Ron's chess-playing skills

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 85826

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Aurelius Orionus <orionus2 at y...>
wrote:

> Aurelius O.:
> 
> ... I am somewhat interested in chess and as a fan of Ron and... 
> the books he is clearly made out to be a very good chessplayer.
> 
> ... very little in PS that could be pieced together. ... narative 
> ... makes it sound like Ron kicks a bit of butt.  As you mentioned 
> above, he was down a lot of pieces and decided to go around and 
> clean  up a bit, which doesn't happen much in chess. :)
>
> Aurelius


bboy_mn:

I agree, the series repeated references to Ron playing chess always
show him winning, although we don't really see him up against a
challenging opponent most of the time, but clearly the impression is
that Ron is a good chess player. 

Against McGonagall's chess set there are only a few references to
specific move and even they are generalized. The bulk of the game is
contained mostly in one paragraph which paints a picture of Ron doing
an outstanding job considering he had to do most of the work himself.
And, as someone else pointed out, Ron had two chess pieces (Harry &
Hermoione) that he had to guard at all cost, as well as trying to
overpower his opponent. That substantially complicated the chess game.

As far as your reference to Ron being down a lot of pieces then going
around and cleaning up a bit; all that tells me is that Ron went from
play a defensive game to playing an offensive game. He suddenly
realized that to win, he had to go on the attack. 

I played a little chess when I was younger, and my biggest failing was
that I always played a defensive game; I was alway reacting to the
other players moves and letting him control the direction of the game.
 To win, to some extent, a play has to have a aggressive killer
instinct. You have to dominate the board and force the game to be
played on your own terms. That's what I see Ron doing; switching his
strategy from reactive to proactive. That certainly is a strategic
move by a player with a grasp of the game and the immediate situation.

So, again, I agree, the book continually re-enforces the postion that
Ron is a good chess player, and we have no reason to suspect otherwise.

I'm convinced that somehow Ron's chess playing ability is going to
become significant in the books again, although, I confess, I can't
imagine how.

bboy_mn