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[broc200]

"If the “best” move is simply the result of multiple calculations, why isn’t the best chess player the one whose brain is most like a computer? Why isn’t rooting for a chess player like rooting for a microchip? Commentators talk about a player’s daring or originality; but a daring or original move is worthless if it’s not also, from a strictly

Comments

[uglyfuzzy]

But unless you're playing against a computer, one could also argue the 'best' move is one that catches the other player by surprise (a purely human reaction). Always making the most calculated move is predictable and therefore a beatable weakness. Sometimes you have to make a seemingly 'bad' move in order to strike your opponent when they least expect it - and I think that's when style and personality really come into play.

Play much?

[gres02]

One thing that happens in chess is that you will find that there is very rarely a position that has a known best mood as the sheer number of posibilities following that move don't allow for even the strongest computer to work it all out.

That given, there is often positions where two or more moves are comperable or even positions where the "best" move is not hte optimal choice because the response to the move is obvious whereas a move that may be slightly weaker requires an opponent to find several difficult moves in a row with one small mistake proving fatal. If the opponent can do it, then pehaps he is in a better position than he was but even then, only perhaps. Often times the player has spent a great deal of time and energy on the response and those new weaknesses can make up for a slightly stronger position.