Glenn Frazier quotes a chess maxim.
His purpose was to discuss politics, but I'll leave that to other people. I'm more interested in Chess:
Chess has many maxims. One of the most well known (and yet least followed by beginners) is "The threat is greater than the execution."
Like all maxims, it is really a shorthand for a more complex understanding, and thus cannot be followed blindly with success. The basic notions behind it, though, are pretty simple:
If a rational opponent sees what is threatened and does not like it, they will be inclined to react to it before, rather than after, it happens;
To some degree or another, the future is not practically knowable, and so how real a danger a given threat poses is often uncertain;
Thus, the threat, if reacted to, may be more powerful than the actual execution of the threat, which could have turned out to fail, had it not been prevented; and also
Executing an aggressive action always involves an exchange (loss of material, weakening/overextension of position, change of initiative, etc.), even if it's a net benefit to you;
So getting the opponent to react to a threat can sometimes achieve the same result at less of a cost, compared to actually executing the threat.
This is absolutely true. It's amazing how much effect the act of attacking and bluffing is important in real chess. I can't stand playing against a computer. The psychology and "magic" is gone from the game.
I'm sure many people learn a lot from the computer but the few times I've done it the games have felt so empty. When you watch real masters playing it is so much fun. They often have great humour and the confidence or lack thereof when they make a move has a tremendous effect.
It's been years since I've watched a game with the best Speed Chess player I ever met, an old acquaintance of mine, Dean from Croatia. He is a master Speed Chess player, but he doesn't hang around the chess scene in Santa Monica anymore. If anyone reading this knows his whereabouts, let me know. And if you ever get a chance to watch him play, don't miss it! The guy is incredible. He will play anyone with 1 minute on his clock to 6-7 minutes for the other side. He will know how he will answer your move, no matter which one you choose, before you have decided on your move. And his hand will hit the clock a millisecond after yours does, time and time again. All you need to do is survive without a checkmate for one minute. But I haven't seen too many people win around him...
