[[{“value”:”After six games the match is tied. Observers agree that the games have been of low quality and mostly not very interesting. Both players have been reluctant to exploit potential opportunities. If you don’t already know, Ding has been suffering from some version of “mental illness” (by his own account), and Gukesh, while extremely talented,
The post The show so far, Ding vs. Gukesh WCC match appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.”}]]
After six games the match is tied. Observers agree that the games have been of low quality and mostly not very interesting. Both players have been reluctant to exploit potential opportunities. If you don’t already know, Ding has been suffering from some version of “mental illness” (by his own account), and Gukesh, while extremely talented, is eighteen years old.
So what are the meta-lessons? I see a few:
1. It is hard for a championship cycle, and its credibility, to survive a #1 stepping down, in this case Magnus Carlsen. In some of his YouTube commentary he has been saying basically “oh my goodness, how come no one ever gave me these easy chances?”
2. There is a final irreducibility to actually having to compete, or solve a problem, and be put on the spot. No pre-game analysis can do justice to this. And as a related point, there can be super-talented people who fail in such situations. How many NBA players really want to be taking that final shot in a big game? This factor does not pop up in practice very often, because by definition it concerns exceptional situations. But it truly does matter big time, and it helps if you have a good nose for who can rise to the occasion, or not.
3. Every championship process involves a kind of agenda-setting mechanism to see who competes. These processes often are not rational, especially once some time passes. If for instance Caruana were in this match, he would be crushing either side. Yet he may never have a chance to play for the world championship once again. So you need to take advantage of your opportunities when they come along. That sounds stupidly facile, but in fact it is difficult to internalize that emotionally and act on it when you ought to.
In any case, I will continue to observe and learn. Today is rest day, and you can expect another report from me. Once something happens, that is.
The post The show so far, Ding vs. Gukesh WCC match appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.
Games, Uncategorized
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