3-14: The Thrown Game

What We Owe Our Opponents

At the latest of my usual chess social events, a friend walks over to me after losing a game. He tells me, mostly jokingly, that he was fairly upset about the loss, but that his opponent seemed so thrilled by her win that her excitement exceeded his frustration. He could have lost on purpose, he continued, considering that the sum of their two reactions resulted in net positivity. This is an interesting way to view the result of any competition.

He was joking, but since then I have thought more about whether it is ever okay to let someone win, at chess or at anything worth competing in. Imagining myself on the other side of the table, a win would not feel half as wholesome or rewarding as it should if I knew it was freely given, out of pity or out of anything else. I do not want to play a game with someone who will knowingly let me win and I feel strongly that you should never allow yourself to lose intentionally.

Take, for instance, a father teaching his son how to play chess. Over many sessions, the son learns the basics of the game, having been defeated countless times. While there are occasional mid-game victories, like taking a blundered queen, loss after loss continues. Finally, having played off and on for a few years, and on the third game of the day, the son prevails over his own father, a master in his eyes, and someone he was all but certain he would never in his life defeat. There is hardly a worthy description for this feeling. Had the father sandbagged even one game in the son’s favor, he would have poisoned the well of a properly earned victory.

I won’t be so cruel as to say that open handicapping is forbidden. For the sake of teaching, the father playing without a queen for a game or two can teach both of them a thing or two. Most importantly, the open handicap puts a firm lid on the emotions felt following a game you were winning before you even started. Knowing you defeated someone when they were missing the most powerful piece in the game is objectively far less satisfying than knowing that they played their best game.

Whether you are playing a new friend who is still learning the game, or teaching your own son to play chess, where you draw the line on a clean and proper victory is up to you. Wherever this line is drawn, draw it openly. I can say wholeheartedly that if you ever have the chance to play me at anything, and if you defeat me, know that you earned it.