I have been faced with a conundrum. I have been simultaneously challenged by two of the world's best chess players to play chess. The rules are simple. I will earn two points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points if I lose. There is one fairly large problem however... I don't know how to play chess. What is a strategy that will guarantee me at least two points?
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$\begingroup$ UK performer Derren Brown used this exact same trick to simultaneously challenge 9 expert chess players. Just FYI. $\endgroup$– XenocaciaCommented Nov 16, 2017 at 1:59
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1 Answer
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My strategy would be to:
Play them both at the same time.
To clarify:
Let's call the first master player A, and the second player B. Insist that, against A, A goes first, and in the match against B, you go first. Then, let the game start:
- A makes their move against you.
- Copy that move against B.
- B makes their move against you.
- Copy that move against A.
- Repeat until both games are over.
At the end of the game:
One of the players will beat you, so you get 0 points in that match. But your next move will finish the other match, and you'll win, getting 2 points!
Another possibility is that:
One of the matches goes into a stalemate, getting you 1 point. The next match will also go into a stalemate on the next turn, getting you another point, for the total of 2 points!
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6$\begingroup$ This requires you to play first in exactly one of the games $\endgroup$– b aCommented Nov 15, 2017 at 21:10