above 15-1600. But Mallarme reminded us that winning makes us, happy, so I must be happy."
I: "How do you feel, Ken?"
K: "I feel great. For the 600th straight time, I learned something. And I found a really good move this time, something called the Gorilla Opening."
I: "So when will the two of you play next?"
E&K: "Well, I'm so [K: "stimulated" E: "happy"] that we just figure Game 601 should start Any Minute Now."
Hehehe... exactly my point. Winning all the time is no fun. Of course, neither is losing all the time, as my chess opponents realize.
It would be interesting to do a study of the psychological habits of frequent chess players--how the structure and strategy of the game impacts their cognitive processes. For example, are chess players harder on themselves in life, based on the belief that one can always win if one plays correctly? Do chess players have a greater consciousness of how good or bad moves determine life's endgame? Do chess players think more strategically in general, and does this affect their personal lives?