4th
I Don't Like Chess
Earlier today, I was asked why I don’t like chess. This post is a reblog of my answer.
Even though I’d probably be very good at it, I don’t find chess very appealing. I’m highly analytical, a great strategist, and I love game theory. All of these skills are required to be successful in backgammon, poker, and chess.
Chess is a game of perfect information. If you wanted to, you could create a complete map of all of the moves your opponent can make. In practice, you can’t do this because the permutations are mind-boggling. You need to think several moves ahead of your opponent.
The strategies of backgammon, chess, and poker are all similar. You can play aggressive, you can be passive and trap your opponent, and occasionally you make sacrifices.
In chess, you’ll find players that open to a weak position with the hope to gain a psychological advantage later in the match. Game theory can’t account for psychology, and frankly, I don’t understand the psychology of chess. A skilled player will always beat a less skilled player because there is no luck involved. If a player makes a weaker move, you can assume a randomized strategy with multiple strategies (q, 1-q) to counter. If you play perfectly, you will win. This isn’t very appealing (how can a weaker player beat a stronger one?).
Backgammon is very similar to chess in terms of strategy. You have perfect information, except there is an element of luck. You can play perfectly, but still lose depending on how well (lucky) your opponent rolls. This is the math element of the game which, I adore. I’m very good at math— I think in numbers.
I like the element of luck because it is more similar to real life situations. There are many situations in life where you can play perfectly (business, etc) and still lose. Some things are beyond your control.
Poker is the most beautiful game I have come across. There is imperfect information, strategy, psychology, and a strong math element. It’s the greatest deep thinking game out there.
Poker, even more so than backgammon and chess, is a game of pattern recognition. As much as I’d like to believe in randomness, we don’t live in a perfect world. People are not random and this game is proof. I can pretty much remember everything I see (and everything in general)— recognizing and interpreting patterns comes very natural to me.
I was blessed with a deep thinking poker mind. I can play with the best in the world. I am able to mathematically calculate my equity, deeply think through a proper hand range for my opponent, and construct the optimal playing and psychological strategy that is required to win.
Additionally, it’s impossible to play perfectly with imperfect information. It’s easy to make mistakes and requires complete concentration. Even if you do play perfectly— luck can still beat you.
My answer comes down to one word: luck. I like operating in a world of uncertainty— that doesn’t exist (to my knowledge at least), in chess.
Edit: BTW, just wanted everyone to know— in backgammon and poker, its not about the money. in fact, i started donating all of my winnings to charity. i like the games, and id happily play for free (its just that the competition isnt as strong).