Author: Mark Ryan
Date: 11:44:29 01/11/06
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On January 10, 2006 at 20:48:52, Joseph Ciarrochi wrote: >wow you're right. the important question is, what on earth where you looking for >when you googled "chess on ice" I was looking for curling, of course. Curlers have always referred to the sport as "chess on ice". I could argue that curling strategy is deeper than chess. First, curling's positional strategy is quite complex. Chess has 64 squares; curling has an infinite number of positions for a single rock. And it's not like shuffleboard, where stones run straight; the curling rock curls on its own and slides in behind guards. A crowded "house" with fifteen rocks can lead to massive chess-like complications. Second, curlers have to detect changing ice conditions. In chess, the board never changes. In curling, a good skip can win a game just by knowing the ice better. Third, and most importantly, a skip cannot just say, "Knight f3". He must decide first whether he thinks his team can make the shot. All players have strengths and weaknesses. Some players are slow to warm up, while other players start fast but get tired. The skip must take all of this into consideration when deciding on what shot to call. All things considered, every curling shot is a positional choice, an environmental (variable ice) consideration, and especially a gamble based upon the ability of a team-mate to make a shot. Plus it's athletic, fun, and highly social. Mark (I'm Canadian, eh) :)
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