This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Ununnilium: Just put the name of the person who said it in spoilers. ``
Silent Hunter: No, because that way, whoever edits the page will see the unspoilered text.
Ununnilium: Well, what's the use of spoiler tags at all, then? >>
Silent Hunter: This is a spoiler beyond spoiler text.
fleb: (months later, probably) So, what work was this quote from?
Citizen: And what about how, as per the title, skill in stuff like chess is associated with being able to manipulate people and armies? Ignoring the obvious answer, I've always read that grandmasters got good by just building up a large mental database of board states. Like, a master is good at memorizing the positions of chess pieces arranged like they were in the middle of a game, but if the pieces were randomly placed, they aren't. Or something, I'm going off on a tangent.
Lale: Edgar Allen Poe discussed that in at least one of his stories, saying it's a fallacy to believe intelligence has anything to do with skill in chess; being good at chess is all about patience, in his opinion.
Citizen: Is this a distinct trope from The Chessmaster, like Chessmaster Fallacy, or just a minor origin note for this trope? Lelouch (Code Geass) and Mat (The Wheel Of Time) are the two examples I'm thinking of, though the latter is more of a vica-versa case.
Lale: Add something like "patience is a virtue" to this trope.
lale: What's the difference between this and The Dungeonmaster? The Dungeonmaster is a good guy, The Chessmaster is a villain?
HeartBurn Kid: Honestly, I don't see a resemblance at all. The Dungeon Master is a Physical God, but can't really do anything to affect the world for whatever reason, so is stuck just giving cryptic hints and nudging the heroes along their way. The Chess Master, on the other hand, is either physically powerless, or might as well be; instead, he directly manipulates people, sometimes with vague hints, sometimes by playing their emotions, basically in whatever way he can. Of course, there's nothing precluding a Dungeon Master from also being a Chess Master, but they do describe completely different character types.
Lale: When you put it that way, it's clear. I think there should still be a distinction on the pages cause I still see a risk of people mixing them up.
?: I removed the "Just as planned" because it was the unnecessary second of two Death Note mentions.
Silent Hunter: Ahem, I think someone's mixed up the novel and film of From Russia With Love. The film involves SPECTRE and the coding machine. The novel involves SMERSH just trying to kill Bond (although they do spend a while talking about it).
Caswin: I read the novel, came over here and fixed it before I read this post. Funny how that works out.
fleb: Cut the lengthy Paul Robinson quote, replaced it with something short and pithy.
- "The contract only requires we stay for two weeks; the other one is an option which we may not be offered and we are not required to accept."Dr. Wilson smiled again. "Oh, I'm sure you will. Hugo Sign will make it too attractive for you.""How can you be sure?""Dr. Sign will figure out whatever it is you want and get it for you.""You're kidding. You make it sound like we don't have a choice.""Yes, you have a choice. Like breathing. You can choose not to, but eventually you'll pass out and start again."- Dr. Edward Wilson to George Green in Paul Robinson's The Gatekeeper: The Gate Contracts
Matrix: Some idiot left a bunch of non-Anime examples in the Anime folder of the first section. I put them in their correct places. The only example remaining there that I'm not sure about is Liar Game. If it's not an Anime, someone please put it in its correct folder.
Excel-2009. How appropriate is this picture for this article?
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Vasha: The last four examples in "Literature" in the "Chess Metaphors" section don't specify the chess references. Can anyone confirm that they belong in that section?
Wysp: In the Real Life section, it says "It's still early in his term, but President Barack Obama has shown some definite Chessmaster tendencies (though to be bipartisan, Karl Rove was no slouch at the game either). " Honestly, I can't quite see how he's been...chessmastery at all. it may just be my blind, racist, right-wing extremism, but could someone explain?
RichardAK: I agree wholeheartedly. How exactly does being repeatedly stymied despite having overwhelming majorities in both houses of Congress, and having the lowest approval rating for a President this early in his first term in several decades, make one a chessmaster?
rjung: I'm still trying to determine if RichardAK is being sarcastic or not. As for President Obama, even though I think he's the most competent President we've had in the last 30 years, I agree that calling him a chessmaster is a bit too early. These things only become obvious in hindsight.
That Guy Who Draws: Who put all the "spoiler click to reveal" things on this page? It's really annoying, Could someone with a bit more time on their hands than myself please go through and change them to normal spoiler tags?
