Norway's World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen arranges the board ahead of the Round Four game against US challenger Fabiano Caruana at the World Chess Championship 2018 in London, Britain. Photo courtesy EPA-EFE/Facundo Arrizabalaga
If I was disgusted by Žižek’s remarks at the time, it was not because I thought that the left shouldn’t respond to Trump’s election by turning it into a catalyzing event. It was because the ease with which he said the words reflected a fundamentally disinterested and safe position. (As does Zach Young’s, for that matter—it’s probably easier to demand shorter games when you’re not the one on the clock).At the time of publishing this, we are midway through day 10 of the US government shutdown. We’re also a decade or so into an era of congressional dysfunction, where gridlock-as-strategy has begun to deprecate the government. This is not to say that there have not been any legislative or political victories, but that in aggregate, the entire we seem stuck in a cycle of forced draws—starting with a long period in the early Obama presidency when the dominant Democratic party refused to play aggressively, eventually losing control to a powerful right-wing movement determined to do even less. And unlike in chess, in politics and life draws are often lived as losses.…unlike in chess, in politics and life draws are often lived as losses.
XCOM 2: War of the Chosen screenshot courtesy of 2K Games
Into the Breach screenshots courtesy of Subset Games
When a friend of mine first tweeted about “agadmator,” a YouTube channel dedicated to analyzing interesting chess matches, I thought maybe I’d watch five minutes before getting on with my day. I hadn’t really played chess since junior high, but she wrote that his videos reminded her of Jon Bois’ work explaining sports, in that they make something she knew little about engaging, which sounded great. And you know, with a video title like “Anna Rudolf Accused of Cheating with an Engine Hidden in her Lip Balm!”, how was I not going to at least click play.
Valkyria Chronicles 4 screenshots courtesy of Sega
As agadmator walks you step by step through a match, he’ll occasionally pause to offer context for the maneuvers being played. The board opens up to reveal a sense of history, and because there is a sense of history there is also a sense of the future. Oh, the king’s gambit was in fashion once? I wonder if one day someone will find a way to make it relevant again. (Never mind that I barely know what a king’s gambit is.)Other times, he’ll slow down his analysis and walk the viewer through multiple possible pathways, always anticipating my questions. Why shouldn’t this player capture that bishop with their knight? And in sixty seconds, agadmator will have shown me exactly why that’s the case.Despite their relaxed energy—in some entries, the host’s dog lounges on a couch in the background—these videos tend to build to two potential climaxes (and sometimes to both). The most common is that agadmator will come to the key moment in the match and then invite you to speculate about the next move. "And now, feel free to pause the video here," he’ll say, adding a quick clue about why the player made the move they did. And as in any of my favorite tactics games from this year, getting the answer right makes me feel like some sort of chess genius. (I am extremely not any sort of chess genius).The second possible climax to certain agadmator videos is saved for chess maneuvers that, you can tell, agadmator particularly admires. After setting up the context of the match, exploring all of the different branches of possible play, and giving the viewer a chance to flex their minds, he’ll use this phrase I just cannot shake: “And then he got this Idea.”
Frozen Synapse 2 screenshots courtesy of Mode7
Norway's World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen notes are seeing as he plays against US challenger Fabiano Caruana (not seen) in their Round Eleven game during the World Chess Championship 2018 in London, Britain, 24 November 2018. Photo courtesy EPA-EFE/Facundo Arrizabalaga
It was an infectious way of thinking about chess, or about conflict in general. Find the weakness in the armor, the unpredictable punch they won’t see coming, the never-before-said phrase, and you’ll win. In politics, career, and personal life this year, I’ve come to find myself navigating draws, dead ends, and general stagnation. It is so tempting to believe in a world where finding an Idea is all you need to get by.But these chess masters don’t win just because they’ve had capital-I Ideas. In fact, the only reason they are able to have Ideas in the first place is because of all of those other sweet-sounding chess jargon that agadmator uses: Activated rooks. Developed bishops. Strong pawn structure.And when I first thought about this essay back in September, I planned on wrapping it up right here: When I was a kid playing chess, I thought the way you won was by taking pieces. Now, as an adult, I know that it’s about developing the board. It’s time that we stop thinking about pawns and start thinking about pawn structure. Stop aiming for immediate gain, and instead extend our control of the board, spreading our pieces out or focusing them like a fist. Ideas are worthless without the foundational work beneath them. Do the work so that one day you can make the big play.When I was a kid playing chess, I thought the way you won was by taking pieces.
And (a maybe surprising side effect here) I think it means that we need to be more compassionate with each other in this fight, too. Playing the metagame means evaluating each other holistically, identifying trends of behavior instead of individual actions, and recognizing the opportunity for future efforts. This does not mean that we should not be aggressive in our attacks on injustice, or that we should forgive and forget when someone has truly done harm. But it does mean widening our scope of analysis, and offering corrective rather than expulsive criticism. (That, of course, rests on all of our ability to “take the L,” accept that we’ve made mistakes, and choose to learn from good faith criticism instead of shutting it out).So, let’s not go into 2019 thinking of it as a blank slate or a fresh start. It’s neither. As the clock ticks on climate change, as we march closer to primary season (ugh), and as everyday seemingly brings a new reason to doubt the platforms and social structures that we’re tied to, it is increasingly clear that we cannot escape the past's ability to delimit the possibilities of our present and future. So, in 2019 let’s commit to looking at the big picture. Taking pieces helps, developing the board is good, but to win the future, we need to be remember that tomorrow isn't a whole new game, it’s just one more match in the series.Follow Austin Walker on Twitter.Have thoughts? Swing by Waypoint’s forums to share them!So, let’s not go into 2019 thinking of it as a blank slate or a fresh start.
