25 July 2011

Chess and Tradition

Here is a quick thought on tradition, using chess as an analogy. Due to my nerd-like tendencies, people might think I am good at chess. Not so, I am afraid. I tend to start out fairly well, but my downfall usually comes from moving one critical piece when I should not.



Let us say I moved a knight into a key position, which protected my king, while threatening one of my opponent's valuable pieces. When I moved it, I had a clear idea of why the knight was there. However, many turns pass, perhaps with a break for lunch or a round of mini golf. Later on, I look at the knight and say to myself, “Why should the knight be there? If I move him, I can accomplish something great over here.” I move the knight, my opponent takes advantage of the opening, and I lose a few turns later. I had forgotten why the knight was there, and because of this lapse, I lost the game.



Rather than explain further, I will leave it at that. Anyone want to play chess?

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